In the 4a. Calle Oriente, near the central park in Antigua Guatemala you will find a traditional Antigua house that has been refurbished and that shelters different tourist attractions.

To the right: lid of a Pre-Hispanic censer next to a glass piece of the present days, made by Bjórn Ekegren of Sweden.

Each time I go to La Antigua I get surprised, since I always found new and interesting places. Right in the middle of this colonial site, the fa�ade of Casa Antigua El Jaulon attracts the visitors with its clear colors, in tones of blue and terracotta, traditional of the place and a singular arch elevated over the entrance, comprising the two levels of the building.

Around the internal patio, the small shops are distributed giving different options to spend your time. You can choose between sitting down and enjoying a cup of coffee or visiting La Casa del Jade, a museum-store where they exhibit a valuable collection of this stone. But maybe, one of its main attractions is the room of Mayan art, on the second level.

El Jaulon is the result of the combination between a modern design and the respect of the ancient structure used in Antigua Guatemala.

This is a new museum concept promoted by the Fundación para la Conservación de la Ciudad de La Antigua Guatemala (Organization for the Conservation of the City of Antigua Guatemala), and it is called Colección 2000. This idea was proposed by the guardianship as a space intended to highlight the beauty of the masterpieces no matter its surrounding.

In this way, when they are introduced in the exposition rooms they leave behind any connection that reminds them to the colonial house in which they were found. The rooms are not decorated, they only have the pieces that are presented to the public and some directional lights.

But the original character of the Colección 2000 is the presentation of the pieces, which includes works of pre-Columbian Mayan art presented in front of a contemporary glass handcraft. The purpose of such a curious installation might be in the person that collected all these works of art along his whole life.

The love for the artisan work of the Mayan people made this Guatemalan collector reunite 400 archeological Pre-Hispanic pieces. At the same time, during his trips around the world, he found modern figures in glass that had resemblance with the Mayan handcrafts.

When the Fundación para la Conservación de la Antigua Guatemala received in donation both collections, the one of Mayan art and the one of fine works in glass, it decided to present them together. As a consequence, the visitor is invited to participate actively in the integration of the works from the Pre-Hispanic culture, looking for resemblance with the modern pieces.

The exposition reunites the main artistic worries of the Mayas. There are many pieces that touch the theme of life after death or those that were used in the funeral rites. Nature is another of the important elements of inspiration, since they used animals, such as the jaguar and the snake, to represent the gods. Finally, another big motivation for the Mayan artists was the fascination with the human figure and face.

The theme relation of pieces of more than one thousand years old found in Guatemala, matches extraordinarily with the pieces elaborated by modern artists, designed by renowned firms in Sweden (Ekegren), United States (Shawn), France (Baccarat) or Czechoslovakia (Bohemia). Something that makes you wander that nothing changes and that the human inspiration still remains the same, no matter the time or place.

The resemblance is not always based on the themes, but sometimes they are matched by their forms, designs and colors. Besides, to give the museum a life of its own, the 400 pieces are not exposed at the same time, each month they change the samples and motives. Definitely, we are in front of a new and uncommon proposal, with an original basis and a high quality presentation, and that is why you must not forget about it and you should pay it a visit on your next trip to Antigua Guatemala.

The restorers of Casa Antigua El Jaulón had difficulties founding archeological and historical information that could help them rebuilt a place whose legend goes back to the XVI Century. The people of Antigua believe that the house belonged to Do–a Leonor de la Cueva, daughter of Don Pedro de Alvarado and his wife Do–a Luisa Xicotencatl, an indigenous princess that was given to the conqueror when he arrived to Mexico.

According to historical data, that should have been around the year 1542, right when they founded the City of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Valley of Panchoy. But for the restorers of the place, the lands were inherited by the Bishop Francisco Marroquín, as payment of a debt that Don Pedro de Alvarado had with him. So, the house of the daughter of the Conqueror would have never been settled in this place.

On the contrary, the Ecclesiastic decided to build in here a seminar, which would become the first building with two levels in the city. The house was easily recognized for its narrow windows with thick bars and that is why it was called El Jaulón (the cage).

Afterwards, the building suffered damages, due to the earthquakes and the time that passed by. That is why, the structure on which the visitors walk today should have been built according to the remains found on the XVIII Century and some historical suppositions of architectonical designs used previously.