Antigua
street scene
La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is a city in the central mountains of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish New World Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruined churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
More Photos of local Archeological site
More Photos of the people in the market
Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality
of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of Sacatepéquez
Department.
local bus in front of Casa K'ojom (1988)
which celebrates indigenous music and costumes (above)
Photos from Casa del Tejido Antigua (Textiles)
La Antigua Guatemala means the "ancient Guatemala". Founded on March 10, 1543, as the third capital of Guatemala, after the nearby town of Ciudad Vieja was destroyed in a flood, Antigua Guatemala was for more than 200 years the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a large region that included almost all of present-day Central America. The conquistadores named the city La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala ("The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Santiago of the Knights of Guatemala") but it was known just as Santiago de Guatemala, in honor of their patron saint, Santiago, after Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
San Jose Cathedral
More Photos of San Jose Cathedral
Photos of San Francsico el Grande
In 1773, a series of earthquakes destroyed much of the town. The Spanish Crown
ordered (1776) the removal of the capital to a safer location, where Guatemala
City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. The badly damaged city was
ordered abandoned, although not everyone left.
Text from Wikipedia
More Photos of the Colonial City
fountains
More Photos of the Residence Gardens
Hotel Antigua
the dancers
masks off after the show
the music makers
