http://davidsbeenhere.com/ In this episode of Unplugged, DBH brings us along on a visual tour of Guatemala City's history and roots. From Mayan artifacts, jewelry and artwork in the Archaeological Museum to the 20th Century eclectic Yurrita Family Church, the capital city is a wonderful mix between traditional and modern. Check out the monuments to some of the most key figures in Latin American history during a cruise down the Avenue of the Americas, or visit Carlos Mérida's melting pot murals bringing together the city's Mayan and Spanish roots. Exploring Guatemala City means experiencing its history and traditions, which have helped mold the city into what it has become today. For everything you need to know about visiting this cultural, exciting capital, check out the DBH Guide: Guatemala, also available for your Kindle.
About Me: My name is David Hoffmann and for the last decade I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food and history! Since starting Davidsbeenhere in 2008, I have traveled to 71 countries and over 1,000 destinations, which I welcome you to check out on my YouTube Channel, blog and social medias.
I focus a great deal on food and historic sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, whether it’s casual Street food or gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning the local history and culture.
This video is brought to you in part by Visit Guatemala. All right so right now we're at the
Guatemala City National Museum of Mayan Art, Archaeological Museum, and Laura is going to
tell me a little bit more about what's inside. Hi, this is the Archaeological Museum and
Technological Museum of Guatemala City that gathers a beautiful collection of Mayan art
that includes stelae, jewelry, ceramic vases, art manufactured in limestone, sandstone,
and also basaltic stone. All of these were found in graves and also in old Mayan cities. Perfect,
let's go inside.
Okay, so right now we're on the main avenue called the Avenue of the Americas. This is
one of the main avenues that goes through the entire city of Guatemala City. Right here you'll
be able to see a few different monuments dedicated to the Americas. So of course,
for Columbus, Simon Bolivar. Okay, so they have Simon Bolivar and a few other important figures
in history in the Americas and this is it right now. Hi, this right here is the church of Yurita
family. It's a wealthy family from Guatemala City. This is a private church. They usually
use it for friends and family. Over there to your right we see the house that the Yurita family used
to use as a holiday home, a weekend home, and this reminds us a little bit like stories of
witches and vampires like Transylvania. And over there this was the holiday home in a moment where
this part of the city used to be only forest and the area for vacations. This church and the house,
they're both from the beginning of the 20th century. And what's the architecture you were
telling me? It's neoclectic? This is known as eclectic. It's a mixture of styles, Baroque
style, Gothic style. At the end, it's a little of everything. In the doors that are made of
mahogany, mahogany tree, mahogany wood, they are carving some of the items, postcards,
sceneries of Antigua Guatemala because Yurita family were so much in love with the city
and they wanted to depict it in the doors. Wow, okay let's go over there. All right, so in 1902
there was an earthquake here in Guatemala and they built this church to thank the Virgin Mary
for protecting the country. And right over here, right there, there's a description about
the earthquake, okay? Is that it? Are we good? We're going to the plaza now, right? Yeah. So we're going
to the weapons square now. Okay, so this is over here behind us, we have the Bank of Guatemala.
Yeah, the murals are made by the artist Carlos Merida from the 1980s and they are
representing the history of the fusion of cultures, the Maya and the Spanish culture.
