HOME MADE FLOATIES

There is a saying I love: "No necesito tecomates para nadar" I don't need gourds to swim, meaning you are self sufficient or confident to do your own thing. The expression comes from using gourds as floaties to swim.

In this pic a boy en Santiago Atitlan swimming with modern gourds: two empty double liter bottles of soda tied with a string.

Chow Mein Tostadas

I have heard about them but never eaten one. Yesterday I ate two. They have become a staple to be found with street food vendors. They are cheap, filling and easy eat... no forks required. This one was prepared by Blanquita was gracious to feed us at the posada she received her house!

17 years old in Guatemala.

Yesterday I went to purchase my Christmas tree at a farm and met this boy in the picture.

The story: He is from Alta Verapaz works in Chimaltenango (about 9 hour travel going through the city). He has been working in the farm for 1 year (and seemed contet with it) They do about three 3-month engaments. He lives at the farm with 50-100 men, they plant, trim and cut trees.

He finished 7th grade and says he wants to study but with this type of work he can't and probably never will.
I talked to him about a high school program on the radio and he seemed interested, since in his dialect he yelled at his friend the frequency of the station. Will he be driven enough to find out? Will he be encouraged by his peers? At work will they let him go register?

It takes a personal commitment of everyone in Guatemala to raise the level of education of our Nation. We all know someone who is not schooled and some of us, if we have people working for us, do even more. Ourselves and our companies need to commit to setting the conditions to raise the education level of those who work with us.

Echando el Lustre

At corner in Zone 1..... Morning ritual. Some start the day with a Starbucks others with a shoe shine.

Breakfast at Central Market

Guatemala city is a very often skipped destination for most tourists, yet there are many places to enjoy and experience the local feel.

In the picture having breakfast with friends at the multilevel Mercado Central in Zone one Guatemala city. Women call in customers as they pass by people, lottery ticket vendors walking through the aisles and an athmosphere of commerce!

Great way to start the day then walk through produce vendors sorrounded by color, then move up one floor to the handcrafts level.

San Isidro

At the Colonial Museum of Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua this image of San Isidro is found.
That of course reminds me of the nursery rhyme:
"San Isidro labrador
Quita el Agua y pon el sol."

A rhyme said by kids like: rain, rain, go away.....

Dr. Pepper

At Paiz... Hmm. Not the way to fight hunger but a fun surprise to find them at my local Guatemala supermarket.

Farmers Market

Now I don't have to miss out on safe and clean farmers markets like the one in Boulder and Lawrence we used to go. Commercial Centers are welcoming on Saturdays vendors with fresh produce!
This farmers market at Cayala Zone 16.

Blackberries from Sumpango

Grown in Sumpango, Chimaltenango, hand picked,

  head carried (with baby on back) and shipped to the US. 

These berries will be in a supermarket near you by noon tomorrow.

 All with the technical help of the government of Taiwan.

Independence Parade Sumpamgo

Band of young and older kids playing Dancing Queen!!!

Guatemala vs Antigua and Barbuda

This is the game in Guatemala last friday, today the same game in Antigua and Barbuda hopefully with less water. Going for Brasil 2014...
This picture: Mateo Flores Stadium Guatemala City.

Always appalling

This is a scene always appaling. As I have said before there is something in our culture that makes us not value life strong enough... Are we not aware of our dignity?

El patio de mi casa...

This patio in a restaurant in Antigua with this gorgeous "pila" reminded me of this children's rhyme:

El patio de mi casa no es particular, se lava y se plancha como los demas...

The yard in my house is not a particular one, there is washing and ironing like in any other one....

Hondurean Casabe

A sincretic Casabe brought by my feminist friend Pili. I say sincretic because of the way we are eating it with cheese an asparragus. I also say sincretic because it is the word of the day from the feminist course we arein. That is how we modern and post modern women are.

Anyway Casabe is a flat bread made of yuca ( a root). A garifuna dish prepared with butter and garlic powder.

It is yummy, thanks Pili!

MORENITAS

I always thought it was Morenitas not Morenitos. I guess is the feminist in me.
Once you unwrap them they look like a peanut thus a peanut taste might be expected.

Anyway have not seen these candy for a while. They brought me back to my childhood. The are milk candy, kind if dulce the leche but hard.

They are good and as far as I know or want to know they are Guatemalan made by the factory "Gallito". Morenita means "Tan".

Then I stood corrected and it turned out it is a Costa Rican factory. And I was also reminded about the morenitAs ice-cream. Will blog about them another day.

Medalla de plata. Silver Medal

All Guatemala and Guatemalans are celebrating the first Olympic Silver Medal of Guatemala by our National Hero Erick Barrondo. On the light the scrolling announcement of the "medalla de PLATA"

Erick Barrondo of Guatemala got the silver, the first medal of any color at any games for that country. He said he hoped it would inspire people in his violence-ridden home country.

"It is a country that has suffered much, but that also has dreams," he said. "If somebody tomorrow changes a gun or a knife for a pair of shoes and begins to train for a sport, I would be the happiest person on earth."

Barrondo, who bought a TV for the family so they could watch him compete in the Olympics, called the medal "the greatest blessing that life has given me."

Book:Terrorizing Women - Femicide in Guatemala

Click on the image to be taken to the post I wrote about this book and especifically the contribution of Guatemalan lawyer, academic and pro women activist  Hilda Morales Trujillo.

Hotel Puente Viejo Jalapa

Very nice hotel in Jalapa. Has a nice conference room were we shared a workshop with teachers and principals from the area. Clean, spacious areas, nice restaurant and friendly people!

Jumay Volcano

Volcan Jumay is in Jalapa. Jalapa is called The Oriental Climatological city by its locals. The weather today in fact was perfect about 75 degrees with some breeze.

Ana Sofia Gomez

Fabuolous image in El PERIODICO. Ana Sofia Gomez Guatemalan gymast qualified today for the next round.

ARTURITO

Arturito is the classical name for a parrot. Sure enough this one is called Arturito. He waves hello with his foot and also says HOLA except that I missed the shot.

This parrot reminded me of the story my mom always told about a parrot, names Arturito, of course, that they had growing up. Arturito used to wake them up. HUGO! JULIO! JUANITA! LEVANTENSE! ( Hugo, Julio, Juanita wake up!) . He also new a couple of obscene words which of course he called out whenever there was company. My uncles always claimed the parrot learned those awful words in the previous home he lived in.

Four in a motorcycle

On a Sunday the whole family jumps on the motorcycle to make a MacDonald's run. This is a clear example of what many Guatemalan choose to do everyday to to a lack of a safe and functional public tranportation system.

I believe in Guatemalans!

This is a photo and a moment worth sharing. A view of Zone 10, Guatemala City. On the front of Oakland Mall a sticker that says "I believe" and a rainbow over the city, which to me it is a reminder of the many colors of Guatemalans which TOGETHER can shine splendidly!!
I believe in Guatemalans... :)

JOSE BARNOYA GARCIA

Dr. Barnoya was born in Guatemala city, January 23rd 1931. Medical Doctor from the University of San Carlos and postgraduate studies in Boston and New York in Urology. He performed the first kidney transplant in Guatemala.

He is know for being one of the main promoter of the "Huelga de Dolores" a parody put together by University students of San Carlos de Guatemala that comes out as a parade on the last friday of lent.

He is an absolutely charming man involved fully in life! We met him and took this picture at Sophos when he was presenting his book "Last Words". It also so happens that my daughter Megan goes to school with one of his grandsons!

Below the cover of the  wonderful collection of short stories in his book "Ultimas Palabras"  by José Barnoya García.

Page 92: The Irony

You can be proud, the inform revealed it is man, he has a cromosome X and a cromosome Y . Thirty three years later he was buried as XX.



QUINCHO BARRILETE

This little barrio store called my attention for the name: Quincho Barrilete. Quincho Barrilete was the protagonist of the winning song of the Song Festival OTI 1977. Quincho was  a poor but happy and free boy.






De la marimba de chavalos de la Tirsa 
From the many children of Tirsa
este tal Quincho se las gana a los demás 
This so called Quincho beat everyone else
con sus diez años no cumplidos todavía 
Almost 10 years old
es hombre serio, como pocos en su edad. 
he is a serious man, like few of his age

Mientras su mama se penquea en la rebusca 
While his mom beat herself up to find a job
Quincho se faja como todo un tayacán 
Quincho works hard like a mule
mañana y tarde vende bolis en los buses 
morning and afternoon sell candies in the buses
para que puedan sus hermanos estudiar. 
So that his brothers and sisters can go to school.


Que viva Quincho, Quincho Barrilete, 
Hail to Quincho, Quincho Barrilete,
héroe infantil de mi ciudad, 
Child hero of my city
que vivan todos los chavalos de mi tierra, 
Hail to all the children of my country
ejemplo vivo de pobreza y dignidad. 
a vivid example of poverty and dignity

Que viva Quincho, Quincho Barrilete 
Hail to Quincho, Quincho Barrilete
su nombre, no se olvidará, 
his name will never be forgotten
porque en las calles, plazas, parques y barriadas 
because through street, plazas, parks and barrios
el pueblo lo repetirá. 
the people will repeat it.

Joaquín Carmelo viene a ser solo un membrete 
Joaquín Carmelo comes to be only a badgeque
 le pusieron en la pila bautismal, 
The gave it to him on baptismpero su nombre de combate es Barrilete 
but his combat name is Barrilete (kite)le cae al pelo, con su personalidad. 
his hair goes with his personality
Allá en el Open, vive desde el terremoto, 
Over there in the Open lives since the earthquakea 
hacer lechuzas este Quincho es un campeón, 

por un chelín, te hace un cometa prodigioso 

para ponerle un telegrama al colochón. 


El tiempo sigue, incontenible, su camino 
Time goes on cannot stop its kathy 
el chavalito que vivió en el Open tres 
and the kid that lived in the Open number 3
no volvera a ponerse más pantalon chingo 
won`t wear short pants anymore
ni la gorrita con la visera al revés. 
nor his cap backwards

Un dia va a enrrollar la cuerda del cometa 
One day he will roll up the string of his comet
y muy feliz mirando al sol se marchará 
and happy looking at the sun he will walk away
enfrentará las realidades de su pueblo 
he will face the reality of his people
y con los pobres de su patria luchará.
and with the poor of his country he will fight

TENGO COLCHON

A typical mattress store in Avenida Bolivar Guatemala City

While doing some planning today I said the extra five days before the actual delivery will be our "colchón". Colchón  literally mattress and in this context is used like "time buffer".

The same would go for having money buffer. I am maybe guessing it comes from the tradition of keeping the money saved in your colchón.

GUASTATOYA CENTRAL PARK, DEPARTMENT OF EL PROGRESO

This is the central park of the city of Guastatoya which is the "cabecera", capital, of the department of El Progreso. El Progreso is in east of the country and is  one of the least populated department with less than 200,000 people.

Church of San Felipe

This is the church if San Felipe 2 km north of Antigua Guatemala completed by 1930. My memory of it is going (by car) up a steep hill for 2 long kilometers to a big church with a permanent fair infront. The hill is not as steep anymore the two kilometers ante shorter and the church smaller, yet the excitement of getting there remains. Two reasons to go there or through there (besides the obvious one of visiting the church which by the way is the home of the famous XXVII century image of "Senor Sepultado de San Felipe):

1 To buy hand made clay coin banks shaped as fruits or secret wood boxes.

2 Go through there on the way to Finca Filadelfia

J

Symphonic Orchestra of the Guatemalan Conservatory

Delighted by the music sorrounded by mayan stelles at the Museum of Archeology. An awareness and fundraising event of the Guatemalan Association for Autism.

Mangoes and Coconuts

On our way to Cancun, this is fruit shop waits for travelers a top of Rio Dulce bridge. The bridge stretches for 900mts and is the longest one in Guatemala. It brings together the Peten and the rest of Guatemala. Rio Dulce Bridge refered as the Colossus of Izabal was built in 1977.

Mayan women figurines

At the museum of Archeology and Ethnology in Guatemala city this figurines are like nothing I have seen before. They were found at arqueological site Mirador, Peten.

THE EQUINOX OF SPRING

On the equinox of spring I give you a picture of a rug of jacarandas the quintessential sign of primavera in Guatemala.

HOJA de la SUERTE - LUCKY LEAF-

I am at the Cooperacion Espanola Training Center, at Antigua Guatemala and I was attracted by this common green in Guatemala. It is called Hoja de la Suerte, meaning Lucky Leaf. Maybe I was particullarly attracted today because I feel so lucky to be in the training I am at, exercising my right to education!!

The ROJOS

The Rojos is the name for the soccer team Municipal from the professional league.
Here in the picture they are in their rutinary daily training at Estadio el Trebol.
Fans of Los Rojos are usually also fans of El Barca team of Spain.
The "clasico" is the game of the Rojos vrs Cremas... an iconic rivalry.

Break dancer.

Five kids that you could tell they were really from the slums were entertaining people at Pasos y Pedales (a weekend pedestrian street) in Guatemala city.
They were working hard but I could tell people were torn as to what to feel: fear or amusement.
I was thrilled, good job kids! 'Breaking' all barriers!!!