I have the impression that the last festival in Antigua is very good and has much room for improvement. The balance is positive, although we would be doing a disservice to UGAP if those of us who attend do not provide comments that allow them to grow and make it even better year after year. A complaint is a favor that begs for attention and change, just as indifference would imply no interest.
The talks and presentations are the strength of the Festival in Antigua, with speakers of the highest level, invaluable contributions and in 2010 with Phil Thomas himself, CEO of Cannes Lions, Walter Aregger and Hernandez Hernandez. 
Lions, Walter Aregger and Hernán Ibarra, today of DDB Mexico and Gastón Bigio of Ogilvy Latina among others. The stage and the content make the talks themselves a high point of the Festival.
The jury that Antigua managed to have this year is also a visible, applaudable and admirable strength. They came, set the highest standard in the world and for this, awarded only what deserved to have a Jade in their hands. They did it as it should be, and put the festival on a world class note. However, more I will contribute if I add the constructive criticism, which I pray to read in the positive tone that encourages me to write.
The award ceremony itself, however, still seems to me to be the weak point of the Festival, since it is still held in a temporary tent and in a very bright but low level set-up, where not even the audio could be up to the mark. Like other festivals, they neglect the importance of raising the awards to world class, because what we saw in 2010 is not very different from what we experienced in 2008 when I went for the first time.
While everything gives a positive balance, the UGAP and the organizers of the Festival dropped all their medals with the video garbage with which they decided to start the award ceremony. If someone could give me the link on Youtube, if they dare to post it, I would like to include it in this post so that you can see the poverty of spirit and the pitiful self-image that those who thought it was suitable to open the awards ceremony of a creative festival seem to have. A shameful opening video that I think should be denounced openly so that they can reflect on it for the future festival.
The world has changed and so has advertising, so this opening only made a clear statement: those who created and produced it have no idea of the new role we have, and how stupid it can look who insists on showing the creative publicist linked to images so foul, low and of the worst taste.
In the line of constructive criticism, the excessive use of the jingle they produced for the event is an obsolete, tiresome and absolutely unnecessary practice. For those of us who suffer from it, “Festival Antigua Guatemala” sounds like a tune from the seventies, which could evolve into a modern, respectful and less invasive formula. At the same time, the presentation of certificates of participation to the exponents is a somewhat antiquated formalism, as were some videos of recognition and sponsors.
The location in the Cerro Santo Domingo is a solution for the number of people attending now, because before the limitation in the same hotel Casa Santo Domingo was great. However, the festival loses by having a separate and distant venue, with a serious transportation problem that for 2011 could easily be solved by adding a few more vehicles. Additionally, unpunctuality should not be institutionalized and the talks should be forced to the scheduled durations.
In the overall context, however, Guatemala has looked like the big boys and puts its proposal ahead of many others in Latin America. In a separate conversation, I heard Gaston Bigio recommend that they remove Guatemala from the name of the festival, in direct recognition of the fact that today it is a major regional event.
UGAP: Sincere congratulations and go ahead with the organization of the next festival.
