Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BONJOUR, AMIGO
It's been a long time since anybody called Guatemala City the Paris of anywhere, which makes it all the more re-
markable to find a replica of the Eiffel Tower straddling a busy downtown intersection. The
Torre del Reform-
ativa del 19 del Julio,' was completed in 1935 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of former president
and reformer Justo Rufino Barrios.
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1
Zona 1
la Constitución; ; Parque Central, Zona 1)
. The standard colonial urban-planning scheme required
every town in the New World to have a large plaza for military exercises and ceremonies.
On the north side of the plaza was usually the
palacio de gobierno
(colonial government
headquarters). On another side, preferably the east, would be a church (or cathedral). On
the other sides of the square there could be additional civic buildings or the imposing
mansions of wealthy citizens. Guatemala City's Parque Central is a classic example of the
plan.
The Parque Central and adjoining Parque Centenario are never empty during daylight
hours, with shoeshine boys, ice-cream vendors and sometimes open-air political meetings
and concerts adding to the general bustle.
Palacio Nacional de la Cultura
( 2253-0748; cnr 6a Av & 6a Calle, Zona 1; admission Q30; 9-11:45am & 2-4:45pm Mon-Sat)
On the
north side of the Parque Central is this imposing presidential palace, built between 1936
and 1943 during the dictatorial rule of General Jorge Ubico at enormous cost to the lives
of the prisoners who were forced to labor here. It's the third palace to stand on the site.
Despite its tragic background, architecturally the palace is one of the country's most in-
teresting constructions, a mélange of multiple earlier styles from Spanish Renaissance to
neoclassical. Today, most government offices have been removed from here and it's open
as a museum and for a few ceremonial events.
HISTORIC BUILDING
