Category: Culture
Face to Face with El Cristo Negro
The most important day at the Basilica of Esquipulas is January 15, when many thousands of pilgrims flock from all over Latin America. Ask most Guatemaltecos what is in Chiquimula and you will invariably receive the reply: “El Cristo Negro,” often followed by, “That is all there is in Chiquimula …” Undaunted by such disparaging [...]
Xela feria has scope like none other in Guatemala
Xela’s annual feria came to a close the weekend of Sept. 17-18, and it was everything Guatemala has come to expect from the nation’s premiere Independence Day celebration. Everything offered won’t be new to a traveler who’s at least trolled the occasional market: fruit and knick-knacks, dance troupes and shows, and carnival rides that may [...]
Guatemala noisily celebrates its 190th birthday
Celebrating their nation’s 190th Independence Day, Guatemalans streamed into streets and central squares across the country on Thursday, Sept. 15, to enjoy parades, music, food and fireworks. Communities large and small marked the occasion with torch-bearing runners, drumbeats of school bands, concerts and speeches. Food vendors served a mouth-watering variety of dishes as locals and [...]
Arts patrons celebrate opening of XI annual Paiz International Festival of Art & Culture
Dozens of civic leaders, arts aficionados and business executives helped launch the XI annual Paiz International Festival of Art and Culture at a reception Thursday night, Feb. 10, at the Casa Santo Domingo in La Antigua. Guests mingled and listened a series of speakers at the hotel’s Galería Quiroa, where a retrospective of works by [...]
Children dance to raise scholarship funds
By Nancy Hoffman Niños con Bendición is a group of 16 children ages 6-13 who perform folk dances before various audiences to raise money for scholarships for their schooling and to help cover daily living expenses. Dressed in traditional traje from various Guatemala communities, the children enchanted patrons Saturday, Dec. 11, at La Peña del [...]
Nacimientos
While Santa Claus and Christmas trees may be symbols of the Christmas season, nacimientos (nativity scenes) are a Christmas custom the world over. Saint Francis of Assisi built the first one in 1223 after returning from a trip to Bethlehem. It quickly became a tradition and spread throughout the Catholic world, including Spain. The Spanish [...]
Social Experiment
Joshua Bell plays Bach at a Metro Station in Washington, D.C. on a cold, January morning The man with a violin played six Bach pieces in about 45 minutes. During that time approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After three minutes a middle-aged man noticed there [...]
Traditional Kite Making in Santiago Sacatepéquez
“Diamond” kites range up to 10 meters in diameter and have a diamond-shaped frame and long tails. “Moon” kites are large circles of bamboo framing with a circular center, and range from 10 to 15 meters in diameter.
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