Spanish School Blog Guatemala Pg 24

Guatemala tradition on handicrafts dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Handicrafts covers all work or work done by hand, without the support of any kind of machinery. These handmade works produce costumes or clothing, some decorative, but most of them are utilitarian objects.

In Spanish Language, we use diminutives to shorten the definitions of time and space. Although these are words that technically do not exist in the dictionary, they are widely used on daily basis and applied for many circumstances.

The traditional Guatemalan clothing is well known to be perhaps the most colorful of all the typical costumes in Latin America, in particular, the Highlands of Guatemala are the most popular ones. These costumes vary a lot and it depends on the region, each design has been influenced by history.

Guatemala is a multi-ethnic and multilingual country, the country is divided into four ‘Culture Groups’ with 25 ‘ethnic groups’, the four culture groups are the Mayan, Ladina, Xinca (Xinka) and Garífuna.

On September 15th Guatemala celebrates the Independence Day as an independent country from Spain (Guatemala became an independent country in 1821).

There are tons of common expressions we all use in any language as we all know, but in Spanish language and in Guatemala, this is perhaps this is the most used expression any day, the famous ‘NO TENGA PENA’.

Corn in Guatemala has been a vital piece in the history of this country, from ancestral times with the Mayans, until today. It is part of the daily diet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The famous tortillas are the eternal accompaniment at the Guatemalan table.

Five different classic sayings in Spanish language. These all are quite interesting to learn about and don't have a literal easy translation to them. Understanding each one of them will help you learn how to communicate a little bit easier.