SHARPENED KNIVES, SHADY STREETS

Shady street historic downtown of Guatemala

Well, it looks like moi et other expats have been running into "convites" here in Guatemala, which are sort of like very friendly parades with people, acrobats, puppeteers and street performers wearing all sorts of costumes. An old tradition. I don't know--yet--what they're supposed to be doing or why, but they are fun to watch and local people like them a lot. Below a picture of some.

Convite dancers

Last night we went to a punk rock concert and the band was Die Toten Hosen, musicians from Germany who've just sold over 22 million copies of their latest CD. I had never before heard of them, but our German friend young Petersen convinced us to go with him. Once there ran into other friends. Turns out the band has a huge following in Latin America and Europe.

The concert had a very mixed crowd, huge crowd of German expats, another crowd of German-Guatemalans, and then another crowd of people from pretty much all over the world. People of all ages too, older crowd, young teen crowd, and anything in between. I will post a YouTube video of one of the songs they played last night, though this isn't from that concert.



Anyhow, we all had a great time. My neck and shoulder blades are still aching, though. Like, a lot. Lots of jumping and head-banging. At my age!

The musicians' message (in an admixture of English, Spanish and German) was anti-racist and pacifist in nature. They also steered us all to the stands selling German weiners slathered in curry sauce. Sorry to skip that, but there were long lines and the City Government had prohibited the sale of beer (a punk-rock concert with no beer? In what world???).

So we all ended at a nice Chinese restaurant afterwards. There was excellent service, good food, we were happy campers.

The knife-sharpening man

One of the bad things of living here is that, although one is less at risk, there is always the fear of being kidnapped or robbed. Hence, one is careful not to display anything that can be construed as wealth, not to use the same ATM all the time, not to take the same route every day, etc. These are simple common-sense behaviors, but many forget to keep to them. I haven't been robbed, but still. Doesn't hurt to be cautious.

One of the good things is that people still come to one's door to deliver everything. I buy fruit from the fruit vendor who comes to my door, same for my freshly milked goats' milk, the shoe-shiner, the car-washer and even the knife-sharpening man (a sweet old man), who in the picture is sharpening my printmaking blades and woodcarving knives. He sharpens scissors and such as well. The man charges around fifty US cents per blade and around US$1 per knife.

At my art school they've taught us how to sharpen our own instruments. Alas, I am lazy, and the knife-sharperner is happy for the work, so all's well that ends well.

Shady street, Historic Downtown of Guatemala

Talking of which, been meeting more and more expats here, from all over the world, mostly from Europe, Canada and the US. To the locals, in general, we're all "gringos." This can have negative or positive connotations, depending upon the case. Most of the anti-American sentiment I have encountered is mainly expressed in trite scrawlings on walls. Yet it is interesting to see how many expats are actually working here and the jobs they have.

I was visiting a private hospital a couple weeks ago and there was a US nurse there! Europeans and Japanese seem to arrive with a job already set, mostly in NGOs or some sort of government exchange position. I love it when Japanese people stay with us because not only are they super nice people, exquisitely polite, but they have the coolest electronics EVER! And I get to practice the few words of Japanese I know.

Most Canadian's I have met are teaching English at private high schools or language schools. Some US expats too. Met a couple teaching at local universities (as I will be doing next year) and others have opened pubs or some sort of eatery. If out of funds, they're bartenders. Several are into trade and export, and others manage research labs, call centers, maquilas or hostels. And, of course, those working for NGOs. Israelis tend to work in security and there are thousands of Korean immigrants here.

Globalization at work, I guess. And so it goes. Below, a gazebo built in the 19th century, still standing in a nearby park.

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In the Historic Center of Guatemala

A NERD GETS A JOB IN GUATEMALA

Arc of Centro Cultural Metropolitano

I just read a post on the interesting blog  Mother Guilt, which I really identified with.  The author writes that she has had to stop listening to NPR because the news make her feel terrible about the plight of others, helpless and hopeless as well.

This happens to me as an expat, because in order to "not miss out" with what is happening "out there," I pretty much read everything:  The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Picayune, The Wall Street Journal, the Sun Sentinel, etc. plus check out the online news for the BBC, CNN, etc.  I also read a couple of European papers.  Magazines too, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly ...

Centro Cultural Metropolitano

All in all, I feel very well-informed and always in a state of despair about the plight of the suffering of this world.  I mean, I really am, yet besides keeping myself informed and helping out in the minimal ways I can, there isn't much to be done.  So I end up feeling angst and a sort of guilt.

I do get angry, if I think about it, at the US spending money abroad--especially in fighting what I see as hopeless wars--that should be spent at home in education and job development.  But I have come to realize that the war industry is like the drug industry; there is too much money and blood lust involved for there to be any immediate solution to the problem.  What to do?

Centro Cultural Metropolitano

Perhaps just concentrate in the more easily solvable problems.  To me, that means going local. I don't think I'll ever stop caring about the world, but I have curtailed my omniverous news reading and, since I don't really watch TV, I have become slowly yet increasingly uninformed about the world at large.

In consequence, I seem to be in better spirits. Ignorance is bliss. Sort of, at least.

Every time I see headlines on conflicts in the Middle East I have to stop myself from clicking on the news link, but I do. Almost by biting my hand. I don't know, anymore, what is going down in Israel/Palestine or how many young soldiers died in Afghanistan today. I don't know, either, what the situation is today in Honduras, but I rest assured it is probably the same as weeks ago. Dare I say I don't particularly lose any sleep about Honduras?

Talking of local ...

Centro Cultural Metropolitano

I accepted last week a short-term job with the government, more specifically, the City of Guatemala. I am now part of a team working on a project of recovery and support, using sustainable ways, of one of the old neighborhoods of the Historic Center in Guatemala: Barrio San Sebastian, built in the 18th Century.  The other team members are historians, architects, anthropologists and other such scholars.

Barrio San Sebastian was never one of the toniest neighborhoods, even in its heyday. It's church isn't among the grandest or prettiest. Yet the neighborhood is rich in history and culture, and most of the families living there are generations-long residents. It's a beautiful project which will entail lots of work in these short weeks, which is one of the reasons it has been hard for me to get to the blog.

I enjoy that, unlike many gentrifying projects, this one concentrates on keeping its original inhabitants put. I also enjoy that I work from home. The offices where the team will hold its meetings are BEAUTIFUL (in the Centro Cultural Metropolitano, see pix) and that I can walk there.

I won't dwell on the project itself, because it is in progress with the ultimate goal of producing published work, so we don't want to spoil the end result. But I am happy working on it and when all is done, it will be lovely. Great things happening downtown.

Centro Cultural Metropolitano

Another time-constraint has been that, since my Spanish blog was the topic of a 2-page Sunday-edition spread in one of the best local papers, my already busy social (night)life has become quite hectic, to say the least. I go out practically every single night. This is when my dissertation chair chose to send me material to incorporate into the dissertation, so the busy-ness index shows exponential growth!

I had to drop out of presenting my works at the end-of-year student show in my art school because there was simply no way, no way, I would be able to get the works finished enough on time for the exhibit. Since I remain assured that I have no viable future as an artist, I am not worried about the effect that this may have on such a future!

So besides teaching a course at the graduate program of a Jesuit university here in Summer 2010, I have taken on this short-term project.  I now consider myself gainfully employed.  I shall have enough funds for more books, pencils and paintbrushes.

Centro Cultural Metropolitano

The other night went to dinner at Arrin Cuan, a famous and popular Guatemalan restaurant which specializes in traditional ("typical" as they call them here) food.  We went with a friend from Germany doing his dissertation research here, and we all ate as if we were famished and there would be no food again for a long time.  We ordered a special sample plate for two; it was enough for four, and it was delicious.

TONS of great food and drinks, for about US$40 for all of us. This included nachos with black beans, nachos with guacamole, empanadas, and more.

Typical Guatemalan foods at Arrin Cuan: 

Tamales, Kak'ik, Subanic, Jocón and Hilachas (shredded beef).

Not all is fun and food here, of course. The country suffers from the kind of violence endemic in countries with high indexes of poverty and insecurity.  My maid and the inn's housekeepers have constant problems finding reliable urban public transportation because, lately, the city's bus drivers are on strike.

Bus drivers and their assistants keep getting murdered by mareros---and at this point, probably by any marero-wannabe copycats--and there isn't much concern shown either by authorities or most of the business camp.  This state of affairs has become so commonplace that not a day goes by when at least one (but often more) bus drivers have been killed.  No wonder they keep striking.

Call me deluded, but I suspect that the lack of action by the authorities is related to the fact that this problem mainly affects the poor and, as is the case worldwide, the issues of the poor (even when they are the majority of the population), don't really take precedence when it comes to allocating resources.

House Facade, Barrio San Sebastian

I am relatively safe because I don't need to use city buses, I have a Jeep and--ironically--because I walk to most places I go. Since I cannot even vote in Guatemala, there isn't much I can do, except feel sad.

That is one good thing about having cars here:  Much shorter distances. Hence, small amounts of gas.  After decades of spending hours on the freeways of Houston and So. Florida, believe me, this feels heavenly.  Traffic here is a borderline anarchic, as well, so I just love not having to drive much.

Corner, Barrio San Sebastian

Yesterday afternoon went with two history grad students in Guatemala to the library I wrote about last time, Biblioteca de Los Obreros.

One of the students is getting a masters at the UNAM (Universidad Autónoma de México) which is huge and has a strong history department, and the other student is from the University of Cologne, in Germany. I met an architect there, who told me he visits the library as a hobby, in order to find trivia on historical styles.

Let me tell you, we went nuts.  We were in nerds' heaven!  The place is a treasure trove!!!!  It has very well-preserved newspapers and magazines from the 19th Century, great amounts of government decrees and documents bound and piled up in orderly fashion, I mean, tons of stuff for any researcher to dig through for hours.

History grad students comparing finds at Biblioteca de Los Obreros

I spent hours on a series of fashion magazines from the 19th Century.  These had been imported from Spain and Paris and were clearly a must for Upperclass Guatemalan women of the time!  All in great condition.

Spread of 19th Century fashion magazine La Moda Elegante.

 I also enjoyed old botanical books published in Guatemala on plants and crops natural to its regions. I am exhilarated that this library is within walking distance to our place, and I pass right by the history library of the Academia de Geografía and Historia as well.  It has, I was recently told, a pretty neat--if somewhat small--antique photography collection as well as old maps and such stuff.

Illustration from 1930s book on Guatemalan flora and crops

I took it upon myself to photograph hundreds of these old illustrations.  I already have around 200 and will go back for more. Even the typography used in print is an art-form all in itself. No idea what to do with such collections but something will come up eventually.  A "study of Victorian mores and fashions translated into Catholic Latin American culture in the 19th Century" comes to mind.

Nightlife here can be pretty eclectic and even though it always ends very early--most places are closed by 1 a.m. (by law) and the entire city just dies. Ghost town. At least around where I live, there is a lively nightlife on a daily basis. So one is home early, but one can pretty much go out every single night and have something to do. It is easy to make friends, so one starts bumping into friends everywhere. I really enjoy the international flavor of the Bohemian scene downtown.

Performers at a poetry & music night at Bar Central

Last week got to listen to a really good Blues band, harmonica and all!  The first blues band I get to listen to in Guatemala, Primocaster.  We're big blues fans in this household, so that made us happy.

Tonight I am going to a Baroque concert by the Philarmonica (3 blocks away), after which I am going to a rock concert by a well-known band at a metal club (2 blocks away) and will end the night at the birthday party of a friend at a local pub nearby. Tomorrow, dinner and theater also nearby.

Poetry and music night at Bar Central

Saturday, of course, myriad Halloween parties everywhere and the Day of the Dead is celebrated in fantastic style here; especially in the grand old churches and awesome historic cemetery nearby. You know, that old Catholic and Mayan penchant for facing death squarely and wallowing in it. Add a big splash of USA-style Halloween celebrations to that!

At this pace, my car will never accrue any mileage, my legs muscles get increasingly stronger, and my sneakers are always grungy ... now I just need more time to sleep.

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In the Historic Center of Guatemala City

LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND!

Art student, Cerrito Art School

I started this post 2 days ago and can't manage to finish it! Between work, art classes and many concerts downtown, it's hard to do anything else. Today we're going to go see a series of rock bands in concert, including one which plays "original Mayan rock," and which I'm very curious to check out. How cool is that? Traditional Mayan music fusioned with rock!

Monday night another concert by well-known artists in La Bodeguita del Centro, a pub and arts epicenter downtown. One of many, that is. La Bodeguita is more the "beatnik" type, settled in an old downtown house. I'll post pics of these events. I must add that the symphony here is very good too, and they offer many free concerts. I've gone to some and always leave very impressed.

The main reason for today's post, however, is to write about an amazing and obscure library I found. It is open to the public and a great repository of historic and literary research material. I will get to that presently, since I also want to post on the thriving art scene going on in downtown Guatemala. Starting with art schools (will post more on other aspects in the future). And ... I want you to meet Javi. More on this later.

Art students and instructors exhibit their work in El Cerrito's gardens

Signing up for 4 art classes while on the last legs of a dissertation wasn't the best idea in the world. Add to that helping manage an inn (I'm not much help, I'm afraid), preparing to return to teaching next year and a very active social life with local friends and those from abroad. The latter I like to consider as part of work. That way I don't feel like such a wastrel.

Anyway, one soon realizes that this kind of schedule was much easier to handle some (ahem!) 15 to 20 years ago.

In my defense, I'll say that anybody can sign up in open art schools here, locals and foreigners alike. For the same fee. It's just too tempting. I started with one class: The open art school at Cerrito del Carmen (Little Hill of El Carmen), which is a hill topped by the oldest church in Guatemala City, built before the city was even planned.

Music students from El Cerrito's academy in concert
Historic Center, Guatemala

This is sponsored by the City, free of charge. Well-respected instructors teach nature and portrait drawing, and watercolors. There is tai-chi, guitar and chess classes, all free.

Old man at El Cerrito watching art students and listening to guitars

On Sundays artists hang their wares on the rails of the church gardens. Many people go by to jog, read, walk their dogs, people-watch. Children love to roll down the hill and there's a kiddie park. The church has catacombs, a museum, a food stall and clean public bathrooms.

Two small problems: Guatemalans don't pick up after their dogs (the place has staff which keeps it clean enough, but still) and the hill is safe, but the surrounding blocks are a hangout for prostitutes. The latter, though, keep quietly to doorsteps or shadowy corners. I've taken to saying buenos días when I walk by them, and they reply in kind.

Everybody's gotta make a living, y'all!

Students, policeman y passers-by looking at art in El Cerrito

So up to a point, the art classes at El Cerrito were merely an excuse for a Sunday walk and some relaxation under the trees while listening to birds and guitar players.

One day, while visiting the Centro Cultural Metropolitano just to see it from the inside--a lovely palace which used to be the Post Office and is now an art complex managed by the City--I registered in a drawing class at the Municipal School of Art and Painting there. Pretty much on impulse.

Music students at practice, Centro Cultural Metropolitano

They're good enough, except there are many classes going on at the same time, too many students in each, which makes it too noisy. But for US$3 a month, who's complaining about crowding! Especially because some of the students are amazingly talented, and we all learn from each other.

Walking around downtown with an iPod is "asking to be robbed," so to speak, so taking an iPod to class isn't an option. Nothing to do but get used to the din. I do see some students bring in their iPods strapped to an arm or hidden under a hoodie, but I'd rather play it safer.

El Cafetalito, Zona 1

Eventually one makes friends and we all go to El Cafetalito right across the street, a sort of Starbuck's chain. Their pastries, however, are often stale, as if they are an afterthought to the coffee. So I stick to their coffee, which is good.

This is the day hangout. Afternoons and evenings, it is Bar Central, a bar at an art gallery called Ex-Céntrico which is sponsored by the Embassy of Spain's Cultural Attaché. Very cool place. Always full of bohemian and artsy locals and foreigners, across the street from Centro Cultural Metropolitano.

Printmaking instruction, Printmaking & Engraving Workshop

With all this going on, I also signed for printmaking classes at the printing and engraving workshop of La Torana collective, located at Centro Cultural Metropolitano too.

Woodblocks carved by printmaking students.
These are inked-up and used to make prints.

Because the instructors in this workshop are all internationally-trained and award-winning artists, and many instructors visit from Europe and Mexico to give short workshops, these are more expensive and go for US$30 a month.

These classes are much smaller (due to the steeper cost) and very labor intensive. We carve woodblocks and copper plates for printing by hand. Hands full of blisters now and forget about polished nails! My nails are inky all the time.

Carving of my drawing titled "Apostles of What"

I stick to pencil/ink drawing (no painting for me) and to a type of printmaking based on woodcarving called Xilography. Printmaking, though, includes silkscreening, copper, silver or glass etching, batik, and many other.

The carving above left my hands in stumps, but below you can see the printed product. It is still a work in progress, though. I want to add a wash of sepia ink or watercolor once the prints dry.

Print of "Apostles of What."

I first visited El Paraninfo months ago. It's one of the most beautiful buildings Guatemala City has to offer. Built in French Art Nouveau style in 1890, it used to be the School of Medicine. One of my previous posts has a series of photographs from this place.

The Paraninfo is today a museum and a functioning art school, an extension of Universidad San Carlos. They offer great concerts and art exhibits, and events like the European Film Festival, with lots of contemporary films during all of October.

Staircase, Paraninfo

I heard they offered a great anatomy sketching class. Next thing you know, I signed up as soon as it started.

In this school, students are more driven and avant garde-ish than at the Municipal School of Art. The classes cost Q.100 a month which, I believe, is around US$12, give or take a few. In other words, for less than $50 a month I go to the equivalent of full-time art school, with 4 courses overall. Students interested in an arts degree may also apply for one.

Art school staircase, El Paraninfo

The classrooms still have the old auditorium style from when it was a medical school, with its wood bench furniture and big, wide windows covered in antique glass. Very pleasant.

There are a couple of USA compatriots in my class at El Paraninfo and they chafe at the bridle somewhat, because they are used to more "postmodern" type classes at the art academy they were attending back home in the US.

Guatemalan art schools all pretty much stick--at least in the intro courses--to the "Classical School of Drawing." Old fashioned, yes. I am quite conservative when it comes to education, so I do appreciate the grounding in learning a solid infrastructure.

This means that at the art schools in Guate, most instructors expect you to have a basic understanding of geometry and anatomy. You study anatomy charts, for example, to gain a working understanding of how to place muscles on a human form. Things like that.

I am a nerd, so not only did I study the charts, but I watched the Berkeley University webcast Introductory Anatomy course!

I highly recommend Berkeley University's webcast courses, they have courses on everything! You can find them by clicking here. Also great are Yale University's Open School online, you can find them here. I read somewhere that these are being used for home-schooled kids of high school age. If so, more power to them!

My first full sketch for Anatomy Drawing class.

There is a young man in one of my classes who draws really well. I'll call him Javi.

Javi is 30 and he's obviously from a well-to-do family. Very groomed and fit, always dressed in trendy track suits, expensive sneakers, etc. Javi is very young-at-heart and a high-functioning autist. He speaks enunciating words very loudly, categorically and clearly.

I really enjoy talking to him--or rather, listening to him talk to me, 'cause I don't think he really "sees me." He talks towards me. Yet he is very smart. He carries a backpack full of glossy books on "how to draw wizards and elves," "how to draw anime," "how to draw superheroes," etc. and he brings them all to class every single day.

He has to draw human figures just like the rest of us, and he spends any free time sketching his wonderful wizards and gnomes, preparing for the day when he gets to start creating his very own comic books.

Classroom, El Paraninfo

Javi really makes class interesting. He spends class time making all sorts of sounds. He beeps, he hums, he speaks in a myriad different cartoonish voices. This goes on all the time while he draws very diligently. It's as if some TV were on, airing a cartoon. But the noise from TV cartoons annoy me, and Javi doesn't. Javi told me that he always has "stories happening in his head." I guess that explains that.

Theater students at practice and enjoying the weather outside
Paraninfo, Downtown Guatemala

Javi told me that he is in art school perfecting his skills, because he will soon produce his comics and "the world will be astounded by them!" He said these are "marvelous" and when they are published, the readers worldwide will consider them among the best cartoons ever.

Then he became a bit shy and said "Well, I better stop talking to you about this now."

I asked him why and he said, nervously, "Because here it is where you will start laughing at my ideas." I guess he's used to people laughing at him. I assured him I would never laugh at his ideas, that I find them inspiring (I do). He didn't seem too convinced by this. Yet after quite a while he said, hesitantly, "In that case, you will be allowed to see the comics when I start producing them. Yes. I am hoping they will be deemed good."

After another while he pulled all of his glossy books from his backpack and handing them to me with a "Lord of the Manor" gesture, he said, "Here, you can look at my books. Learn from them. But you can't take them home with you."

So this little story goes nowhere, except that I really like Javi and, to the extent that Javi seems to consider other human beings as, well, "being there," he appears to consider me his friend. Other than that, Javi happily dwells in his world of goblins and superheroes.

Carved antique bookcase, The Workers' Library

On my way from El Paraninfo home, on 2nd avenue, there is a library founded 120 years ago, with all its original furniture. It is called La Biblioteca de los Obreros (The Workers' Library). I discovered it quite recently.

They have books dating to way ahead of that, as they started as a library for union workers, with libraries donated to them. The upkeep is still in the hands of the labor union, but I think its considered as some sort of relic. Doesn't seem any new books have been added in decades.

Antique tables and bookcases, The Workers' Library

It is always empty except for a couple of very ancient caretakers, who tell me the heyday of the library was in decades past, when it used to be of great importance. "A hub" they said, for workers hungry for culture and reading material. The furniture is antique, carved, polished to that high gleam of good wood. The floor tiles are beautiful, forming pleasing geometric shapes.

Better yet, the book collections are amazing! They have collections of El Diario de Centroamérica (one of the oldest newspapers in Central America) bound in leather, in better condition than at La Hemeroteca, the national repository for periodicals.

Leather-bound collection of historic periodicals

There are hundreds of books long out-of-print and collections of letters and works from the founding fathers of the nation and the like. Most bound in leather. The place is, as Guatemalan libraries go, fairly large. I don't think they have much that is more recent than around 1970, but for those interested in historical research or for library rats such as me, the place is a paradise!

It only opens from 4 to 7 pm, Monday to Friday. I will be there on weekly basis, so if you want me to look up something for you, let me know, and I'll see if they have it.

The sun is setting and taking with it the intense heat of this morning. Rock concerts at the plaza await, y'all, and after that, I expect, a cold drink with friends at some of the quaint and quirky pubs 'round here. Can't complain, can't complain. Hey, it's work, remember?

I'll leave you with (below) an interesting piece on exhibit at El Paraninfo.

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In the Historic Center of Guatemala

DWELLING IN THE CLOUDS. FOR REAL!

View of misty valley, mountaintop, Chimaltenango

On weekends we join friends at pubs or restaurants, especially those with entertainment. So, did that on Friday. Went to a pub which recently opened in a very old house in the historic center--the kind with no sign where you have to knock on the door--for a great spoken word performance by a locally famous poet and actor. Way cool.

Saturday, however, we did something wholesome: We went with our friends Ana and Jaime to their retreat in the mountains. Their property actually is the whole mountain top, over 3,500 feet above sea level. Very steep climb, too. Hiking it is grueling.

Okay Trudy, just tell it like it is. I admit we went way up there in a sturdy all-terrain vehicle. Not much hiking involved, except traipsing through the forests.

On a clear day, you can actually sea the faraway valleys and volcanoes. We did see a volcano when the mist cleared for a moment and it looked right up close, even though it is hundreds of miles away. It felt as if you could stretch your arm and almost touch it. Strange--but as with most illusions, lovely.

Me with fog background (trying to get my flash to work!)

I know, I know, I look like some sort of gnome. It goes with the spirit of the place. All of this fog, and it was noon already! A fog which acts as if it were a living being. Thick yet invigorating. You can really see it swirling around you as if it were alive! I swear it's true.

Horse grazing close to precipice

The air is bracing, as if inhaling menthol. The ground, all covered in vegetation, feels spongy. It's carpeted in low fluffy bushes, moss and grass. The soil is very fertile. The whole mountain is covered in forest and fruit trees. Our friends are planting a peach orchard all around the mountain skirts just so that it looks pretty when the trees flourish and sprout fruit. They're bringing in goats too, for goat cheese. How cool is that?

View of Mayan village in the valley

Below, in the valley, when the mist would cleared for a while, one could see some of the Mayan villages. Some have very quirky names, such as Calderas (Cauldrons). Did they use to make cauldrons, way back when?

Some of these villages are very old and all are isolated. They don't have a paved road to get there. They have electricity but don't have, for example, running water. Stoves are wood-based. However, the villagers have organized themselves to have access to water one day a week and on that day, they all go to the water source---there is a pump, pilas for hand-washing clothes, etc.--to do their wash and gather water.

On that day, those households that have piping fill out all their water recipients for the week at home. But going to wash clothes at the washing facilities seems to be a communal thing.

Interestingly, villagers who have worked (as undocumented migrants) several years in the US, have cinder block houses with indoor bathrooms and toilets. On the other hand, those who haven't migrated (yet?) live in flimsy earthen-floored shacks with no indoor plumbing. Most bathroom facilities of non-migrant campesinos, if any, are holes on the ground with some sort of fragile cover. Most houses, however, have outdoor kitchens, even when prosperous.

Above is a young Mayan family gathering wood for cooking and heat. The cute small kid on the left was playing peek-a-boo with me while the mother turned her face away because she was camera-shy. I did ask permission to take their picture though! They were very friendly.

Perhaps you remember that some time ago, there was a huge deportation case in Iowa. It was all over the papers and newscasts in the USA. Around 300 to 400 Mayans were caught in a raid at a meatpacking plant and deported back to Guatemala. Well, turns out most of them were from the villages in this area. They all have been there or have, at least, a relative among those deported.

It is truly interesting how throughout history migration is always like that. A great many people from the same towns and villages move from one country and relocate in the same town in another country.

View from mountain top, Chimaltenango

The picture above is from a clearing in the forest looking at the valley below. It looked to me like the illustration of the classical Grimm and Andersen Bros. storybooks I read as a child.

Some of these had belonged to my grandmother when she was a child; hence, the old-fashioned illustrations. You know, books now out of print such as Robert L. Stevenson's Verses for Children: Up into the cherry tree, who should climb but little me? And then, in the poem, the child proceeds to look, from the treetop, at all those faraway foreign lands and dream about them...

For example, if you look below at those tree roots, the space beneath is almost as tall as I am! I could sit underneath and the tree would shelter me. Looked to me as if something out of The Chronicles of Narnia.

The orange chair below covered in wild hair is me--my hair reacts to moisture the same way it'd react to an electric shock. It expands in all directions. It takes over.

We were sitting around drinking whiskey and enjoying the view. You'd think the weather--its pervasive cold moisture and fog--is not enjoyable, but it actually is ... if you are properly attired and drinking good whiskey! Great company and conversation definitely makes it even better. As in, perfect.

Sitting pretty on a mountain top, looking at the world below

I can't tell you how many species of orchids and mushrooms I saw that I had never seen before! And BEAUTIFUL giant grasshoppers and spiders in amazing colors. I brought back some plant specimens, which I have proceeded to place in pots, hoping they'll thrive.

For people who enjoy camping (I don't), the place seems like a great place to pitch a tent. On the other hand, given the size and abundance of critters, maybe not ... at least there are no mosquitoes!

Wild flowers hanging from tree trunks

The flowers below are called "cartuchos" and they grow wild everywhere on that mountain. They look like nuns. You know the type, like the "flying nun"? In the city, you have to pay a pretty penny to buy them!

Cartucho

Anyhow, as the sun was setting and the whisky dwindling, we drove to Antigua, a city built in the XVI Century and preserved by the U.N. as a World Heritage Site. We went to a big plant and garden shop--Vivero Escalonia (Escalonia Greenhouse).

It has paths winding among the plants and one of those stores which have handmade soaps, aromatic candles, windchimes and organic coffee. It also has an outdoor café. The latter serves organic food and lots of vegan fare. It's beautiful.

Garden path at Escalonia

I purchased some aromatic plants for my kitchen. Fresh basil and rosemary, as well as a plant called "Italian lavender" which smells heavenly.

Vivero Escalonia at sunset

The tables are nested among the plants, and the service is prompt and courteous. It is clearly frequented by foreign patrons, because I heard all kinds of different languages spoken. In case you want to visit, it is right across the street from Mesón Panza Verde (Panza Verde Inn) in Antigua. Below, some of the food prices.

Fruit and yogurt plate

The food is amazingly good and inexpensive. For example, a large yogurt and fruit plate is about US$3.50 or US$4.00 and a big crepe filled with fruit is also about US$3.50 to 4.00. These are big enough to be a hearty adult meal. A very thick slice of chicken pie and fresh salad goes for about US$5.00. ¡Their smoothies are to die for!

The smoothies vary in prices but are around US$2.00 to US$3.00. I had the starfruit and soya smoothie. Delicious. All of the produce is super fresh and if you are allergic to milk, no problem, drinks can be prepared with water or soya. The granola is (almost!) as good as mine.

Chicken and veggie pie with salad

Well, life goes on. The plumber who was to work on the renovation of my kitchen and bathroom did not arrive when he was supposed. He arrived today, exactly 2 working days after he said he would be here. It is no use firing them and finding another because this, I assure you, is standard procedure here!

I consider myself lucky if the providor is hardworking and as honest as can be expected when he does his work, and just go with the flow with the timeliness factor. No use fighting the current.

I am "in talks" (as they say here) with some young artists who offered come make an artsy mural in one of the hallways. The arts scene in downtown Guatemala is really thriving. There is yet another big art festival these two weeks, celebrating the Revolution of October 20th (in 1944) (Google it, if you must), which means lots of great concerts, art exhibits, performances, etc.

Get this: There is a rave at the central plaza on Wednesday! A rave. To celebrate a 1944 revolution. It's as if there were a rave to celebrate the triumph of Civil Rights in the US, maybe.

Most holidays seem to be celebrated here in very fun ways, regardless of how solemn. A trip to the pub usually follows. Which is fine with me, as we live in the midst of all these happenings! Really. Life could be worse.

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In the Historic Center of Guatemala City