Reflections: Antigua, Guatamala
I
am sure to write often about Antigua. It is much changed now from what it
was in the 1970s, but then so are we all. It is a lovely place with much
of its colonial charm still intact, in spite of much recent construction
and a constant stream of cars from the capital. Antigua has become a major
destination for internal tourism, and crowds of capitaleños drive
in from the city every weekend. It is the setting for weddings and birthday
celebrations for wealthy families, and for reunions of members of the Guatemalan
Lions Club and other associations. And that’s not even counting the
hundreds of people who come to study at one or another of Antigua’s
dozens of Spanish schools or the numerous volunteers who come to work at
the local hospital! Or the contingents of external tourists. Canada, Germany,
Italy, Sweden, and the US are especially well represented. Naturally, the
vacation period between Christmas and New Year’s saw an even greater
influx than usual. But now everyone has gone back to work, and the streets
have fewer horse-drawn carriage riders and less honking from cars stalled
in the traffic on the road that leads out to the capital.
Antigua was founded in 1543 as the third capital of the Spanish conquerors, shortly after the tragic destruction of the earlier site at the base of Agua Volcano, which was flooded in 1541 when a side of the crater gave way and released water and mud onto the town now known as Ciudad Vieja (Old Town). Antigua was originally called the Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemala, and Saint James remains its patron. The heavy destruction by the great earthquake of 29 July 1773 caused the Spanish to move their capital to its current location. Antigua Guatemala (Old Guatemala) was abandoned for some years but over time its inhabitants returned to the lovely site in the Panchoy Valley. The ruins of the various churches and convents that marked the power of the Catholic Church in the 17th and 18th centuries are now places of tourist interest. Many have been cleaned, and some, such as the cathedral on the town square are being restored. The former Jesuit church and school is now the site of a cultural center and museum run by the Spanish Embassy. The former convent of the Sisterhood of St. Catherine and the Dominicans monastery are now pricey hotels. An appealing way to spend a slow afternoon in Antigua is to visit a one of the ruins to walk in the gardens, inspect the fallen stones, or just contemplate the passage of time, the vagaries of history, and the sudden impacts of nature. I look forward to sketching and photographing in some of these evocative places while I'm here.
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Nowadays Antigua offers all the comforts of a cosmopolitan town that caters to the tourist trade. I remember the time I spent here many years ago when there were only one or two restaurants in town and no import goods. It was impossible to have a telephone because there were only a few lines available, and all of them were passed to family members as legacies. We did all our shopping at the town market, bargaining for every radish and chair and dish towel. You can still do that today, of course, as most indigenous people in the area do. But you can also shop at the Bodegona, a complicated grocery and housewares store, or at the various specialty shops – whole grain mustard! Balsamic vinegar! Italian sausage! – or eat in one of the many (and constantly changing) restaurants.
Antigua now offers recognizable versions of Thai, Argentine, Spanish, Peruvian,
and Japanese cuisines (although I heard a rumor that one of the sushi places
uses canned tuna!), along with exceptional Italian and Guatemalan food.
There are also, as would be expected given its wealthy tourist clientele,
several expensive and elegant restaurants offering continental cooking,
live music, and art galleries. Also given the other type of tourist clientele
– backpacking students carrying economical guides to Central America
and New Agers on spiritual quests – there are any number of inexpensive
vegetarian spots as well. Since I have a nicely equipped kitchen, and am
suffering from nostalgia for the former Antigua, I plan to use the market
and improve my bargaining skills – I recently accidently paid twice
the going rate for a handful of radishes! But that doesn’t mean that
the odd slice of rosemary turkey breast or plate of phad thai won’t
come my way! And now too, as what seems like every other Guatemalan resident,
I 
have
a cell phone.
Initial impressions of Antigua are of cobbled streets, the blank house walls painted in blues, reds, yellows, and even tangerine that line the sidewalks, bougainvillea blossoms tumbling over ruined walls, the sounds of bells and firecrackers, processions for every occasion moving slowly around routes first laid out over four hundred years ago, marimba music in the park on weekend evenings, Mayan women everywhere, in their stunning hand-woven blouses, who are selling, carrying school books, and talking on cell phones, and, always, always the volcanoes. Yes, I believe I will write often about Antigua.