Volcano of fire

In Guatemala there are more than thirty volcanoes, three of them active. The one with the most activity is the Volcano of Fire, which is just over 3700 meters high and located near the colonial city of La Antigua, which was the capital of Guatemala until the earthquake of 1773. It is considered the most active volcano in Central America and one of the most active in the world, offering continuous and spectacular eruptions that can be seen and heard, if the clouds and the noise of the city do not impede it, from La Antigua, located about 12 km in a straight line. Due to its activity, it is not possible to climb to the summit of the Volcano of Fire, but it is possible to access the summit of the currently inactive Acatenango volcano, a colossus of almost 4000 meters high that is connected to the Fire volcano, as if they were siamese twins, and which serves as a majestic balcony to observe the eruptions of lava, smoke, and huge stones that its brother expels. The climb, although not suitable for everyone due to the great elevation gain and altitude, which usually takes its toll on travelers, does not present technical difficulty. Most visitors choose to spend the night near the summit of Acatenango, in the humble and precarious camps that the local guides have installed there to make a living thanks to the growing tourism that the volcano attracts. From there, hearing the powerful sound of the explosions and seeing the lava falling down the slopes of the volcano in the darkness of the night is an experience that is hard to forget.

It is possible that these volcanoes, along with the nearby inactive Agua volcano, served as inspiration for Antoine de Saint-Exupery when describing the tiny planet of The Little Prince:

“On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order. He carefully swept out his active volcanoes. He had two active volcanoes; and they were very convenient for heating his breakfast in the morning. He also had one extinct volcano. But, as he said, “One never knows!” So he cleaned out the extinct volcano, too. If they are well cleaned out, volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without any eruptions. Volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney. Of course, on our Earth, we are much too small to sweep our volcanoes. That is why they cause us such terrible catastrophes.”

Antoine made a stopover in 1938 in the city of Guatemala to refuel on a long trip he was taking from New York to Punta Arenas, Chile. However, during takeoff he suffered a serious accident that left him in a coma for five days and with numerous injuries. He spent several weeks in La Antigua recovering from his injuries, with the inevitable backdrop of the three volcanoes. At that time, only the Volcano of Fire was active, as it is today, but a few years earlier violent eruptions had been observed on Acatenango, so the locals probably did not yet consider it an extinct volcano.

It was comforting to think, while watching the Volcano of Fire spew lava and rocks from up there, that I was contemplating one of the volcanoes from The Little Prince, and that it needed to be swept out to burn slowly and steadily, without eruptions.

According to others, The Little Prince would actually be inspired by El Salvador, the country of his wife Consuelo, also known for its numerous volcanoes. But that… is another story.

Andrés Chazarra

Season 5. Chapter 5	Volcán de Fuego
recording date	October, 2022
Duration	2:06 minutes
Date of issue	March 1, 2023
Location	Departamentos de Sacatepéquez, Escuintla y Chimaltenango. Guatemala
Image and sound	Ramiro Romero Fresneda, Andrés Chazarra.
Edition	Ernesto Cardoso
Opusculum	Andrés Chazarra.
Music	Aufiorezout
Song	Pyria