Page 8 | OkAntigua | Travel Guide to Antigua Guatemala

Patron Saint Festivities In Antigua Guatemala: Wallpaper

Antigua Guatemala wallpaper calendars are now ready! These calendars feature the traditional Patron Saint festivities and picturesque Tanque de la Unión. Instructions on how to download below.

***For a list of Events happening in Antigua this month Click Here***

Saint James Parade, Antigua Guatemala

Tanque de la Union (Fuego and Acatenango Volcanoes in the background)

These calendars are available in a US-friendly format which marks Sunday as the first day of the week.

To apply the calendar to your desktop, follow the instructions below:

1- Click on the following links to get your preferred version; each of these links will open a new window (or tab) displaying the wallpaper calendar in the screen size selected.

Saint James Parade: 1920 x 1200 -&- 1920 x 1080

Tanque de la Union: 1920 x 1200 -& 1920 x 1080

2- Right-click (or Ctrl-click for most Mac users) on the image. Choose the option that says, “Set as Desktop Background”, “Use as Desktop Picture,” or something to that effect. Keep in mind that the exact wording will depend on the browser you use.

3- If the image does not fit your desktop background like it should, you may have to go to your preference options. On a Mac? Go to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop. Using Windows? Go to Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose “Fit to screen” as the display mode of your background image.

I hope you enjoy them! Feel free to share with friends and comment on our Facebook page.

Antigua Guatemala Calendar: Captain-Generals Palace

Captain-Generals Palace Antigua Guatemala

June’s Antigua wallpaper calendars are now ready! These calendars feature Captain-General’s Palace, now finally open for cultural activities and a museum, and Cerro San Cristobal. Instructions on how to download below.

***For a list of Events happening in Antigua this month Click Here***

Captain-Generals Palace, Antigua Guatemala

Cerro San Cristobal (Agua Volcano in the background)

These calendars are available in a US-friendly format which marks Sunday as the first day of the week.

To apply the calendar to your desktop, follow the instructions below:

1- Click on the following links to get your preferred version; each of these links will open a new window (or tab) displaying the wallpaper calendar in the screen size selected.

Captain-General’s Palace: 1920 x 1200 -&- 1920 x 1080

Cerro San Cristobal: 1920 x 1200 -& 1920 x 1080

3- If the image does not fit your desktop background like it should, you may have to go to your preferred options. On a Mac? Go to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop. Using Windows? Go to Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose “Fit to screen” as the display mode of your background image.

I hope you enjoy them! Feel free to share with friends and comment on our Facebook page.

Escuela de Cristo Antigua Guatemala: Visitors Guide

Alfombra Escuela de Cristo Antigua Guatemala

You don’t have to stray very far from Antigua’s center to get away from the crowds and the noise surrounding Parque Central. The city’s southeast section is what I know consider the ideal version of Antigua before, you know, all the tourists and people like me showed up.

The area is fairly quiet, housing some of the biggest colonial-era churches in town that have not become dilapidated ruins. In fact, until fairly recently (last century), many of the houses around here didn’t even exist, since the land was used to plant crops and for animal grazing.

Escuela de Cristo Location

One of my favorite areas in this part of town is the neighborhood around Escuela de Cristo, located on pretty Calle de Los Pasos.

This church, along with Belen Church right behind it, is a favorite of locals, who mostly hang out in the small parks in front of both churches while leaving Parque Central mostly to visiting foreigners and city folk.

Escuela de Cristo church and plaza

Architecture

Escuela de Cristo church stands out because of its Renaissance-style facade. Along with church and convent Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (a.k.a. Capuchinas church) and the Municipal Palace, the buildings exhibit a bare-stone facade devoid almost entirely of stucco – an architectural hallmark of architect Diego de Porres, the same who also designed the Fountain of the Sirens at Parque Central and the other buildings I just mentioned.

If you pay close attention to the arch at the entrance to the church, you’ll be able to see Porres familiar seal (a hand holding an architect’s compass). Notice the bell towers and windows, the only parts in the exterior of the church that are covered with stucco.

Convent, Escuela de Cristo

Escuela de Cristo Convent

The church’s convent isn’t open to the public, but if you happen to visit when the building’s front door is open, feel free to wander the halls. Its stairwells are reportedly haunted – or so says a worker I chatted up during one of my many visits.

Inside Escuela de Cristo

This church is also noteworthy because it was here that the wake for Hermano Pedro was held, a massive event attended by the whole town – and surrounding ones too. A plaque inside the church commemorates the date the event took place (April 25th, 1667).

Retablo for Escuela de Cristo saints

Holy Week and Art

While there are a few events happening here during Lent, Escuela de Cristo is better known for its massive Good Friday procession during Holy Week. It’s on this day that the venerated image of Señor Sepultado (Buried Jesus) is first displayed on a cross, later to be taken down and reverentially paraded throughout the streets of Antigua.

An interesting detail is that this image has hinged shoulders, head, and hips, which allow for the repositioning of the image on the cross and later, inside a glass urn.

Señor Sepultado and Virgen de la Soledad images –

the latter attributed to sculptor Pedro de Mendoza

Another piece of art worth checking out is “Adoration of the Magi”, a restored 19th-century painting

I leave you now with additional images of Escuela de Cristo and Lent vigil displays.

vigil, Santa ana church antigua guatemala

Chichicaste: Plants of Guatemala to Avoid

Some say there’s a price to pay for ignorance. And sometimes the price is pain.

I’ve yet to write much about plant or animal life in Guatemala on this site, save for some passing mentions on our Facebook page. Not because I don’t care about plants – I do – but because I’ve never devoted any significant time to learning about them. Until recently, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you which flower was a lily or which one was a daisy if you held them up to my face, side by side. While I’m trying to change that, I’ve got a long way to go in that department.

Well, I got acquainted with one particular plant really fast this week. Meet the “Chichicaste”, of the plant family Loasa, known by its Latin name Loasa grandis Standl and more commonly by the name Chichicaste Grandis. Once thought to be in the same family as the “Stinging Nettle.”

Chichicaste

The chichicaste – and yes, the town near Antigua named Chichicastenango literally means “land of chichicaste” – is a plant indigenous to Costa Rica and Colombia, though it has spread all over Central America, Mexico, and South America.

Chichicaste plant

While chichicaste is heavily used for medicinal purposes – especially its roots, it’s a very prickly plant. Chichicaste leaves and stems have prickly, brittle hairs that will immediately attach and break off in your skin at the slightest contact. These hairs release chemicals that will cause a burning sensation right away, which I’m told is similar to that of Poison Ivy – that’s another plant that I have no idea what it looks like, or have an interest in doing the obligatory 10-second Google search at this moment.

Closeup of chichicaste leaves

So, how did I get acquainted with Chichicaste? Well, I tend to walk our dog every day on a side road near the house. This road is quiet, save for the occasional motorcyclist passing through, and also scenic. It borders a coffee plantation and on clear days, I can see both Agua and Fuego Volcanos on the horizon. A very pleasant walk.

Chichicaste hedgerow

Little did I know I was walking inches away from nature’s version of an electrified fence. Turns out farmers often plant Chichicaste as a hedgerow to protect their properties.

Normally, there isn’t any reason for me to get near the fence. But that morning, I’d spotted some beautiful bougainvillea flowers growing along the fence and had decided to take a few to decorate the home office.

Pretty bougainvillea flowers

As I reached for the flowers, my wrist very lightly touched a nearby leaf. And I mean so lightly that I didn’t know I’d touched it for about 0.3 milliseconds. My wrist started burning up almost immediately. So much so that I knew right away I’d touched something poisonous.

What a Chichicaste rash looks like

I briskly walked back to the house as I noticed welts beginning to form in the itchy area. I immediately suspected it was the famous Chichicaste plant I’d heard about so much. Sure enough, a Google Image Search revealed it was so.

The reason I knew about Chichicaste before is that I’d heard it mentioned by my wife before as a method of corporal punishment for children among Maya communities. Having experienced it, I’d say it’s flat-out child abuse. Chichicaste was also used by the ancient Maya to punish rapists, which they accomplished by rubbing the plant along the aggressor’s genital area (yikes!).

So what do you do if you have a personal encounter with Chichicaste? Well, I found a useful article that explains your options here. Unless you develop a strong allergic reaction, the stinging sensation will not last more than a day.

If you do start breaking out in hives, then you might need to ingest antihistamine medication promptly. If that doesn’t work, then it’s probably best you head to the hospital quickly, though that last scenario isn’t one I’ve heard of happening, but something you might want to be aware of.

And that concludes my first “Plants of Guatemala” post. Stay safe!

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Hey, I need your help. I noticed that every so often (usually on Sunday afternoons), a lot of people in the US start searching online for the word “chichicaste” and land on this page. I suspect it may be related to a TV program people are watching because it happens at the same hour. It’s driving me crazy trying to figure it out!

If you don’t mind, please let me know what made your search for chichicaste by sending me an email to richpolanco (at) okantigua.com. Thanks!!!

Update: If you’re here because you saw “Naked & Afraid” on the Discovery Channel and wanted to check out the plant, welcome to the blog!

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Thinking about moving to Antigua Guatemala? Read this!

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Have you had a run-in with poisonous plants in Guatemala?

Share in the comments below!

Visit to Santa Ana, Antigua Guatemala

Right off the bat, I want to apologize for not keeping up with the latest images from Antigua’s Lent season vigils and processions. Events are now coming up fast and furious as we get closer to Holy Week. I hope to catch up sometime this week.

For the 24th day of Lent, I visited Santa Ana, one of the oldest villages surrounding Antigua and a popular option for foreigners quieter, more affordable option to Antigua’s high-priced real estate. Located southeast of Antigua, the entrance to this suburb is easily accessible via public transportation. However, something you should know is that the town’s popularity has kept it expanding further from the main road, which means that some houses in Santa Ana can be quite a long walk uphill from the main road. There are buses that do go into Santa Ana but only during market days (Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays).

Santa Ana’s plaza is fairly lively every night, and you can often find teens playing soccer on the square across the church and families eating dinner bought at street stalls on the north side of the plaza. More on that near the end of the post.

Santa Ana Vigil

This vigil was fairly well attended. Tons of vendors outside, as they were expecting thousands of people to visit well into the night. In the morning, the church was full of schoolchildren – vigils are a popular school outing, and many school groups can be seen making the trek from nearby schools.

Plaza in front of Santa Ana Church

The display itself was great, though I’ve found I’m not a fan of “deep” ones. When the display is so far back, it makes it hard for visitors to pay close attention to details. This display was way too front-loaded with fruits and other items, which made it hard to admire the unique gray sawdust carpet. Exhibit creators may not have had a choice – fruits, vegetables, and bread are usually donated by the faithful and sometimes there’s no other place to put them than in front of the display.

Vigil display at Santa Ana

Sawdust carpet close-up

Small display near entrance

Another display near entrance to church

Food Outside Church

As I mentioned earlier, there were many foods and handicrafts vendors outside the church. These vendors move from vigil to vigil, often paying a fee to the brotherhood that set up the church’s display.

Fresh churros

I chose to eat at one of the “local” food stands – one of the permanent vendors that can be found in Santa Ana. The smell of grilled meats will pull me in every time.

Grilled Meats

A traditional dish you’ll find at most street fairs is meat plates. For Q15 you get a reasonable, filling meal that includes your choice of meats, pickled cabbage, refried black beans and two or three tortillas. Tasty AND filling!

This filling meal will cost Q15 ($2USD)

There was another vigil that day, a much smaller one at Escuela de Cristo church. I’ll cover that in my next post.

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Have you visited Santa Ana?

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