Guatemalan firms threaten 6,000 layoffs over wage hike

Guatemala City –  The organization representing Guatemala's textile and clothing manufacturers said firms plan to lay off 6,000 workers this month in response to the hike in the minimum wage decreed by President Alvaro Colom.

Companies "will reduce their payrolls by 10 percent in the month of January to be able to cover their costs," Vestex chief Carlos Arias told a press conference.

He said the layoffs are a consequence of Colom's decision to increase the daily minimum wage by 96 cents.

Textiles and clothing constitute "the country's most important export sector, which supports some 70,000 families and contributes 6 percent of gross domestic product," Arias said.

To avert layoffs, Vestex asked the president to "gauge the negative consequences" of his decision and "substantially reduce" the wage increase.

As Guatemalan clothing and textile manufacturers are unable to raise prices in the current international environment, "no other alternative is left to our sector than to eliminate jobs to survive in this market," Arias said.

Colom imposed the increase after the National Salary Commission, comprising representatives of the employers, workers and the Labor Ministry, failed to reach agreement on the 2011 minimum wage.

The president said the hike he ordered will allow the earnings of low-paid workers to almost keep pace with inflation, which was 5.39 percent last year.

More than half of Guatemala's 14.4 million people live below the official poverty line and upwards of 2,000 Guatemalan children died last year of causes related to malnutrition.

Read more: Fox News

Antigua Guatemala Parque Central

Antigua Guatemala Parque Central

Come and sit on a quiet bench in Antigua Guatemala Parque Central and take in the sights and sounds of this ancient city in the heart of Central America.

One can sit and listen to a young musician play his favorite instrument or one can sit and enjoy a cup of fresh brewed coffee from one of the wonderful coffee shops that are around the down town square. Some of the best coffee in the world comes from this region.

Or one can have their shoes shined from one of the local youngsters that are out in the parque trying to earn a quetzal for their family. Unfortuentely these young people should be in school but many of them cannot afford to go to school or they may be homeless and they are trying to survive by shining shoes.

Antigua Guatemala Horse and Buggy Rides

 There are many ways to see the beauty of Antigua Guatemala. View the breath taking colonial architecture on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride is just one way to enjoy the sites and sounds of Antigua Guatemala.

Sit back and listen to the horses hoofs as they trot across the cobble stone streets of this ancient city of Antigua Guatemala in the middle of Central America.

Chorizo Sausage

First what is Chorizo Sausage, 

It's basically a cured pork sausage flavored with a few particular herbs and spices, most importantly 'pimenton' (smoked Spanish paprika) which gives it its distinctive flavor. If it's made with spicy pimenton then the result is obviously a spicy chorizo.

Chorizo is great for breakfast. Thaw out a package, fry it up lightly while breaking it up, and when fried, scramble in a few eggs. This is wonderful by itself, or with tortillas.

Chorizo can be simmered in beverage, fried or barbecued and eaten with bread or any other addition.

In Guatemala I ran into this wonderful tasting sausage everywhere I would eat. At first my taste buds were not ready for the flavor of this sausage because I was so use to breakfast sausage here in the States. But it did not take long for my taste buds to get use to the wonderful flavor of this delicious meat.

 

If you are willing to try new things and love sausage this delicious sausage will change you for ever.

Here is a recipe that I found that I totally love;

Warm yourself with a bowl of delicious chorizo sausage stew with baby potatoes and cannellini beans.

Ingredients:

• 5 chorizo sausages (10.5 oz. or 300gm)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 8 baby potatoes, halved
• 1 (28 oz) can Italian tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 (16 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
• 1/2 cup water
• A handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• French bread for mopping up sauce (optional)

Preparation:

1. Par-boil the potatoes for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Use a fork to poke some holes in the sausages. This allows the fat to run out. Fry the sausages in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a medium-heat until they're cooked. Cooking time is dependent on the size of the sausage. Set aside to cool and then cut into 1 inch slices.
3. In a large saucepan, saute the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic, salt and chili flakes and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add the chopped canned tomatoes and juice from the can, stir well and gently simmer for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cannellini beans and stir again.
5. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover the pot. Simmer for 25 minutes. After this time, add the sausage slices and stir well. Add the parsley and stir again.
6. Simmer for another 5 minutes and taste. Add a little more salt if necessary.
7. Serve in bowls with a crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Antigua Daily Market

Here are some photos of the Market in Antigua. This is not the artisan market but the daily market next to the artisan market. This is similar to a farmers market like here in the States.

 

Tourist Arrivals in Guatemala Up 5.6%

Tourist Arrivals in Guatemala Up 5.6%

GUATEMALA CITY – Tourist visits to Guatemala grew 5.6 percent last year compared with 2009, while the country’s tourism revenues increased 6.2 percent, the Guatemalan Tourism Institute said.

The institute’s head of market research, Francisco Chaverri, told a press conference that 1,875,777 tourists visited the country last year compared with 1,776,868 in 2009.

Chaverri said half of the visitors were from Central American countries, 34 percent from North America, 10 percent from Europe, 3 percent from South America and the remaining 3 percent from other regions.

Guatemala City, colonial Antigua and the archaeological center of Tikal and Atitlan were the places that attracted the most tourists in 2010, according to official statistics.

Tourism generated $1.38 billion in Guatemala last year, superior to the nearly $1.3 billion in 2009, he said.

Chaverri said that, despite the dampening effects of natural disasters and the economic crisis, Guatemala’s tourist industry grew within the goals set by the World Tourism Organization of 5-6 percent.

Growth in 2011 is estimated at between 4 percent and 5 percent, he said.

Tourism was the third biggest source of foreign currency for Guatemala in 2010 after exports, which brought in more than $8 billion, and remittances from emigrants amounting to $4.13 billion. EFE


Latin American Herald Tribune - Tourist Arrivals in Guatemala Up 5.6%

El Mirador

This place called El Mirador is a wonderful place stuck in the middle of the jungle in the northern part of Guatemala. Stuck in the upper north regions of the Petén department of Guatemala, near the border of Mexico, rests the ruins that some scholars believe to be the original "cradle of Mayan civilization". El Mirador is an expansive pre-Classic Mayan city that until 1926, remained unknown.It is truly a jewel in the jungle in an area called the "Mayan Biosphere Reserve". The Guatemala section of the Maya Forest forms the six million acre Maya Biosphere Reserve and is the largest protected area within the Maya Forest. In fact, it contains over ten percent of Guatemala's total land area. The Guatemalan government and UNESCO established the Maya Biosphere Reserve in 1990 to safeguard the region’s outstanding biological and cultural diversity. Within the internationally recognized World Biosphere Reserve are eight core protected areas, including the famous Tikal National Park which was declared a Natural and Cultural World Heritage site in 1979. 

The Mirador ruins are very valuable and interesting because the city of EL Mirador was the oldest and the biggest Mayan city of the whole Mayan empire. El Mirador is the largest known site of the preclassic era. Dating from 300 BC to 200 AD this city is one of the most important and monumental sites ever build in mayan history. The largest architectural works of the entire pre-classic period are found here. The biggest temple at the site ¨La Danta¨ is one of the worlds biggest temples and only it`s base is measured at 600 meters wide.

El Mirador is over 2,000 years old and it is believed that it thrived between 150 B.C. and 150 A.D. Believed to have been a major Mayan trade center with an impressive "urban" configuration, it is larger in size than other sites in the surrounding area. Together with the Mayan ruins at Tikal, El Mirador is one of the best examples of the accomplishments of the once great Mayan civilization. Civic buildings and complexes constructed for religious purposes comprise the center of this ancient city, and besides being a trading center, it is also believed that El Mirador was also a strong political and economic power in its time. The two main structures at El Mirador are the large "El Tigre" complex and the "La Danta" complex. El Tigre rises to about 180 feet tall, while La Danta tops out at around 230 feet high, making it one of the loftiest of all Mayan civilization structures. El Tigre's base alone spreads over 14 acres, while the base of La Danta comprises an area the size of around 35 football fields.