Our Man in Antigua

’til the afternoon…the juice, she went out early, affecting the center of town(and Bangalore Bobs)…El Cazadore Italiano, ready for the lunch crowd, not..then the water went hinky…then half power for a while…throw in the gray clouds, the afternoon showers and it was a light day for the City trippers…Luis, a perennial ‘guide’ blew it off early and went to ocelot with a pal, to continue last nights debauchery…

Caffe Bourbon packed compliments of Piano Mike and Moriah, doing the early crowd…silly question #12…if this works so well, why aren’t they doing Saturdays also?  and yes!…hope springs eternal in Happy Town!…an new restuarant, sweet little bar in what was the clothing store next to the original Bagel Barn, on 5th calle..can’t help walking by what was La Esquina, now gonzo and missing Eduardo, Lou and whoever else…he tried everything…alas..only in Antigua on sunday afternoons…the marimba band on the steps of City Hall,some folks dancin’…another peruvian style band, at full volume in the park and on the other end of the walkway, by Barista? a mexican marichi ensemble, sittin’ on the steps, hopin’ for a few pesos…Lily the newspaper lady wanted me to buy her a song(she’s got more money than i do)

CIRMA, the Center for Regional Investigations de Meso America…largest archive of old documents/photos in Central America, threw a musical thing today, featuring a great 6 piece ensemble…called ‘Pacaya’

70+ people (SRO) and it was music and poetry…’told Lucretia that this needs to be done again…CIRMA is an incredible resource…5th calle, between 3rd/2nd ave’s…you gotta handle the photos with gloves, literally..

Jose of the leather shop and the weekend only empanada/dessert window on 4th norte, #24…best pastry in town, and yes, i know that Antigua/Guatemala have their detractors…but, where else can you find such,an incredible assortment of coffee or chocolate? in my previous locale, Sausalito of the expensive gourment markets, the coffee wasn’t bad, nor the assortment of chocolates..i laugh about it now, given even what little i know about local products…are there gourmet coffee or chocolate tours here? friends ask me ‘why Guatemala?’…i’ll never run out of things to do, places to go and everyday, literally, is something different…yeah, there’s the ‘chisme’ and the eternal local mini-scandals…so? there are restaurants here that i’ve never eaten in…100+, someone wrote?…the ex-pat community is chock-full of interesting people, some duds and some wackos..the locals, if you make an attempt to interact are friendly(if he spells his last name as Pocorny…it should be Pokorny) and rightfully proud of this cinderella burg..yeah, i get bored with looking at Volcan Agua, until a day like Saturday when the air is clean and the light perfect and the magic is back.

and the ‘Scouts…they march in the rain and return to their unlighted little room by the wreck of the church on 4th ave…can you imagine anything like this in the YouEssofA?  nope, i can’t either.

Max of El muro, taking a long break and apparently is up north, messin’ around…good idea…’slow time of the year….oh, the Soggy Butt Index? walk around the streets early, 6ish…’count the cig butts in the street outside Studio 53/Gaia/Cashbar/dos Reilly’s..Cashbar didn’t do so well last night…now they’re offering 2×1 drinks..Edy of Pangea’s trying to pull out all the stops..low priced meals, free liquor for the ladies..he senses that the battle is somewhat lost but with the place for sale, any kind of cash flow is good..any..i hear pipe bombs…aka mortars goin’ off nearby…probably a wedding at La Merced..ah, the triumph of hope over experience, yet again…Mexico’s gotta new idea: two year trial contracts…i kinda like it…put some folks on their good behavior, especially at the clock runs out(or not)…and yes, the rains will stop..i’m not buying another umbrella and that’s for damn sure: make it a great week, if possible…la vida es corta..