Writer Francisco Goldman was not off the mark when he described Guatemala City as “a uniquely ugly place”. As he explained, “it was a sprawling, choked, polluted, impoverished, claustrophobic metropolis of 3 million”. That is all true, but it’s all that and more. As is the case in so many Latin American cities, hidden underneath all the hard colourless concrete, human desolation, poverty and utter urban chaos that are a reflection of social life itself, there lies a poetry of long-gone spurs of hope.
Edificio Engel, the building where I live, is one such example. It’s located on the Sexta Avenida, which was the posh area back in the 1940s and ‘50s. Its construction began in 1948 – four years after the 1944 Revolution that ended the brutal regime of dictator Jorge Ubico – and was concluded in 1953, one year before a CIA-staged coup that would put an abrupt end to the most democratic, progressive and optimistic period in the country’s history (according to this book). Edificio Engel is a reflection of those times.
The owner of the land, Don Enrique Engel Mugdan, had already built the Teatro Lux across the street and had just arrived from Europe; he had clear ideas as to what he wanted. The Edificio Engel was built in art deco style, in a rectangular shape and a clean surface with reinforced masonry and armoured concrete. There are 38 apartments, all of which still have the original 1950’s furniture, including rotary dial telephones. Outside on the ground floor, there are six commercial establishments, which have hosted prestigious shops in the past. Today, one of the most popular places in the famous Sexta Avenida is the Little Ceaser’s Pizza. You can get a medium Pepperoni pizza to go for only 35 Quetzales!
As the elites moved out of the city centre to suburban areas, the Sexta became decadent. Last year, the local government planned to transform the once posh avenue into a bus-only street and decided to keep it open to pedestrians whilst works were underway. In a rarely seen case of popular sovereignty over the city, the local authorities had to reassess their plans, as the people irrevocably occupied the Sexta Avenida, now known as el Paseo de la Sexta (the promenade of the Sexta Avenida). It is now one of the most vibrant regions in the city.
The Edificio Engel, still owned by Don Enrique Engel’s descendants, is one of the few in the historic centre that is well kept. Eighty percent of the tenants are foreigners; the building manager is a motherly Nicaraguan lady. It is rumoured that the neighbouring Teatro Lux will be coming back into business as an art movie theatre. Could Edificio Engel be witnessing a renaissance of downtown Guatemala City? Is it possible that it will be once again in a context akin to that into which it was born?
Only time will tell. In the meantime, us the tenants, those who confer life to the edifice, make sure that the building keeps its reputation as a beacon of light in the historic centre. Last month, my German neighbour and I have institutionalised recycling in the Engel, with the proceeds going to help the doormen. Next steps: energy-efficient light bulbs and a compost. Hopefully Edificio Engel will once again be a reflection of the country’s present and not a vestige of the distant past.
