Guatemala English language Magazine
Many factors influenced Guatemala’s first building boom Poet Robert Burns was voted Greatest Scot of All Time in 2009. Burns was born in 1759 in a thatch-roof cottage built by his father and lived there for seven years, a hard life of farming and poverty. He went on to live a fast life of carousing and died at age 37. […]
Read more
Coconut palm…royal palm… date palm…coyol palm…uh, coyol palm? WordWeb Online calls it a tropical American palm with edible nuts and yielding useful fiber. In some countries of Central America, especially Costa Rica and Honduras, it is known for the sweet liquid that flows inside its trunk and is extracted to drink as a 100 per cent natural liquor. Be careful, […]
Read moreLawyers may not be the most hated profession, even though entire books of lawyer jokes exist. Every non-lawyer has a war story about a run-in with a lawyer, whether here or in the old country. But if non-lawyers disdain lawyers, whom do lawyers pick on? Tax collectors, perhaps. Maybe I will write a book of tax-collector jokes for the lawyer […]
Read more
Artist Rosamaría Pascual de Gámez stands with her latest mural, “…so you can compare the size with an average person.” The painting now hangs in the baptistery of the Cathedral of Santa Cruz del Quiché, the second of her works there and the 18th mural she has donated to Guatemala churches. At five square meters, this is among her smaller […]
Read moreIn 1928, Mildred Covill Palmer took a little trip—that spanned a lifetime! written by William C. Paddock The first North American to restore and live in an Antigua home was one of the most remarkable people this town has ever known. Mildred Covill, born in Iowa in 1898 had, by the time she was 16, been a soloist on the […]
Read moreWe position our thoughts around three points—the past, the future and the present, which is tightly squeezed in between. A quirk of ours is to orbit around the past. Living in the past, we rehash, recreate and regret. Although the past makes us sad or even mad, it’s often preferable to the future, which usually makes us scared. There’s no […]
Read more
Thirteen Threads (www.thirteenthreads.org), a Maya women’s educational program based in Panajachel, is putting on its first International Women’s Day event. Representatives from each of its 22 participating Maya women’s groups will display their weavings and natural products. There will be live music, talks by indigenous women leaders, a mini-workshop on natural dyeing of fibers, free yoga class, a raffle with […]
Read moreHoly Week Vistas by Nelo Mijangos
Read more
Holy Week, Semana Santa
Read moreCuaresma/Lent Vistas
Read more
Though this is a Revue anniversary issue, to keep things in perspective, the cover Cucurucho by Iván Castro symbolizes the incredible grandeur of Holy Week in Guatemala. But even before there were religious processions and celebrations, Joy Houston takes us back in time to Turning Points. The year was 1541 and “thatched-roof shelters went up all over in Santiago de […]
Read more
Bohemian Breakfast — two eggs, country potatoes and bacon scramble, served with a toasted bagel and your choice of a cigarette or a multivitamin at Bagel Barn (inside front cover) Típico Panchoy — eggs ranchero, refried beans, sausage or ham, white cheese, fried plantains, cream, orange juice, bread or tortillas, coffee or tea at Café Panchoy (page 73) Pancakes Andrés […]
Read moreValentine’s Day (Feb. 14) is celebrated by many people throughout the world. In English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other with Valentine’s Day cards (winged cupids are among the favorites), flowers and special dinners. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800s. The history of St. Valentine—its patron saint—is shrouded in mystery. Valentine’s […]
Read morewritten by Ralph Anske The American Society of Guatemala (ASG) was founded on June 14, 1960 by a group of American citizens residing in Guatemala. The society was created to provide a focal point to strengthen community ties and provide an institution to represent the interests of its members. It helps them contribute in situations where citizens of the United […]
Read morePanajachel is firstly a walking city. If you drive in it, you soon tire of the paucity of two-way streets. And every rocky contour of those streets registers on the pant-seat of every chicken-bus rider. Tuktuks look fun, until you actually ride in one. And much of Pana is not overly bike-friendly. So, unless pogo sticks catch on, feet remain the preferred vehicle.
Read more
A rewarding excursion to Guatemala’s first winery to produce wine from locally-grown grapes since colonial times text and photos by Ira Lewis Hidden behind a coffee finca on the lower slopes of volcano El Agua is the first winery to produce wine from Guatemalan-grown grapes since colonial times: Chateau DeFay. Jacques and Angie DeFay recently presented their first vintage after […]
Read more
Learning a new language is neither for the timid nor the middle-aged. Many afternoons I thought that my brain was overheating and sending smoke out my ears
Read moreThe making of the mural was inspired by the Popol Vuh. The Popol Vuh is a sacred book of the K’iche’ Maya and narrates the creation of vegetation, animals, the first man made from corn, and, afterwards, the origin of the K’iche’ Maya.
Read more“The indigenous seem to understand instinctively what I want from them; we communicate with looks and gestures. The most important thing is empathy and mutual trust. This is a formula that has never failed me.”
—Los Todos Santeros, Hans Namuth,
The Festival Atitlán returns for its 9th year, once again celebrating springtime with music, dance, theatre, graphic art displays and workshops, plus a great kid section, and a promise of a beautiful day with family and friends outdoors on the shores of Lake Atitlán. As is the custom, the proceeds are donated to a local good works project. In the […]
Read moreQueso fresco, queso de capas, queso de Jalapa, queso de Petén, queso de Taxisco: it’s all here, deep down in the lower levels of the Mercado Central in Zone One of Guatemala City.
Read moreWe were given two hands to hold, two legs to walk, two eyes to see—but why only one heart, some ask? Romantics like to believe it’s because the second heart was given to someone else for us to find. This creates warm, fuzzy feelings of optimism. The search for the “other” is fueled by Hollywood, literature and lyrics—it’s the stuff […]
Read more
Our town of La Antigua and the Guatemalan Highlands send valentines to their lovers this month through each of the senses. Elegant long-stemmed red roses go out from local growers to all Europe and the Americas, and the roses not exported fill the markets for local romantics. Rich red bougainvillea vines spill over the white walls, dainty red fuchsia hang […]
Read more
Deciding where your next dining out experience is going to take place entails some decisions. What kind of food do you and your companions feel like indulging in? Gourmet? Local? International? What price range? What kind of ambience? Formal? Casual? Breakfast or lunch? Dinner here, dessert there? The decisions become even tougher when there are so many wonderful eateries to […]
Read more
To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy. —Henri Cartier-Bresson
Read more
101 photographers responded with submissions for our 7th Annual Revue Photo Issue, and what an assortment of wonderful, beautiful, amusing, touching and creative images we received. Again this year it was extremely difficult choosing only one from each photographer, and we will be publishing some of the extras over the next few months. Our heart-felt thanks go out to all […]
Read moreby Betsy Cerezo AnEcho is celebrating its first anniversary! La Antigua’s Educational Cultural Home Office is much more than a conventional community center. Because of Antigua’s international populous, AnEcho has been able to weave a multi-faceted program to include not just our retired and semi-retired foreign nationals, also our Antigüeño neighbors, tourists, Salvemos Antigua members, and even Guatemala City dwellers. […]
Read more
An evening of piano music with Roman Rudnytsky Tuesday, December 8, 7:00 p.m. Teatro Dick Smith, IGA, ruta 1, 4-05, zone 4, Guatemala City Sponsored by the U.S. Embassy Admission free Roman Rudnytsky is an American concert pianist of Ukrainian background and a graduate of the world-renowned Juilliard School for music, dance, and drama, in New York. As of 2009, […]
Read more
The mission of Thirteen Threads is to empower organized groups of indigenous women to bring about changes, through their own efforts, that will alleviate the adverse effects of poverty and improve their quality of life.
Read moreAll year he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on helpless mortals. But on Monday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. sharp, the devil gets his comeuppance, as he is tossed out of the house along with the trash and set ablaze in the Quema del Diablo (Burning the Devil), a tradition in many Guatemalan towns that literally sparks the beginning of the Christmas season. —Juan Carlos Ordóñez
Read more