Why Antigua?

ANTIGUA, Guatemala—The last time I was down here, I watched a really bad Mexican movie from the 1940s—one so obscure it can’t be found in IMDB—that was set in then-contemporary Guatemalan. Since the plot made absolutely no sense, it was best to regard it as a travelog. And one of the places the heroes visited was Antigua, even then a tourist magnet.

This is a small city—really, more of a town—about an hour by highway from Guatemala City. The Spaniards sited their capital here in 1543, after a couple other choices in this earthquake-prone region didn’t work out so well for them.

What was then known as Santiago de Something (Spaniards tended to opt for long and reverent names) became one of the grandest of Colonial cities, full of churches, government buildings and large homes. But location-wise, it was still no prize—it too was subject to regular quakes. The one they had in 1773 did a real number on it, and by 1776, it was largely abandoned after the capital was moved to Guatemala City. (Thus the current name—La Antigua, as in, the old one.)

With only a small population, probably akin at points to squatters, it became one of the world’s premiere examples of preservation by neglect. The Colonial buildings that remained standing did so for centuries, unchanged except by more quakes and the occasional looting. The ruins, particularly those of churches, have a regal if spooky old look that has long attracted tourists. The preserved historic city, which is about eight blocks by eight blocks, was declared a UN World Heritage site in the 1970s.

Guatemala’s long, sad civil war, which technically ended in 1996 after what is usually counted as 36 years, largely spared the buildings of Antigua. But it devastated the economy, which only began to climb back after visitors were no longer terrified of the country. Tourism is the city’s largest industry now. It attracts both foreigners and Guatemalans, especially well-off residents of the capital who want to spend the weekend in a clean, relatively safe (though that may not be saying much) place with excellent restaurants and nightlife.

One of the major engines of tourism is the system of Spanish-language schools, some of which were founded as long ago as the war years. Foreigners like me come to these economically priced schools from around the world. They get several hours a day of one-on-one Spanish instruction, and generally live with local families. In Antigua proper,these families often own large Colonial homes with room for several students in private bedrooms, as well as room for the family. The hard cash the families bring in for boarding the students allows them to maintain those houses and places them squarely in Guatemala’s small middle class. They can afford one of the country’s most desired expenditures—they can afford to send their children to good schools.

It’s de rigeur to gripe that with the large foreign influence, it’s too easy to speak English in Antigua. But for a language student, it’s comfortable. People here are used to dealing with befuddled gringos, something they’ve obviously done for a while. Outside of school, you can speak as much Spanish as you wish. However, you do need to get used to everyone considering themselves sort of assistant teachers.

For instance, this morning when I was dropping off my laundry around the corner, I made a dumb beginner’s mistake in Spanish. (I used esta when I should have used estoy.) And the nice man who was weighing my dirty clothes took a minute to explain to me the importance of first person vs. third person when using Spanish verbs.