Fenlason - Pineda: Day Eight - Trip to Antigua! (2/4)

Gas prices . . . in Guatemalan Quetzal! About $2.50 per gallon for Regular.

Jacuzzi bathrtub!!

Refreshing drink in the room on arrival.

Whatever is in them makes our skin look TERRIFIC!

Some shots of the hotel and courtyard.

The volcano as seen from the rooftop garden café.

Not THE ugliest lamp in the world, but pretty close!

Love the colors.

The first of MANy door photos. Fueled by Trish, Lynda and Barbara's similar obsession with "portals."

Not a "green" roof, but an ORANGE one!

"I am your father, Son!"

One side of a beautiful town center. More shots to follow.

Mynor met us for lunch. He was in the city, seeing clients.

Kac-iq (turkey in a broth "condimented" with roasted tomatoes, mint and cilantro.)

I was still sick. The chicken soup [caldo real] REAL-ly helped!

Desserts!

Peppers and vegetables.

The Santa Catalina Arch is one of the distinguishable landmarks in Antigua Guatemala. It was built in the 17th century and originally connected the Santa Catalina convent to a school, allowing the cloistered nuns to pass from one building to the other without going out on the street.

A clock on top was added in the era of the Central American Federation, in the 1830s.

Don't look at my merPARTS!

We bought the blue and white dress for Rafa's mother. I won't include the photo of Rafa trying it on to see if it would fit.

I know that it looks as though all of the participants in The Crusades are in prison in Antigua, Guatemala, but this is actually where the floats are stored for Holy Week Processions. You'll see photos of a procession later on.

Holy Week in Guatemala is celebrated with street expressions of faith , called processions, usually organized by a "hermandades". Each procession of Holy Week has processional floats and steps, which are often religious images of the Passion of Christ, or Marian images, although there are exceptions, like the allegorical steps of saints.

The Catholic fervor that currently exists in Guatemala has almost magical and mystical dyes due to the syncretism between the Mayan religion and the Catholic doctrine; it combines elements dating from the old American cultures and from Catholicism imposed by the Spanish in the Colonial era.

Syncretism appears in subtle factors such as figure drawing of a butterfly on the sawdust carpet for a Christ procession, for the butterfly, for the Maya, more than a mere insect, symbolized the Sun - one of their most important deities - and also represented life and the afterlife. That image does not appear anywhere in Holy Week activities held in Spain.

To understand the current Guatemalan Holy Week one must go back to the religion of the Maya, where there were amazing coincidences that perhaps helped the Catholic religion fit more with the beliefs of Native Americans. One of these similarities is that indigenous Guatemalans used a palanquin to transport wealthy citizens and rulers.

For the natives it was not difficult to understand or accept the existence of the Holy Trinity because for them, the creators of this world were three, known by Mayan scholars as "G1", "G2" and "G3"; neither was to assimilate Virgin Mary, because they associated her with Ixchel - the moon, creative life - mother.

The cross is not exclusive of Judeo-Christian; even in Chiapas and parts of Huehuetenango it is still used to keep out evil spirits in some villages. Also as symbolic of purification, the Mayas fasted in the final five days of your calendar as well as for special holidays.

Saint Joseph Cathedral [Catedral de San José] is a Roman Catholic church in Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. The original church was built around 1541, but suffered several earthquakes throughout its history, and the first church building was demolished in 1669.

After the Santa Marta Earthquakes of 1773 that destroyed Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, there was a large argument between Spanish and clerical authorities on whether to move the city to a new location . Against strong opposition of archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz, Captain General Martin de Mayorga decided to impose the move to its new location in the Ermita Valley; Cortés y Larraz was afraid that with the move the church had to begin from scratch and would lose part, if not all, of its power and influence.

The cathedral moved to the new capital on 22 November 1779, but all the interior ornaments that had not been destroyed by the earthquake in the old building remained behind in what was now called Antigua Guatemala; in 1783 they were taken away from the frail ruins and stored in the old Universidad de San Carlos Borromeo building and in the El Sagrario Parish warehouse, which was also open the public in a section of the old cathedral.[2]

In 1816, the gold from the old altars was removed and then used to create the ones for the Cathedral of Guatemala City which was now open to the public.

The cathedral was rebuilt and consecrated in 1680. By 1743 the cathedral was one of the largest in Central America. However, the devastating 1773 Guatemala earthquake seriously damaged much of the building, though the two towers at the front remained largely intact.

These have undergone restoration work, and the cathedral has been partly rebuilt.

So many beautiful colors.

San Francisco el Grande is one of the most frequented sanctuaries by the local population because of the shrine of Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur (Santo Hermano Pedro). When Franciscan missionaries arrived in Guatemala from Spain in 1530 they were assigned 120 villages by the civil authorities. They were the first to move to the Panchoy Valley in 1541 where they built a church at the site of today's School of Christ (Escuela de Cristo). This chapel was severely damaged in 1565 and during the next ten years donations were collected to build a new sanctuary located two blocks away in 1579. Parts of this construction, maybe the only ones in Antigua which date back to the 16th century, can be appreciated at one side of today's sanctuary.

San Francisco el Grande became a significant religious and cultural center for the whole region. Theology, law, philosophy, physics and mathematics were taught at San Buenaventury College, located in today's monastery ruins. The college also favoured painters of the colonial era such as Cristóbal de Villalpando, Thomas de Merlo and Alonzo de la Paz.

The chapel and cloister were expanded during the 17th century. In 1684 the structure was reinforced and withstood the earthquake of 1691. The church itself was built by Diego de Porres and inaugurated in 1702. The 1717 earthquake damaged the structure severely. So did the earthquake of 1751. The site was partly destroyed during the 1773 earthquake and has been reconstructed in parts but areas of ruin still remain. The fountain of the main corridor was taken to La Merced's atrium in 1944. The colonial image of the Virgin located behind the main altar fell down during the 1976 earthquake.

Its façade, with twisted salomonic columns, is typical of the Spanish-American baroque and is similar to that of San José Cathedral. It has sixteen vaulted niches, each but the lowest two containing a saint or a friar . These include the Virgin Mary, San Diego de Alcalá, San Antonio de Padua, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, Santiago, and Santa Isabel from Hungary. At the entrance of the monastery there are some murals, in which there can be seen the images of some Franciscans friars with a skeleton.

Its bell and clock towers from the 17th and 19th centuries remain in ruins.

The altarpieces inside the church were richly decorated with painting and sculptures of famous contemporary artists.

The church marks the beginning of the Calle los Pasos (Steps Street) which holds the Stations of the Cross and used to be walked solemnly.

Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, who was beatified 1980 and canonized in 2002, is enshrined at the site. His tomb is visited by thousands of pilgrims each year to beg for favors and miracles.

Broken glass on the roof - security system?

Close up.

Reminds me of spending time at my Uncle Rasty and Aunt Elizabeth's house.

Been waiting all day for this!

LOVING this lighting.

Some shots just look great at night.

Venturing out for a late night dessert. The best kind!

If you find yourself complaining about the inefficiency of your automatic clothes washer . . . this is where the locals used to (and some still do) wash their clothes. Central water, social opportunity!