While boarding a late-night flight from Los Angeles to Guatemala City, I was full of doubts and fears. Except some very basic information I gathered shortly before my trip, I knew absolutely nothing about this Central American country where I was destined to spend the next five weeks. I was hoping to figure it out upon arrival. I was also desperately trying to hide my reluctance from my 13th year old son, who was already terrified by the idea of having to take Spanish for six hours a day at a local Spanish school. (Individual instruction is a tradition in Spanish schools in Guatemala.) Why did I agree to take over a summer program in Guatemala (as director)? What was I thinking? Perhaps it was my innate curiosity for novel experiences and my usual carelessness that brought me to that Delta flight.

When my son and I finally arrived to La Aurora, international airport in Guatemala City, everything seemed rather vague and mysterious. We mechanically followed the driver who came to pick us up. The first images of Guatemala City were abrupt and isolated. I did not have time to form any opinion, good or bad, about the Guatemalan capital. We were heading to Antigua, the former capital of the country, located in the Southern Guatemala. (In 1979, Antigua was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.) 

It took less than an hour to get from Guatemala City to Antigua. We arrived very early in the morning, and after leaving our suitcases in our gorgeous, two story Airbnb apartment, we cautiously started our first exploration of this enigmatic place. Antigua immediately greeted us with a collection of colorful buildings, busy, cobbled streets, various bakeries, coffee shops, and musicians performing everywhere. Antigua was so full of colors and movement that I had this irresistible desire to run around every calle and avenida and explore everything. The city emitted a captivating aura of festivity. It was a place where everything existed for the sole purpose of celebrating life and its many joys. 

By all means, Antigua is a city created for true artists. Only an artistic soul can appreciate the city’s sophisticated natural beauty, such as its combination of tropical flora and magnificent volcanos, along with its Baroque Spanish architecture. In my second trip to Antigua, a year later, I stayed in an artistic loft in another part of the city. I spent all of my mornings on the terrace’s hammock with a cup of uniquely flavored Guatemalan coffee. I was lost in my thoughts as I gazed upon colonial ruins and the volcano Fuego, one of three active volcanos surrounding Antigua. I was constantly amazed by the celebration of color, created by the beautifully rare cooperation of nature and man over the centuries. I have yet to find an answer for the question that has been tormenting me since my first trip to Antigua. My question is: how can something so perfect exist and not be widely known by all of Earth’s inhabitants?

Olga Sylvia, PhD