Guatemala’s English-language Magazine December 2015 FREE Year 24, No. 10 revuemag.com 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 Lincoln Center and Disney Hall. He is the director of Distinguished Concerts photo: guisela melgar franco International of New York. The soloists will be Liz Cass, mez- zosoprano; Julia Taylor, soprano; Phil- ip Hill, baritone—all associated with the Austin Opera and University of Texas—and Sam Lowry, tenor, associ- ated with the Sarasota Opera Guild in Florida. Special guest will be Ana Rosa Oro- zco, soprano from Guatemala. The Handel’s Messiah music director will be Herber Morales, and the choir will have 95 voices. Dr. IN GUATEMALA CITY AND ANTIGUA Griffith will conduct the Handel por- tion of the concert, and Morales will conduct the encore portion. his year marks the 12th consecutive presentation of Handel’s Messiah in Guatemala, presented Proceeds from the performances by Betty Whitbeck, executive producer, and the will benefit the work of the Rotary Community Choir of Guatemala. Club of Vista Hermosa projects in the T Lake Atitlán area and the Comité de The first performance will beTuesday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. Becas Mary Sue, which has scholarship at the National Theater in Guatemala City. Tickets are Q300 for students in Centro Educativo Anuncia- platea, Q125 for Balcon l and Q60 for Balcón II. ta in Chichicastenango and in Colegio The performance moves to La Antigua Guatemala onWednes- Benito Juarez in Guatemala City. day, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Casa Santo Domingo. Tickets are Q400 and Q250. Tickets are available in Antigua at Joyería del Angel and Casa Santo Domingo for the Antigua concert, and through Todo Ticket for the National Theater performance. For the first time since The Messiah has been presented in Gua- temala, the conductor of the orchestra will be the acclaimed con- ductor Dr. Jonathan Griffith. Dr. Griffith has conducted orches- tras all over North America, Europe and Asia. In North America he has conducted in prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, 6 7 8 9 SECTIONS 24 DateBook: Dec. 40 Health Services 82 Travel 97 Marketplace 101 Real Estate 107 El Salvador REGIONS Nacimiento (Nativity Scene) by Ernesto Marino 35 Guatemala City 46 La Antigua 85 Lake Atitlán 90 Pacific Coast Contentsontents 83 El Petén C 94 Quetzaltenango 6 DATEBOOK HIGHLIGHT 34 ANIMAL WELFARE 95 Tecpán Handel’s Messiah Update on two animal performed in Guatemala City rescue groups 96 Río Dulce and La Antigua 56 AMALIA’s kitCHEN MISC. 18 CELEBRATION by Amalia Moreno-Damgaard by Kerstin Sabene Festive Holiday Desserts 12 From the Publishers Festival of Santo Tomás (with recipe) 47 MAP: La Antigua 19 GUATEMALA INSIGHT 60 BOOK ALERT 54 Vet Q & A by Elizabeth Bell by Dianne Carofino 106 Advertiser Index Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes) Traditional Weavers of Guatemala 20 ARTESANIA photo contest: by Linda Conard 72 BUSINESS PROFILE Traditions in Guatemala Natural Expressions San Martín in La Antigua All of the Dec. entrants can be seen at of the Holidays REVUEmag.com -- Here are the winners 80 SENSUOUS GUATEMALA 37 Larissa Villacorta 21 EDUCATION by Ken Veronda 80 Javier Alvarez Vassaux by Sherry Miller Season of Aromas 82 Lo Reyes SERES - Education for 88 Leslie Pappa Sustainable Development 84 COMMUNITY SERVICE 92 Edvin Quisquinay Alcor by Jeanne Mendez 94 Guillermo Alejandro Chocano A. 22 ARTIST PROFILE CECAP: Santa Cruz la Laguna by Kerstin Sabene Edgar Chipix “Dreams 108 HUMOR and Visions” Matt Bokor’s 10 Reasons... Deadline for the JAN. 2016 issue » DEC. 10 10 18 11 From the publishers he official Christmas season in Guatemala begins on Dec. 7 with a parade honoring the Virgen de Concepción, followed in the evening with Quema Del Diablo (Burn the Devil). This year the annual performance of Handel’s Guatemala’s English-language Magazine TMessiah follows suite with a concert in Guatemala City on Dec. 8 and in La Anti- REVUEmag.com • [email protected] gua Guatemala on Dec. 9. For a complete listing of Christmas celebrations, along Publishers/Editors John & Terry Kovick Biskovich Associate Editor Matt Bokor with music, art, presentations, benefit events and more, please turn to DateBook. General Manager José Caal Other holiday-themed articles inside include the Festival of Santo Tomás by Photography César Tián, Luis Toribio Kerstin Sabene, Elizabeth Bell gives us an overview of Nacimientos (nativity scenes), Graphic Designer Hadazul Cruz Webmaster / Social Media JB & Heather Aleman Linda Conard takes us shopping with Natural Expressions of the Holidays, Amalia Contributing Photographers Moreno-Damgaard offers Festive Holiday Desserts, Ken Veronda recalls Season of Thor Janson, Nelo Mijangos, Willy Posadas Aromas and Matt Bokor provides some celebration humor with 10 Reasons. La Antigua Manager César Tián Production Director Mercedes Mejicanos Art plays an important role in Guatemala. Meet Edgar Chipix on page 22. His Administrative Assistant María Solís latest work, Dreams and Visions of Edgar Chipix, is inaugurated this month at the Systems Luis Juárez Distribution César Tián, Oscar Chacón, Luis Toribio Galería Panza Verde. Additional art exhibitions, including work by Alejandro Leal Maintenance Silvia Gómez Gustavo García Amor Un Mundo de Fantasía (Love, a World of Fantasy) at La Anti- Sales Representatives Ivonne Pérez, César Tián, gua Galería de Arte will delight art lovers and collectors alike. Denni Marsh, Fernando Rodas, Luis Toribio, Lena Johannessen Social service organizations create life changing opportunities, this is exempli- Printed by PRINT STUDIO fied in SERES-Education for Sustainable Development by Dr. Sherry Miller and Publishing Company CECAP–Centro de Capacitación by Jeanne Mendez. PRODUCCIONES PUBLICITARIAS ESTRELLA ANTIGUA, S.A. CIRCULATION 10,000 magazines monthly Congratulations to authors Deborah Chandler, Teresa Cordon and photogra- pher Joe Coca on the publication of Traditional Weavers of Guatemala, Their Stories REVUE OFFICES: Their Lives. Enjoy the review by Dianne Carofino. This book is a wonderful gift LA Antigua 3a avenida sur #4-A (Central Office) giving idea, for your friends or for yourself. TEL: (502) 7931-4500 Thank you to Hadazul Cruz for the beautiful December cover illustration. May [email protected] there be Peace on Earth. — John & Terry Kovick Biskovich SAN CRISTÓBAL Denni Marsh Tel: 5704-1029 SAN LUCAS Rodolfo Flores Tel: 3016-8557 ALERT TO ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS: We invite you to submit your favorite ESL alvador [email protected] Guatemala photo for the Revue 13th Annual Photo Issue (January, 2016). El Salvador Regional Manager: Lena Johannessen Col. Centroamérica Calle San Salvador #202, San Salvador Send 1 hi-res photo to [email protected] before Dec. 12, 2015. Tels: (503) 7981-4517, 7860-8632 Opinions or statements printed in the REVUE are not necessarily revuemag.com those of the publishers. We welcome your comments. REVUE is distributed free, and available at: Hotels, Restaurants, Travel Agencies, Car Rental Agencies, Embassies, Spanish Schools, INGUAT offices, Shops, and other public places in the following areas: Guatemala City, La Antigua, Quetzaltenango, Lake Atitlán, Cobán, Petén, Río Dulce, Lívingston, Monterrico, Retalhuleu; as well as locations in El Salvador and Honduras. ON THE COVER REVUEmag.com “Peace on Earth” PRINT - MOBILE - ONLINE illustration by by Hadazul Cruz PBX: (502) 7931-4500 [email protected] 12 14 15 16 17 On the steps of the Iglesia de Santo Tomás I strolled to the east end of the The Festival of Santo Tomás in main square to the steps of the glowing white Dominican church Chichicastenango of Santo Tomás built over 400 text and photos by Kerstin Sabene years ago by the Spanish, site of most of the festivities. The streets t was Sunday, Dec. 21, as I headed out for yet another adven- were packed and the steps in front ture to the magical Mayan village of Chichicastenango set in the of Santo Tomás Church, normally western Highlands of Guatemala. On Thursdays and Sundays, the overflowing with flower vendors, native K’iche’ Maya turn this remote mountain village into one were on this day the site of massive Iof the world’s most famous markets. Today, however, was particularly fireworks and explosives. special because it was the culmination of a weeklong festival that began on Dec. 13, honoring the town’s patron saint, Santo Tomás. To say that Guatemalans love their pyrotechnics would be an Our bus zigzagged around a hillside where the vegetation was domi- understatement and the festival of nated by a prickly, nettle-like plant with purple blossoms called the Santo Tomás is no exception. Teams chichicaste. Chichicaste is the Guatemalan equivalent of poison ivy, of men work nonstop to ensure that hence the town’s namesake – Chichicastenango – affectionately known something is exploding to locals as Chichi. ...continued page 52 18 Guatemala Insight by Elizabeth Bell author/historian Baby Jesus from a nativity scene, photo by Juan José Yas c.1915 (CIRMA) NATIVITY SCENES Guatemala, of course, adds its own touches. Planning may begin as early as August when families get Nacimientos together to decide a biblical mes- ativity scenes have been a tradition in Guatemala for centu- sage for the nacimiento. As soon as ries, much before Santa Claus and Christmas trees arrived. the Burning of the Devil has passed They were originally based on the descriptions found in the (Dec. 7), nativity scenes are cre- Gospel of Luke. St. Francis of Assisi received special permis- ated in local homes (Catholic and Nsion from Pope Honorius III to make the first nativity scene with figures non-Catholic) and churches. Many of Joseph and the Virgin Mary in 1223 with the help of a local landowner, of the objects may be purchased in Giovanni Delita or Velita in Greccio, Italy. These are now known as the the special Christmas markets set up Italian presepes.