Guatemala English language Magazine
The tomb was found on May 28 of this year. Co-director for the bi-national Archaeological Project El Zotz, Edwin Román Ramírez, believes it is the burial chamber of King Chak’ Ahk, one of the first kings of a Mayan dynasty to settle in El Zotz. The tomb contained caches of elaborate stucco masks and ceramic vessels as well as 1,600-year-old […]
Read moreTransitions creates 10 years of mobility in Antigua Transitions Foundation, an Antigua-based organization dedicated to supporting and empowering Guatemalans with disabilities, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its wheelchair workshop. The workshop offers employment opportunities, currently to nine people with disabilities, and produces affordable and custom-tailored wheelchairs and mobility devices for those in need. History The workshop was rented from […]
Read moreLife is a huge canvas onto which we can throw as much paint as we wish. A divine gift is the power to create whatever we want. It’s woven into the fabric of our being. Since we’re hardwired to create, we hold the brush with which to design the life we choose. Are you creating a masterpiece? Or are you […]
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Sapphires sparkle all around you in Guatemala. Unlike some other gems that must be searched out, sapphires are overhead, underfoot, all around. You can easily bathe in deep, rich pools of sapphire. No, not the imported jewelry gems found in stores, but rather in nature throughout this “land of eternal spring.” The Pacific and Caribbean coasts flanking Mesoamerica offer expanses […]
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Dr. Lee Valenti, who like Huckleberry Finn fled from American consumerism’s attempts to “sivilize” her, has died in Panajachel. She was 82. The former literature professor left her job at New York’s Hoffstra University in 1975, after long involvement in anti-war, civil rights, and environmental movements. With her divorce complete and her children grown, she arrived in San Miguel Allende, […]
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A TOAST IN HONOR OF BROOKS Offered by Mark, Matt, David and Paul Thompson, Audrey’s sons (July 8, 2010) Brooks Buderus was a man of many loves, especially his love for his soul mate of over 40 years, his devoted wife—our mother, Audrey. Together they loved and lived life as a big adventure, an approach that brought them many delights, […]
Read moreThe Direccción General de las Artes del Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes and Hotel Casa Santo Domingo present the 2nd Festival de Música Antigua starting Saturday August 14 through Sunday 22. The festival features the musical groups Capilla de La Asunción, Coro Nacional, Ensamble Barroco de Guatemala, Dúo Galante from Mexico, Ganassi from Costa Rica and Santiago Players from the […]
Read more“Cute Lid City” might be what U.S. truckers would name Tapachula if they drove down this far. Why? Well, a tapa is a lid, and chula means cute. Long before truckers existed, the city was called the Pearl of Soconusco. You may or may not agree with this labeling. But if you are reading this, you have probably been to […]
Read moreMermaids appear in literature much after the fountain in Central Park was built by Diego de Porres in 1738. While today we might think of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid (1836), the fountain clearly pre-dates the fairytale. In using the Spanish word “sirenas,” we find sirens originally in Greek mythology that are often portrayed in later folklore as mermaid-like […]
Read morewritten by Dianne Carofino photos: George Carofino What makes a farm “organic,” one that grows organic produce? We put that question to Alex Kronick as we tour Caoba Farms, his five-acre organic farm on the outskirts of La Antigua Guatemala. Alex began his business six years ago, originally selling organic produce to one restaurant, and then quickly adding a second. […]
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Eight Spanish soldiers of fortune commanded by Capt. Pedro de Herrerías arrived in the valley of Tactic. They had been following the Cahabón River to its source, in the hope of finding the Fountain of Youth, which the Indians of Cozumel had told them was located in this area.
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Exactly where was the center of old Santiago? Traditionally the honor has been assumed to belong to the urban center of Ciudad Vieja, the Old City. But was it? Tropical storm Agatha raged throughout Guatemala in May, déjà vu of 9/11/1541 for the hard-hit area east of Ciudad Vieja. Weeks later, the church of San Miguel Escobar still sheltered people […]
Read moreI feel fortunate that my vocation offers me low-altitude air travel to the four corners of Guatemala. When I’m in a helicopter or small plane, or even at a window on an upper floor of a Zone 10 high rise in Guatemala City, I invariably carry away two impressions: Quauhtlemallan, from the 16th century Nahualt for “land of trees,” is […]
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There is a small corner of Cuba in La Antigua on 5a avenida, north of Los Arcos. Walk into Tabacos y Vinos, turn left at the entrance and face the glass-fronted case. Open the doors where the scents of the earthy Pinar del Rio, the Vuelta Abajo and other heady aromas of the finest cigars in the world are waiting […]
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Traveler, collector, Central America correspondent for Travel+Leisure, founder-owner of Quinta Maconda, awarded Nat.Geo.Traveller 50 Tours of a Lifetime 2008, Heaton’s Guatemala projects have been acknowledged by the international press for over two decades. How many years living in Guatemala? Almost a quarter of a century. Why the move to La Antigua? Guatemala was terra incognita: wild, unfashionable, yet terribly alluring […]
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And so August is upon us. As we look for our joy this month, our Joy Houston looks for the center of old Santiago. With new analysis techniques, recent excavations and research, it appears that Ciudad Vieja is probably not the true Old Town as traditionally thought. Full story on page 12. Our cover photo this month by Rudy Girón […]
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text and photos by Dr. Al Thompson What might one do with a garden wall constructed of block painted white, other than wonder what one might do with such a wall so common in Antigua? Frequently, your 10-foot wall has been challenged by new construction behind it, which may exceed yours by another eight or 10 feet. Yes. What might […]
Read morewritten by Asa Bjorklund and Judith Gibbons photos by Asa Bjorklund Have you ever “choked” in the face of an important competition? Many athletes have panicked and become paralyzed in the arena, even to the point of giving up sports they really liked. In June, Sandy Venneman, psychology professor and equestrian, visited Club Ecuestre La Ronda in Finca Azotea in […]
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Yes, emeralds are found in our jewelry stores, but only imported gems. Emerald, however, is a rich sight in the Highlands of Guatemala, especially now with the rainy season polishing the leaves and enriching the grasses. And yes, we’ve our own emerald stones too, the deep imperial of Guatemala’s very special jadeite jewelry, but it’s the deep green tones of […]
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written by Eduardo Linares Batres More than a quarter of a century ago, a pal of mine lucked into acquiring a Mercedes-Benz classic, a used-but-babied 300SL “Gullwing.” To say that this is one of the all-time, absolute greatest cars ever made is, in my opinion, an understatement. When it was introduced around 1952-3, it was as an all-out race car […]
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9 Fri., 7pm — BEAUTY CONTEST: Elección y Coronación de Señorita Antigua 2010-2011. Q50. Salón César Brañas 5a calle poniente # 44-A. 10 Sat., 2-5pm — DANCE: Folk dances featuring municipal dance groups. Salón César Brañas. 10 Sat., 8-4pm —ART: Outdoors Painting Festival. Central Park. 11 Sun., 7pm — MUSIC: Concert by Colectivo Dharana, Central Park. 16 Fri., 7pm — […]
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Showcases Mushrooms and Temescales If snack wrappers blemishing the Guatemalan countryside dishearten you, take heart. There are places you can go where litter is not only unseen, its demise is being plotted. They are snapshots of Guatemala’s glory before the modern container revolution. And, primero Dios, they are foretastes of the coming restoration of that glory. The revolution in question […]
Read moreSchumann, Wagner and Goethe met frequently to chat at Coffé Baum in Leipzig, Germany. Established in 1694 and Germany’s oldest coffee house, Coffé Baum still serves satisfied customers and includes a popular coffee museum on the third floor. In his spare time from his duties as choirmaster at Thomas Church in Leipzig, J.S. Bach composed his Coffee Cantata in 1732, […]
Read morewritten by Bob Makransky The only instance, in the entire Spanish conquest of the Americas, when the local chieftain was permitted to retain the power of government. By the year 1543, after several unsuccessful military expeditions against the warlike Q’eqchi’ Indians, the Spanish conquerors were desperate. At the same time, it had become evident to the chieftain of chieftains of […]
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Jerry Smith, who passed last month at 61, always reminded me of people I knew in college who were manifestly brighter than I was, yet liked me anyway, and listened to my opinions, and brought out the best in others. Centuries from now, children will still be pondering the faces of their ancestors, immortalized by Jerry and his longtime partner, […]
Read moreWhen you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror are you happy with the person who greets you? If you look yourself directly in the eye do you quickly look away? Before we put on our face and plunge into the day, what we see is who we are. Raw and exposed, we’re packaged up by the […]
Read moreLight begins to shine on buried treasure Not far from La Antigua’s Central Park lies a newly refurbished Guatemalan version of Ali Baba’s cave. Walk two blocks east on 5a calle, past the original University of San Carlos and what’s now a museum. Then another half block to the ornate wooden doors and the dark red-brick exterior with a small […]
Read moreWe all recall that Rodney Dangerfield’s one-liner, “I get no respect,” became his middle name. His fans (including me) suspected that before turning pro, Rodney worked countless, tedious day jobs. But there was (and still is) something that any man can do to summon for himself beaucoup respect, one that will knock him on his back— somewhat literally. I refer […]
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The oldest cookbook Carole has utilized, Lybro de Cocyna, which dates from 1844, is an anonymous compilation of recipes published by the University of San Carlos
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Mayan Hands is a small, fair-trade organization that has been working with Mayan artists since 1989. It works with approximately 200 weavers, organized in groups of 12 to 50 women in 11 western and northern Guatemalan highland communities. Its mission is to assist these women by providing the skills and markets necessary to earn a regular income, enabling them to provide for their families and gain control over their lives.
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