Moon Spotlight Guatemala City & Antigua
At the age of three,Al Arguetafirst traveled to Guatemala with his father and was utterly captivated by the country’s landscape and its Mayan inhabitants. He would later live in Guatemala for two years, allowing him to formally learn Spanish and to experience Guatemala’s culture firsthand. During summers in high school and college, Al often took a month off to travel to Guatemala, exploring its jungles, ruins, and villages.In college, Al majored in Journalism and Latin American Studies, managing to squeeze in two study-abroad programs—one in Manchester and one in Maastricht—and traveled through much of Europe. After college, he interned with Costa Rica’sTico Times,getting his first exposure to travel writing and photography, in addition to covering then-President Bill Clinton’s visit to Guatemala. Al worked briefly for a newspaper in the Virgin Islands before moving on to photography school in Hawaii. He also taught English to college students in Thailand for a time, continuing to satiate the travel bug that bit him years back.Al now lives in Austin, Texas, where he’s managed to stay put for an unprecedented six years. In addition to writing, he does freelance travel photography for clients that have includedNational Geographic Adventure, Caribbean Travel & Life, Condé Nast Traveler, Outside’s GO,andContinental.In addition toMoon Guatemala,Al is also the author ofMoon Living Abroad in GuatemalaandTexas Yesterday & Today.For the latest updates from Guatemala, visitMoon Guatemala's Facebook page.