Just kilometres from Guatemala City, Antigua Guatemala, more simply Antigua, is the capital's capital, a former political capital and jewel of the country. The other, Guatemala Ciudad, is the current political capital and, above all, the economic capital… that tourists, rightly or wrongly, avoid. We start and we usually end up in Guatemala by these two Capitals, which seem to be joining the old and the new. The small colonial town appears to be steeped in the ancient charm of the Spanish Empire, the modern megacity looks ahead, towards the globalization in which the pressés businessmen are swallowed up and the edge of which most of the inhabitants of their countryside, attracted by the mirage of the city, remain. Surrounded by its landscape of volcanoes - the Agua (3 766 m), the imposing guard that appears majestically to look after the city, the Fuego (3 763 m), which still issues fumaroles since its eruption of 2002, and the Acatenango (3 976 m) - Antigua is lukewarm and calm.The city now has approximately 50 000 inhabitants, almost as much as at the most successful hours of the colony. Far from suffering from its proximity to Guatemala Ciudad (just 1 hour in minibus), it is the privileged resort of tourists and people of the capital who, each weekend, are fleeing the problems of traffic, pollution and violence for the tranquillity of Antigua whose cobbled streets suffer from such car traffic.Over the years, and despite the destructive earthquakes that shook it, La Antigua has continually enriched itself with buildings, churches, convents and palaces of the colonial society of the then, with the interlaced arcane between spiritual and temporal power. This superb decorum is the framework for many events. The most important is undoubtedly the Semana Santa. The streets of the city are covered with flower carpets.Antigua is also an excellent starting point for the country's main destinations. Many travellers have made this city their hub, from which they go and come to a "shuttle" between the volcanoes of the region, Atitlán Lake and small villages or beaches and mangrove forests of Monterrico.To stay in Antigua is to project in the time of colonial Latin America. It is probably one of the most beautiful cities in Central America whose baroque charm surprises and enchants the visitor. Relatively safe, it offers visitors a very large, often quality hotel infrastructure.HistoryOn 27 July 1524, Pedro de Alvarado founded the first general Harbour of Guatemala, Santiago de los Caballeros, on the site of Iximché (now Tecpan), the capital of the Cakchiquels Indians. However, in 1527, following the Indian uprisings, tired of having to pay an increasingly important gold price, and due to a binding environment, the Harbour is relocated to the fertile valley of Almolonga, on the current site of Ciudad Vieja, at the foot of the Agua volcano.In 1541, a huge drain of water and mud, down off its peak, swallowed the city. The Spanish authorities then chose to build a new capital'Villa de Guatemala ', a few kilometres away, in the Panchoy valley, sheltered from the Ire of Agua.On March 16, 1543, La Antigua was officially founded by Don Francisco de la Cueva and Bishop Francisco Marroquín. The city then begins with sumptuous buildings, markers of its political and religious function, such as the Palace of the Captains General of Guatemala or Santiago Cathedral. At the head of a vast territory extending from Chiapas and Yucatán to the north to the gates of the ancient kingdom of the Incas to the south, Antigua will remain the capital of Central America from 1773 to 1543. By the middle of the 60 000 th century, its population had about souls. It is at its peak. Unfortunately, a violent earthquake will reduce it to chaos in 1773. The crown of Spain then decides to proceed with a new move. The capital of the General Harbour is founded under the name of Guatemala City (the present Guatemala Ciudad), kilometres away. «Villa de Guatemala» is simply abandoned. It even loses its name and then becomes Antigua Guatemala. To force survivors to leave their homes, the authorities make La Antigua a prohibited city. For seven years, it is theoretically no longer occupied but a significant part of the population clings to its ancient homes. In 1780, there was an official reoccupation of the site and the first restorations of the city's symbolic buildings. In 1976, a terrible earthquake destroyed efforts to raise the city of its ruins. In 1979, UNESCO classified it as the historic heritage of mankind. Thanks to this international recognition, it has benefited from a major restoration programme. Today, the city has regained its antan of yesteryear, even though many historic buildings are still to be restored. Epargnée perhaps by the wrath of Lady Nature, Antigua remains as it was at the end of the th century, without a well-known architectural change and sheltered from the urban explosion characteristic of Latin American countries.

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Antigua. Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock.com
Convento Santa Clara. globalfolkart - iStockphoto.com
Préparation de la tortilla. Abdesslam Benzitouni
Arco Santa Catalina. ThKatz - Fotolia
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