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I am sitting in the courtyard of our rented house in Antigua, Guatemala, watching the first clouds of the day settle like a mantilla on Agua, the city's signature volcano. We have been in this 16th century Spanish capital of Guatemala for three weeks now, and I know what to expect. The first pounding on the heavy carved doors will be the tortilla lady, the second the morning newspapers. Soon will follow the sound of drums as the elementary school up the street begins its daily rehearsal for the national celebration of Independence Day. The school children will march by our door, the girls dressed in red plaid uniforms, banging away on their drums and following the rather mournful looking teacher who always chews gum. Our house, an elegantly restored Spanish colonial villa with a cloistered courtyard, sits on the northern edge of this tiny city of 18,000 and takes its name, the Casa San Sebastian, from the 16th century ruins of a parish church across the street. The house is an easy walk from anywhere in Antigua, whose narrow stone streets and one-story houses were laid out in a rectangular grid over 400 years ago by an Italian military engineer under orders from Charles V of Spain. In some parts of the city, little has changed. Five blocks away in the Parque Central, Antigua's tree-rimmed central square, Indians from nearby villages are setting out their hand-loomed wares for sale: intricately woven blouses, brilliantly colored shawls in which they carry their babies or vegetables or firewood, knapsacks and shoulder bags tailored for the tourist trade. Descendents of the Maya, the Indians make up more than 50% of Guatemala's population. Women from the weaving village of San Antonio Aguas Caliente, just five miles from Antigua, sport blouses intricately woven with fruits, birds and fish. Geometric patterns of varying shades of blue, green and magenta identify the women from Santa María de Jesús, a village 7,000 feet high that clings to the shoulder of Agua. Arriving in Antigua on recycled American school buses that still warn "No Horseplay," the Indians are daubs of exotic color in this historic and cosmopolitan city of stone and pastel stucco. A cool 5,000 feet above sea level and 40 minutes from the pollution and neon signs of the capital, Antigua is to Guatemala City what Southampton is to New York -- at a fraction of the cost. Upscale boutiques like Colibrí sell muted, earth-color tablecloths and one of a kind loomed pillow covers for $20. And hand-carved jade of every shade and design is sold at half the U.S. price in Jades and La Casa del Jade.

It is August and the rainy season in Guatemala -- the dry season runs from November to April -- but the sun shines most of every day and the windless rain in the late afternoon is easily diverted by an umbrella. At night the sky is often illuminated by brilliant lightning displays, but any accompanying thunder seems to play out somewhere else in the verdant Panchoy Valley. Volcan de Agua stands sentinel, as do Antigua's two other volcanoes, Acatenango and Fuego. Only the intermittent plume of smoke from the still active Fuego hints at Antigua's violent past. Not fire, disease, or war, but earthquakes have dictated the history of Antigua, for two centuries, a political, religious, educational, and cultural capital of the Spanish Americas. In a curious twist, the 1773 earthquake that savaged Antigua's 32 churches and convents, colonnaded government buildings, and tiled private villas, was also its salvation. Spain ordered the capital removed to Guatemala City, leaving Antigua to slumber in its graceful ruins until its rediscovery by historians and architectural enthusiasts in the 1920's. Since then, well-heeled North Americans, Europeans, and more recently, rich Guatemalans have bought up and restored the walled colonial compounds as private homes, some now worth upward of $1 million. In contrast, the ruins of the city's religious and civic monuments have been allowed to remain just that: ruins. Under the stern guidance of the National Council for the Protection of Antigua Guatemala, most of the city's churches, convents, and monasteries stand as they fell over 200 years ago, arches askew, saints akimbo, chucks of fallen masonry still bearing the vivid colors of colonial Spain's "Golden Age." Intent on historic preservation, the council allows no neon or even protruding shop signs to sully the narrow streets, and requires purchasers of colonial ruins to reconstruct them with original materials. The restrictions have paid off. Deemed an historic monument not only of Guatemala but of all the Americas as well, Antigua is a living museum where the past makes possible the charming - and lucrative - present.

Guatemalan and foreign tourists roam Antigua's narrow rough-stoned streets through the arcade of the imposing Royal Palace of the Captains General, from which the Spaniards ruled their colonial empire, past the bleached lemon facade of the still functioning church of La Merced, whose intricate stucco designs seem the creation of a five-star pastry chef and under the street-spanning arch of Santa Catalina, where 17th century nuns passed unseen between their convent and their orchards. Antigua's health economy is further buoyed by the 30 or more Spanish-language schools dotted among the city's colonial courtyards and interior gardens. The language students study one-on-one with individual tutors up to seven hours a day. Both beginners and more advanced linguists on the verge of fluency are discouraged from speaking any English (or Italian, French, or, increasingly, Japanese). And the price is right. At Francisco Marroquín, Antigua's most prestigious and expensive language school, whose clients include personnel from the U.S. State Department, the tuition is $125 a week without board, $175 a week with lodging provided by a local family (1997 fees are $135 per week tuition, $65 family stay). Many U.S. students on a comfortable budget as well as other visitors to Antigua stay at The Cloister, a charming and brightly-decorated bed and breakfast, owned by a Bostonian Barbara Leaver. Under the Santa Catalina arch with fireplaces in each bedroom and with views of Agua from the flower-rimmed courtyard, The Cloister at $65 a night is an oasis of familiarity. The quandary for the 12,000 or so Spanish language students who studied under Antigua's arbors of bougainvillea last year was the city's many distractions.

An eight-man marimba band plays all day in the restored colonial courtyard of the Posada de Don Rodrigo, where lunch for two in the garden costs under $25. Guatemala's 16th Century Capital Video bars like the Mistral just off the central square offer CNN to news junkies and down-home crepes stuffed with eggs and melted cheese for $3. Lunch and an afternoon swim in the pool for an extra fee are seductive at the Hotel Antigua, a rustic complex of colonial-style cottages with fireplaces and a garden full of scarlet macaws. In the serenity of the courtyard where a hummingbird is now levitating through the tangerine trumpet vine, it is hard to be overly concerned with State Department cautions about travel to Guatemala. Major tourist destinations are not considered by the State Department to be under particular threat. Crimes against foreign tourists have also abated, at least in Antigua. A new force of tourist police now patrols the streets on shiny motorcycles. Even the cholera epidemic moving north toward the U.S. seems held at bay in Antigua. Antiguans are extra careful, washing fresh produce in bottled or iodized water, preparing ceviche with cooked, not marinated, fish. With no ill effect, we indulged ourselves daily in fresh salads and the cornucopia of familiar and unfamiliar fruits in Antigua's better restaurants.

Outside our courtyard, the red-plaid school band is in full flourish now en route to meet the green school-uniformed band just warming up around the corner. Firecrackers are popping somewhere near, the now-familiar celebration of a birthday, the arrival of a friend. The church bells at La Merced announce morning mass."

Hotels, Restaurants, Shopping, Tours

Hotels --

Antigua has a variety of hotels, posadas (inns) and hotels, ranging from $6 a night at El Refugio for the backpack set to $135 a night at the beautiful Casa Santa Domingo, set in the ruins of a 17th century convent. The Cloister, 23 Avenida Norte #5A, telephone and fax 320-712. The favorite of North Americans, with five bedrooms and fireplaces rimming a lush garden courtyard and centrally situated under the Santa Catarina arch. Double is $65 with breakfast. Hotel Antigua, 8 Calle Oriente #1. Beautiful setting with a so-so restaurant on the edge of town. Double is $95, not including breakfast. Hotel Aurora, 4 Calle Oriente No. 16, 320-217. Simply furnished rooms in a converted colonial house near the Parque Central. Double is $38. Breakfast not included, cafeteria on premises. Other hotels include the modern but bland Ramada Hotel just outside Antigua (800)272-6232, at $95 for a double, the touristy but charming Posada de Don Rodrigo near the Parque Central with cloistered gardens and a good restaurant for $70 a night 320-291; the upscale Casa Santo Domingo ($135 for a double without breakfast), special rates in December, with a good dining room, cable television and phones in the bathrooms 320-102.

Restaurants --

Antigua has many restaurants, and these were our favorites: El Sereno, 6A Calle Poniente #30. Elegant food in a beautifully restored colonial house with outdoor patio and art gallery. Closed Monday and Tuesday. A gala three course birthday lunch for five with wine and a pitcher of sangria cost $100. Dinner for two with wine about $40. Welten, 4 Calle Oriente No. 21A. Known for its pastas, like fettuccine with macadamia sauce, Welten's food presentation is an art form in itself. Dinner for two, with drinks, around $60. La Fonda de la Calle Real, 5 Avenida Norte No. 5, and La Fonda A La Vuelta (the tavern around the corner) at 3A Calle Poniente No. 7, serve informal, friendly and inexpensive Guatemalan food like soup with chunks of chicken breast, rice, onions, lime juice, cilantro, and dried chilies. They also serve cheese fondues with onions, ham, or broiled garlic, grilled steaks or chicken. Lunch is about $6 per person.

Shopping --

The Indian markets are all over the city: outside La Merced, around the Parque Central, in the ruins of La Compañía de Jesús, at the dazzling Saturday market next to the bus station, where two dozen roses cost $2, ripe local avocados are 40 cents each, and handloomed rugs and blankets can be bought, after bargaining, for $30. Higher quality and color-fast woven goods can be found at the following: Colibrí, 4A Calle Oriente No. 3B. A collection of the best from 300 weavers in villages all over Guatemala. Ixchel, 4A Calle Oriente No. 12, in the former chapel of a 16th century hospital: stunning brushed wool blankets from the loom of one master weaver starting at $60. Del Pinal, 6 Calle Poniente No. 29. A gallery of hand-dipped candles in more than 75 designs and in as many colors created daily by the owner. A must to take home. About $1.50 each.

Tours --

The city is easily walkable. Tours of the monuments and travels outside Antigua can be arranged by the Tivoli Travel Agency in the Parque Central. Another agency is Poco de Todo, telephone 320-892. To call from outside the country dial 011 (international operator, 5028, country and city code, then the last six digits).
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 <text>a Q'anjob'al Maya from Guatemala, who presently resides in Los Angeles. You might say he's an elder, although we are the same age, 70. Young people simply do not know the stories, or at least are not able to tell them. I translated the tales from Q'anjob'al Maya into Spanish and English. 

A trilingual edition of the tales was first published by the Mayan self-help organization IXIM in Los Angeles, but this volume has long been out of print. I am now planning to get out a bilingual (Q'anjob'al-Spanish) edition for distribution primarily in Guatemala and in the refugee camps in Mexico, and have several other such collections in the works. "   </text> 
</quote>

"Un adagio indio antiguo dice: Que las cosas solo sobreviven,

tanto  como la ultima persona que las recuerda."  Mi pueblo

ha llegado a confiar en el recuerdo a traves de la historia:

"El recuerdo como el fuego es radiante e inmutable; mientras

la historia, solo sirve a aquellos que quieren recordarla y a

los que intentan extinguir la llama del recuerdo, con el fin

de apagar el fuego peligroso de la Verdad." Protejete de esos

hombres!!! Por que ellos mismos son peligrosos e ignorantes,

su historia falsa se escribio con la sangre de aquellos que

podrian recordar y de aquellos que buscan la verdad..."

</text>

 
6. nicaragua/res05/www_facs_org_ni_mu.html


 
<text>"El hombre que de su patria no exige más que un palmo de tierra para su sepultura, merece ser oído, y no sólo ser oído, sino también ser creído", </text> 
<author>Augusto C. Sandino </author> 

 
7. nicaragua/res09/~un_mu.html


 
 
 
<text>... a reafirmar la fe en los derechos fundamentales del hombre, en la dignidad y el valor de la persona humana, en la igualdad de derechos de hombres y mujeres y de las naciones grandes y pequeñas, ... a promover el progreso social y a elevar el nivel de vida dentro de un concepto más amplio de la libertad, y con tales finalidades ... a emplear un mecanismo internacional para promover el progreso económico y social de todos los pueblos, hemos decidido aunar nuestros esfuerzos para realizar estos designios ... </text> 
<source>Extracto del Preámbulo de la Carta de la Naciones Unidas. (Nicaragua es miembro de las Naciones Unidas desde el 24 de octubre de 1945) </source> 

 
8. nicaragua/tra02/drycanal_mu.htm


 
<text>‘The international interests that are moving cargo between the Far East and the U.S. and Europe see that the opportunity to have alternatives to the Canal is really critical. Because the canal has some major inefficiencies in it.’</text> 
<author>— <name>Emil Combe   </name><position>economic consultant</position></author> 

 
9. nicaragua/www01/www_nicaragua-online_com_mu.html


 
<text> 
"Si la patria es pequeña, uno grande la sueña."</text> 
<author> RUBEN DARIO.  
 
</author> 
<browser>(Netscape 4.0 only, using layers) </browser> 

 
10. panama/www03/panama_mu.html


 
<title>PATRIA </title>  
<text>   "Oh Patria tan pequeña tendida sobre un istmo,  donde es mas claro el cielo  y mas brillante el sol,  en mi resuena toda su musica  lo mismo que el mar en la pequeña celda  del caracol."   </text>  
<author>  Ricardo Miró  </author>  


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