I, the Guatemala Gringo, have committed an error common to many gringos such as myself, in calling the city of La Antigua Guatemala, simply La Antigua.

According to Rudy Girón in an interesting article for REVUE, Guatemala’s leading English magazine, this offense is common among English speakers and Spanish speakers alike.

Common mistakes include referring to the city as just Antigua; an internet search for Antigua will most likely land you somewhere in the Caribbean rather than in La Antigua Guatemala. There are others, like this old Gringo, who have always called it La Antigua, and never really given a second thought to it. Thanks Rudy!

Turns out Wikipedia even lists La Antigua Guatemala wrong! (They have it filed under “Antigua Guatemala”) and the street signs even read “Antigua Guatemala” as well. Guatemalans themselves are guilty of committing the error, often referring to it simply as “Antigua.”

Rudy explains why there is such controversy over the name by explaining what part each word plays in the title. His words, quoted from his article for REVUE, are to follow:

La: The article is very important because it is the only part of the name which really makes the location unique. La or The is what separates La Antigua Guatemala from any Old Guatemala.

Antigua: The adjective modifies the noun Guatemala in many different ways. For instance, it could be translated as antique, old, former, ancient, previous …

Ciudad de/City of: This invisible part is my contribution to the controversy. This part is invisible because in Spanish sometimes we obviate the obvious. We say, “I am going to Guatemala” or “I am going to Mexico” if we are in the rural areas of those countries and we mean to say we’re going to Guatemala City or Mexico City. When we say “La Antigua Guatemala” we really are saying “The Old Guatemala City” or “The Former Guatemala City.” So, believe me when I say the word “city” is there, we just don’t pronounce it. Okay, let see if it flies.

Guatemala: The noun Guatemala has an invisible last name, which is city. Guatemala City and Mexico City are only two of the capital cities that carry the name of the country and thus need the word city to differentiate it.

Clearly, Rudy is on to something. While nicknames for cities will always be popular, it is interesting to know the breakdown behind the true city name. A comment on Rudy’s article took things a little too seriously… I think it was an interesting article and kudos to Rudy for pointing it out. I for one will be using the proper name of La Antigua Guatemala in formal settings, such as this here blog, but will probably still call it La Antigua amongst friends.

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