Guatemala English language Magazine
Could two common weeds hold the keys to Guatemala’s independence from petroleum imports? Chances are you’ve seen them, just not recognized them as you drive about Guatemala, especially since one flourishes in the coastal lowlands and the other is widespread in the highlands.
Read moreMore than beautiful stone mansions, these were homes of real people with real lives, joys, and sorrows. In Michener’s Poland (1983), a professor who clung to life in a concentration camp pleaded, “Rebuild! Rebuild!” as “the most important thing to do when this nightmare ends…an act of faith, an act of commitment to the future…a testimony to the greatness we […]
Read moreThere is beauty and mystery in your garden around the clock written by S.C. Johnson Day Time You have a pretty good idea of what is going on in your daytime garden, since every day you can watch the main attractions. They include hummingbirds and butterflies, lured by the modern trend of planting hummingbird and butterfly “friendly” plants and flowers. […]
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Building new lives in Guatemala written by Brian Kirkup Constru Casa was founded in 2004, and by the end of 2010 we hope to have built our 400th home. The houses are basic but effective, consisting of three rooms, concrete walls, a metal roof, a concrete floor, a shower and a toilet. The cost of the house to the family […]
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I certainly didn’t expect to get a free lesson of what I call Chapiñol, it is maybe 50 percent Spanish and 50 percent Chapinismos. His name was Miguel and he started throwing phrases like: tengo un gran clavo or me echan el muerto. I simply replied yes and/or no, but in truth I had no idea what he was talking about, “I have a big nail” What ???
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Here come Guatemala’s Fireflies: It must be May, or is it? written by S.C. Johnson All seafarers know the importance of light, as in lighthouse or beacon. Before GPS, charts showed lights sequences, say one short and two long flashes of lights followed by darkness, and if the navigator spotted the right sequence, he knew where he was. Lighthouses were […]
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written by S.C. Johnson Sometime, before my time, I believe it was in the 1930s when minds were preoccupied with the Great Depression, everybody had to have a national or a state flower. Now mostly, nobody even knows what they are. I was at a British pub quiz night recently and our Swedish team member had no idea what the […]
Read moreOne criticism of columnists is that too often, we cover old ground. When we run out of real ideas, we attempt to build bridges to Readerland on rainy, or writer’s-blocked, days with off-the-shelf topics. I have read more than one column about coffee, for instance. Everyone has experience with coffee, so it is as safe a topic as you can […]
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Breathe deep and enjoy some of the rich scents of this Lenten season! Enjoy the odors of Holy Week, with two pungent yet pleasant smells standing out in your memory. Use all your senses at the processions. See the colors of the carpets and vestments, hear the funereal bands and shuffle of feet, taste the incense smoke in the mouth, […]
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Patrimonio de La Antigua Guatemala This book was produced in order to promote the rescue and appreciation of the Ermita de El Calvario at La Antigua Guatemala. It is dedicated to Santo Hermano Pedro who lived in the Ermita and was canonized in July 2002. Spanish language, 156 pages, color plus black and white photographs, fully indexed; cover water color […]
Read moreMany 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. […]
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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 […]
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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 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 […]
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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 […]
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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 moretext and photos by Dorothy Kethler Las Manos (The Hands), Los Cuates (Buddies), Talleres (Metal Workers), Areneros (Sand Diggers), Las Muñecas (The Dolls), Los Dragones (The Dragons), these are a few of the 36 soccer teams participating in the Barrio Norte Soccer Project. Every Saturday and Sunday the raucous cheers and thuds of the games can be heard throughout the […]
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‘‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa, Not a creature was stirring ¡Caramba! ¿Qué pasa? Los niños were tucked away in their camas, Some in long underwear, some in pijamas, While hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado, In hopes that old Santa would feel obligado, To bring all children, both buenos and malos, A nice batch of dulces and other regalos. […]
Read moreMy partner and I are architectural tourists. We are captivated by old houses and love to view them through a lens of culture and history. We came here to learn how history and domestic life merged to create the houses of this old Spanish colonial city.
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Nicaraguan ultra-marathon not for the faint of heart… literally. One word sums it up: extreme. A new ultra-marathon in Nicaragua is drawing the most audacious of athletes to its volcanic island of Ometepe. Fuego y Agua 100k and 50k is Isla de Ometepe’s first-ever racing event, challenging true adventure seekers to summit not one, but two looming volcanoes … by […]
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Here’s a challenge for November — find the heliotrope. It’s there, around us, hidden among the rainbow of prolific colors in the Guatemalan spectrum, in weavings, on some walls, along the roadways. I said heliotrope, mind you, not fuchsia, indigo, lilac, mauve, periwinkle, or any of those other shades of violet that are also to be found in the Highlands. […]
Read moreA chat with Vida Amor De Paz, Guatemala’s crusader for protecting the planet Her smile is electric. Her energy is vibrant. Her achievements … inspiring. My brief interview with Vida Amor De Paz has certainly left me with a powerfully affecting impression. I am new to Guatemala and can claim no more than five months of exploring the country and […]
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A visit to the lesser known ruins Come walk with me down Calle Paradoja. We call it that for convenience, for its short name is Pasaje del Muy Venerable Hermano Pedro de Bethancourt al Lado de la Iglesia de San Francisco which tells you where it isn’t and how you can get lost seeking it from such precise directions. We are […]
Read moreA sensuous high comes throughout October and into November as colors swirl and sounds swish around the city and countryside. It’s the season for big and small kites, with big and small people on the ground holding on to strings while their creations soar above—or come crashing down to drape trees and wires with pastel colors that may hang limp […]
Read moreGiving up is simply not an option for La Antigua Guatemala’s Rock Climbing Club. Despite more than 18 months without receiving allotted funds, the club still climbs on. Before January 2008, the government largely supported the Climbing Association of Sacatepéquez (AANSAC). Now, club leader Felipe Álvarez says although the government’s Climbing Foundation is still responsible for supporting climbing clubs, these […]
Read moreby Judith Cohen An expert’s view on how honey and bees are faring in Guatemala Alejandro Nicol is an expert in the honey business. After studying beekeeping for two years at Ohio State University, he now advises the Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación (MAGA) on the care, feeding, export, import and preservation of bees. I met him at the […]
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Last month included the first annual Antigua Invitational Golf Tournament. Played at the spectacular Mayan Golf Club overlooking Lake Amatitlán, the format was “scramble” with four-person teams. The competition was fierce but the lunch gathering afterwards was amiable with prizes for longest drives, closest to the pin, and of course for the lowest scoring team who posted a 65. If […]
Read morePart III: University of San Carlos Medical School By the end of the 17th century, six hospitals had been founded in Guatemala. But, lacking scientific information and methods, hospitals provided little more than refuge or asylum. Sickness and cultural attitudes toward it were a social problem. In addition, the times were characterized by conflict between the king’s people and the […]
Read moreGiven his age, 75, you’d think anthropologist Robert Hinshaw would want to settle back with one of those Scandanavian vodkas he occasionally enjoys and retire to his Colorado mountain retreat. Instead, he wants to make a difference in this world, as “payback” for all he’s received. He explains: “Gilbert White, the late geographer and a great mentor, laid this challenge […]
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