Pilas: An Antigueño Community Tradition
Romance rests on the lips of many when visiting La Antigua Guatemala. With lush courtyards, Bougainvilleas spilling over colorful walls, and crumbling, colonial ruins, visitors often find it difficult to argue that Antigua Guatemala’s storybook setting is a bit of an aphrodisiac. But how about washing clothes? Yes, even the Guatemalteco tradition behind cleaning dirty laundry possesses a bit of romantic flair and that’s why pilas – or traditional-styled washbasins – are found scattered throughout the pueblo.
The most infamous pilas in La Antigua are those of the Tanque de la Unión. During colonial times, it served local custom for each village to have a large public washing center with public water tanks and washbasins. While offering residents a centralized place for water distribution and for washing clothes, these public washbasins also provided a happy gathering place for women where they could socialize and catch up on the latest “village gossip.” 
Often, community issues were discussed, developed and resolved at the public pilas. Tanque de la Unión was originally created for the indigenous Maya who lived on the slopes of Volcan de Agua but needed to come to the village due to water shortage. Locals were first gathered at the pilas on the 3 of February 1853. Yet, Maya women still gather there even today, echoing the traditions of the colonial past.
Many modern Maya and Ladino households also currently use smaller versions of these pilas. Smaller pilas are simply two large basins, one deep and filled with water, while the other is shallow and wide and used for washing clothes. While originally crafted from stone or concrete, modern household pilas are formed from plastic. In restaurants and more upscale houses however, larger stone pilas – which possess several broad, deep basins – are often transformed into interior decorations, becoming indoor ponds and even fountains. In La Esquina, it is hard to resist the temptation to trail one’s fingers through the scattered flower blossoms floating in the bar-restaurant’s elegant pilas.
Art in La Antigua Guatemala
Artistic expression is inescapable in La Antigua Guatemala. Colonial edifices beg the passerby to marvel at architectural art. Maya women and children offer handfuls of rainbow-colored, handmade goods to tourists who seem almost overwhelmed by the abundance of woven textiles – which are available on the street, in a special artisan market and in boutique shops throughout the cobbled city.
On sunny days, visitors can spot men and young boys lining the Calle del Arco, quietly painting bold and vibrant Antigueño and Guatemalan landscapes. On these bright, sunny days you can also find a young woman sitting in her wheelchair in front of the shops lining Central Park. 
The drawings and watercolors she produces with her malformed feet are as impressive and fine as a seasoned artist, yet as simple and innocent as a child’s artwork. A wealth of jewelry stores, jade shops and art galleries – like the Paseo de los Museos in the prestigious hotel Casa Santo Domingo – can all be discovered by leisurely strolling along LAG’s calles and avenidas.
Those wanting to delve further into Antigua Guatemala’s art scene should check out activities hosted by the Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española and El Sitio Proyecto Cultural. Both represent La Antigua’s most active cultural center’s offering workshops, special art exhibitions, weekly film showings, theatres, concerts, and more. Rainbow Café, a restaurant whose walls are covered in murals and local artwork, often hosts live music as well as informational lectures that often relate to art. And when it comes to musical expression, La Esquina, Cielos and Ricky’s Bar are becoming the live music and live D.J. hotspots. La Sala and Sin Ventura are the perfect night clubs for spotting locals and tourists alike whirling around to the fast Latin beats of salsa and meringue. A new website, ArteAntigua.com, is also aiming to develop a more complete source of art, culture and events available in LAG.
Vines Romantically Spill Over the Colonial Walls of Antigua Guatemala
La Antigua is lush, luxuriously lush. Tropical plants and flowers spill over colorful, colonial walls and crumbling, colonial remnants creating an irresistibly romantic landscape for lovers. (As shown in the photo below… awww.) The most common of these crawler, ivy-like plants spotted in LAG is the Bougainvillea.
Because the old Spanish town is nestled in a valley surrounded by volcanoes in the mountainous highlands of central-south Guatemala, the Bougainvillea thrives in LAG without much care or tending needed. La Antigua is characterized by a cool, tropical climate with temperatures that range between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. Rain is common enough in these mountainous tropics, but so is a warm, calming sun, which regularly illuminates LAG’s storybook streets and avenues. This creates the ideal environment for the Bougainvillea plant, whose optimal growing temperatures are warm days (70 – 85 F) and cool nights (60 – 70 F).
Bougainvilleas are considered one of the most popular and most widely grown tropical vines. The plant blooms with its own flourish of color – including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Thus, it makes the perfect accent to Antigua Guatemala’s rainbow-colored walls, rainbow-colored textiles, rainbow-colored culture.
The French botanist Philibert Commerson first discovered the plant – native to Brazil – in the late 1760s and named it after his captain, Louis A. de Bougainville. Depending on the expert, there are between four and 18 species of the thorny, vining plant and they grow anywhere from one to 12 meters tall.
The Mayan Culture of La Antigua Guatemala
One of the characteristics that captivates visitors most about La Antigua Guatemala is the prevalent Maya culture that thrives amidst the wealthy Spanish class and the abundant tourism. Though outside influences are constantly bombarding LAG, the cultural gems of the indigenous people of Sacatepéquez live on. This is a large part of what makes La Antigua so special – this personal witness of true Maya culture.
There are 23 recognized languages in Guatemala and 22 of them are Amerindian languages, or Mayan languages. While Spanish is the official language (spoken by 60% of the population), it is often the second language among the indigenous population.
The Mayan language spoken in La Antigua Guatemala is Kaqchikel (or Cakchiquel). It is estimated that about half a million people (or about 8.4% of Guatemala’s population) speak dialects of Kaqchikel and the Mesoamerican language is closely related to the K’iche’ (Quiché) and Tz’utujil languages.
The traditional dress onlookers can spot the Maya women wearing in La Antigua is basically comprised of a wipil (blouse), corte (skirt) and tokoyal (hair piece). The wipil from La Antigua is usually white with patterns and colors stitched upon the shoulder and neck, which reflect the local Maya tribe. The corte is a piece of elaborately woven, seamless fabric. Maya women wear the fabric wrapped around their waist and it is held in place by a faja (an embroidered belt.). Mayan women wear cortes while doing all of their daily activities, from cooking and cleaning to carrying children and hiking mountains.
