Antigua is the capital city of the Department of Sacatepéquez. It is also known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Antigua Guatemala. Antigua was declared a Heritage of Humanity Site by UNESCO en 1979.

History: Antigua was the seat of the third capital of Guatemala, known as the Kingdom of Guatemala. The first capital of Guatemala was founded in 1527 in Iximché. From there it was transferred to the Valley of Almolonga that was destroyed by a flood from the Agua Volcano.

In 1543, Juan Bautista Antonelli began the construction of what is now Antigua in the Valley of Panchoy. During its maximum splendor it was known as one of the most beautiful cities of the Spanish Colonies in the New World. It is called the City of Perpetual Roses and its inhabitants are called Panzas Verdes.

The Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed a large portion of Antigua so the President of the High Court, Martin de Mayorga decided to reconstruct the city in a different and safer location.

The new city was named La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción and is today Guatemala City.

Altitude: 1,530 meters above sea level

Climate: Mild. Maximum temperature is 25 degrees Centigrade and minimum 13 degrees Centigrade

Population:  41,097

Territory:  465 Km2 including the mountain range

Local Dishes:  Revolcado, Pepián, pilollada and beverages like Chinchivir and the famous Batido that is consumed during the Holy Week.

LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA Specialties

Traditional Candy

The traditional Antigua candy is made from sugar, fruit, milk and aromatic spices. These delicious sweet snacks are most popular during religious festivities. However, they are eaten all year to offset the salty taste and condiments in other dishes.

Historian Celso Lara´s investigation found that the variety of traditional candy comes from the arrival of Spaniards with links to the Arab culture. Each one of the candies has a special taste that reflects the heritage of the Region they are from.

During the colonial period in the XVI century, the candies became popular and were made by two different groups of people. The first group was the Spanish nuns whom prepared the candy in the convent kitchens. The second group was cooks from Spain whom prepared the candies for the gentlemen of the house and his family to eat after a heavy Sunday meal.
Over time, the recipes were passed around and now, these candies are eaten during the celebration of religious festivities, especially outside of the churches and at the fair ground.

LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA Tradicional Candy

Doña María Gordillo:

Dona Maria Gorilla’s candy store is located on 4th Street East Number 11, very closet o Central Park. This store has been around for four generations and was founded by an ex cloistered nun: Mother Dolores Ortiz in 1872.

Maria Gorilla, daughter of the founder increased the selection of candy to 64 varieties like the bland and perfume guava curls, coconut candy made with condensed milk, pepitoria and pumpkin bars or tamarind balls.

El Sombrerón:

The sombrero was founded in Antigua on March 14th, 1986 to help conserve the traditional candy, an important feature of Guatemalan gastronomy. The candy is prepared from old recipes that were rescued to the delight of their customers and friends.

All of the candy is artisanal and have no preservatives or chemicals. The only preservative is sugar.
The tradition of Antigua Candy and the quality of El Sombrerón is recognized not only in Guatemala but also in other countries. They produce 100 varieties of candies from fruit, milk, flour and honey.

CITY TOUR

Behind the Scenes at the Ixchel Textile Museum
And a tour through the Historic Center

A guide will pick you up at La Reunión for a private tour of Guatemala City. The highlight of the tour is behind the scenes at the Ixchel Textile Museum. You will visit the temperature controlled rooms were the textiles are housed, classified and prepared to be exhibited as well as learn about the Museums continued work to maintain the weaving tradition.

The Ixchel Textile Museum was founded in 1977 and has been awarded the Reina Sofía award for conserving and defending the tradition of Mayan textiles. A donation to the Friends of the Museo Ixchel is included in the price of the tour.

From the Museum Ixchel, you will visit the most famous landmarks in Guatemala City like the Metropolitan Cathedral, National Palace, La Merced Church Museum, the Relief Map and the Handicrafts Market.

The tour is flexible so if you would like to spend more time in a specific place or would like to visit another site you may. The admission fee to museums not on the itinerary is extra. When you are ready, the guide will take you back to La Reunion.

Places to visit:

• Central Park
• Cathedral
• The Palace of the Captains General
• The Bakers Street
• Capuchinas Church and Convent
• La Merced Church and Convent
• The Santa Catalina arch
• San Francisco Church where the remains of Saint Hermano Pedro de San Jose de Betancourt are buried.
• El Mercado de Artesanías
• The Handicraft Market and Casa Poponoe to name a few sites.

LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA

Private Tour of The Colonial City

During the tour you will visit the most important historic and architectural churches, ruins, convents and cathedrals in Antigua.

You will visit one of the oldest and most elaborate churches, San Francisco, with its baroque style wood carvings depicting colonial art and customs.
In the interior of the Cathedral is a beautiful  gold atrium, many images from the colonial era and a very high dome.

Central Park is surrounded by colonial era buildings like the Palace of the Captains General, the Town Hall, the Commercial Hall and the Hall of the Bakers as well as the famous Sirens Fountain.
La Merced Church is one of the few colonial era churches still in use. It is a beautiful church filled with diverse colonial images that are revered.

PRIVATE TOUR Coffee Plantation, Traditional music and customs museum

Your experience begins in the Municipality of Jocotenango. The name of this city comes from a place called Jocotitenango. In the Mayan language Cakchiquel, it was called Xocotl which means Jocote (a fruit) and Tenango (a city). In other words, a place where there are a lot of jocotes.

During this half day tour you will visit local wood working artisans and the local church with its pink and white façade. From the church you will go to La Azotea, a complex housing the Museum of Traditional Musical Instruments, Customs and Costumes.

At the Coffee Museum you will learn about coffee production from the planting, harvesting and drying to the stages of the grain, mature, gold toasted.

PRIVATE TOUR Of The Handicafts Market

This tour was designed for you to learn about the complex and marvelous art of Guatemalan handicrafts and textiles.

At the Handicrafts Market you will find a large variety of articles for decorating from different regions in the country.

All of the handicrafts are produced by artisans that learned from their parents and are teaching their children to conserve their customs.

You will visit specialized stores where you will learn the history and techniques used to produce the handicrafts  and textiles. All of the textiles are of different colors and styles and the symbolism of each, represents a specific region of the country.

At the market you will find textiles, leather, ceramic, earthware, gold, silver, bronze, jade, wood, seeds, glass, wool and cotton articles.