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The Bride & Groom
Hugo Fernando and his lovely wife, Fabiola Guatemala
Hello again everyone,
This is just a quick blog to share some photos from our recent (April 24 - 29) Guatemala trip, along with an update on our Guatemala family:
Jaqueline Barrios’s warm and wonderful family.
Our visit corresponded with the wedding of Jackie’s cousin,
Hugo Fernando, to Fabiola. We got to know Hugo Fernando when he came to the Netherlands with Jackie and her sister
Mercedes in 2002. They were doing a whirlwind European trip, but came to us first and then again at the end of their trip (from the Netherlands to Italy and back again - with stops in France, Belgium and Spain).
We hadn’t been back to Guatemala since 1989. Much had changed since we studied Spanish in Antigua and subsequently met Jackie (and invited her back to the USA for a year - 1990 to 1991).
While many things remain the same, there are many new buildings in Guatemala City, and Antigua is full of upscale textile stores now selling quality products. There is also a 5-star hotel built over and around an old monastery. They had to incorporate the ruins into the hotel (a heritage site/Antigua is a World
Jaqueline w/Sisters & Mom
Jackie, her mother, Elda, Ludmila & Mercedes Heritage Site) and they have done a perfectly splendid job; parts of the ruins now house a museum, as well as the hotel restaurant and gardens.
Of course the highlight of the trip was spending time with Jackie and her family. We had met most of her immediate family in 1988-89, but in the 20 years that have passed, many nephews and nieces were born, so getting to know them was a treat.
Jackie’s sister
Ludmila and her family don’t live in Guatemala City, but in a small town not too far away. They were all at Jackie’s for the wedding - what a wacky and fun place that was with all the girls trying on clothes and jewelry, doing each other’s hair. Lots and lots of laughs.
Jackie's brother
Jorge's youngest daughter, seven-year-old
Melissa took a shine to Bernard - went straight to his lap whenever she entered a room. It is theorized that because Jackie’s father died when Melissa was very young, she saw our Bernardo as a grandfather figure. And of course he loved it. Melissa is studying English and would ask Bernard all the standard questions: How old are you? Where do you
Ludmila & Family
Jaqueline with sister Ludmila, her husband, Otto, sons Rodrigo and Sebastian live? B was happy to answer over and over again, but can also speak Spanish, so they quickly got passed the preliminary questions and became good friends.
Speaking of language, Melissa’s mom,
Letty, claimed not to speak English, but one night we asked about her work with special needs children. Well, when we got on the subject of autism, her English starting flowing beautifully. Everyone was shocked, Letty not the least. After that she didn’t hesitate to speak English and we had some wonderful conversations.
Many of Jackie’s family speak English (brothers
Jorge and Raul, Jorge’s kids
Melissa, Aixa & Jeffery, Mercedes, Dian and Juan Pablo), but not her mother,
Elda, nor her aunt
Fidencia. In the mornings Elda, Fidencia and Bernardo were the first ones up (in truth Jackie was first up, but she then drove Mercedes to work) so Bernardo got to practice his Spanish over coffee with those two lovely ladies.
Actually the Barrios house has a revolving-door policy. Fidencia was there staying and getting ready, with son Carlos, for a trip to Arkansas where her daughter was graduating from the University of the Ozarks, summa cum laude. She received a four-year, full scholarship
Jorge & Family
Jaqueline's brother Jorge, wife Letty holding Melissa, Aixa (pronounced I-sha) and Jeffrey through the Wal-Mart Foundation. The whole family is bright, but summa cum laude, that is special.
This warm and caring family also took in Dian, daughter of Elda’s sister, when her mother was killed in a car accident. There was mention of another nephew who stayed for three years. . . . you get the picture.
Antigua
We were only in Guatemala a short time, but we managed to spend one day in our old stomping grounds of Antigua. It doesn't show Antigua on the map with this blog, but it is only about 45 minutes to an hour from Guatemala City. Jaqueline and her family own a small cafe, Joe’s, there, so we went for a visit and a meal. They offer a luncheon special every day and that day it was paella!! Their chef knows her seafood (once owned a seafood shop), so it was a real treat. Then Mercedes and Jackie walked all those calories off us on a 2 1/2 hour tour of Antigua. We found our old language school and the house where we’d lived - now a hotel.
The Wedding
What can we say but WOW! The wedding reception
Jaqueline & Nery
Nery & Jackie have been together for many years now - such a lovely couple they make was held at Hugo Fernando’s uncles’ houses - yes, two uncles with adjoining houses and property. One uncle’s wife is an architect and the other owns a business dealing with wood (not sure what aspect). We took a tour of that house and just the woodwork alone was to-die-for. The location was spectacular too - in the hills outside of the city and surrounded by undeveloped land - very, very nice.
We met many more of Jackie's family at the wedding - cousins, aunts, uncles, her grandmother, et al., and it was impossible for us to remember all the names, although we remember their warmth. They all knew us from Jackie's photos and hearing about us over the years, so they greeted us like old friends - again, nice,
very nice.
Our last day in town we visited a museum on the property of the university where Jackie and Mercedes got their marketing degrees - a beautiful campus and nicely done museum of textiles.
Nery, Jackie's long-time boyfriend, met us for a delicious lunch at a beautiful restaurant
And all too soon it came to an end. Tuesday morning Nery picked us up for the airport transfer.
Mercedes & Raul
Jaqueline's younger sister Mercedes with brother Raul He also brought us about 12 pounds of just roasted coffee from his parents' coffee farm - gifts don’t get better than that! So we’ve been drinking Guatemalan coffee every morning since our return and with every sip we are reminded of our dear family in Guatemala and the special love we have for them all. They are truly exceptional and we feel blessed that they have included us in their circle of love.
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Sra Sare
Jill Sare
keeping contact - touching lives
It is quite impressive how you two keep in touch with folks from the past (me included). Your warmth and generosity have touched so many lives in very profound ways. i am blessed to know you. Jill