Random Thoughts and Images of Guatemala

This post has been in the works for a while (oh about a month or so now) and has now become a monster. So, in no particular order here are a few shots of various places near Xela that we have visited as part of the school program, or for other reasons, and a few other pictures taken before I completed (and graduated) the six weeks at PLQE.

This is a shot of Almolonga which is a rich farming area near Xela. I took this as we were on our way to a natural hot springs close to here! At this time of the year - the dry season - crops can only be grown in areas where there is irrigation, which is the case here. They grow a wide variety of crops including potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, radishes and various other local vegetables for which there seems to be only a Spanish name. All of the fields are tended by hand with absolutely no machinery. Usually the whole family participates in sowing and tending the vegetables.
While this area is relatively comfortable, the typical campesino family in Guatemala has very little land on which to grow crops and typically poor families have fields on the steepest of slopes, some of which require farmers to be tied on to manage. Inequity in land ownership is a huge problem, with something like 90% of the land controlled by 4% of the population (mostly by the 22 richest and most well connected families). Historically the majority Mayan population has been required to work and live on large fincas or farms controlled by large - and often unscrupulous - land owners for less than subsistence income. Land reform is a perennial political problem which governments have been reluctant to address.

Religion is always a hot topic of conversation in Guatemala and typically will be one of the first questions foreign students are asked by host families. There are really only two possible answers: Catholic or evangelical, of which there are many varieties.

This picture is of a chapel dedicated to San Pasquale, a local saint who has not been officially recognized by the Catholic Church but who, believers say, has an impressive record of miracles anyway. Behind the bars is supposedly the skeleton of the saint, who is about 4 feet high. (They do not make em big in Guatemala!)The locals dress him up in different outfits and people come to make their petitions. The walls are lined with plagues and cards of thanks to San Pasquale.

Outside there is an area where burnt offerings can be made - usually vegetables or animals - and there is usually a roaring fire going. This is where the traditional Mayan beliefs mix with Catholicism - in fact many practice both and see no reason to choose one or the other. And evidently the Catholic Church has made a few allowances.

This brightly coloured Church is San Andres Xecul a bit outside of Xela. The imagery is both Christian and Mayan and the colours were those used originally on Church buildings before they were all whitewashed, due to some decree or other.

The motley crew of dancers is performing at a religious festival honouring the Church´s black statue of Christ, just outside Xela. Actually, it is a copy of another black Christ but the other one was such a hit with the faithful that copies were made (a franchise operation apparently.) It is an annual event with a weekend full of activities including Church services, food and live music. This is a carefully choreographed dance with costumes selected to represent the conquistadores and other historical characters. Not sure what the gorillas are supposed to represent.

Evangelical churches have made huge inroads in Guatemala and may by now claim the majority of the population. Unlike the Catholics, they make people drop traditional beliefs. There are also several radio and television stations controleed by evangelñical churches, and "musica Christiana" is very popular among teenagers, when they are not watching the hottest soap opera (tele novella) from Mexico. Evangelical churches were invited by the notorious dictator Rioss Montt, himself an evalgelical Christian, in the late 70s to help clean up after the huge earthquake here. This served several of his purposes in that the Government did not have to pay for it. Evangelical churches also tended to encourage followers to refrain from political involvement. At a time when many Catholic priests and nuns were organizing people to improve their situation and supporting the revolution - a manifestation of liberation theology - this was perfect for the Government. Many Cathoic priests and nuns were tortured and murdered by Government death squads during this period, in the late 70s and early 80s.

Volcanoes are just one of several types of natural and unnatural disasters that have befallen the unfortunate folk of Guatemala over the centuries. Earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides and the CIA are others. There is a string of over 20 volcanoes that run through Guatemala, many of them active and many of them quite climbable for the intrepid. One of our school trips was a climb to the top of Volcan Santa Maria, a modest 3774 metres above sea level. While Santa Maria itself is inactive, it provides a wonderful vantage point to observe the very active volcano just below it which erupts like clockwork every day at 10:00. Why it erupts on a 24 hour cycle is something of a mystery.

So as not to miss the big event, our climb began at the ungodly hour of 6:00am. We were a group of about 16 or so with two guides, Ronaldo and his 60-odd year-old father who has spent a lifetime hiking these mountains. It was a strenuous 4-hour climb to the top and we arrived just in time for the great eruption below. It sounded like a rocket taking off and produced as much smoke. We were not alone at the summit. Santa Maria is also a popular pilgrimage destination for local religious groups and we were joined by a large Catholic group as well as an evangelical group, both of which had services on the top. The wonderful imagery of the boiling cauldron of hellfire just below was too good to pass up. We were only slightly humbled by the fact that many of the Mayans climbing with those groups wore simple street shoes or sandals and more than a few carried babies on their backs.

The People

Met some interesting, passionate, and fun and people in my time at PLQE, which attracts folks with an interest in learning about the culture, politics, hostory and socio-economic life in this place, as well as in having a good time doing it. They hail from the US and Canada but many were from Europe (Germany, Denmark, France) and Australia. A number of the students I met are pursuing graduate degrees, including one American doing a PHD thesis at a BC university on the Rio Negro hydroelectric development here which displaced a number of Mayan villages. There was always a range of ages at the school including retired individuals and couples who wanted to dispel the myth that language learning becomes much more difficult late in life. I too want to dispel that myth, however I fear it may actually be true. This was hard work!! Many were doing volunteer work with NGOs here in a range of areas including education and health care. And education is the best hope for this country wher only about 20 percent finish primary school. As a location, it cannot be beaten, since you can rent a very nice apartment here for less than 200 dollars per month.

And so I left Xela for Guatemala City after the weekly graduation dinner on Friday February 13, feeling satisfied that I had gotten a good base of Spanish, having made good friendships with some of the teachers and students, and carrying warm wishes from Doña Yolie and others to come back soon (Mi casa es tu casa.)

Spanish with coffee and bananas

Well, so much for my plan to update this every week. My excuse last week was that I was at the Escuela de la Montaña about 2 hours from Xela, where the nearest Internet access is 10 km away by winding road in back of pick-up truck. Yup that is the main form of transportation in these parts.

Escuela de la Montaña is a project of my school in Xela to allow students to study in a rural part of Guatemala and learn about life in small villages or pueblos, which is where the vast majority of the population live. It is located on a small coffee and banana finca in a lush green valley surrounded by beautiful mountains.

The school houses about 12 students at a time who live at the school and eat meals with the families in three neighbouring communities: Fatima, Nuevo San Jose and Santa Domingo. The school also provides a much needed economic jolt to this area, where the unemployment rate is extremely high, through the employment it provides to local teachers, to the women who provide the meals and to others like local guides who lead tours into the mountains. Profits generated from the students and from donations provide scholarships to about 50 local students to continue their education. This is very important here since school is quite expensive and most students in the area do not complete primary school. The school also provides music (marimba and guitar) and art lessons to students. The families are very appreciative of the School which has been operating for about 10 years.

These areas suffered the worst brutality of the military during the civil war and horrendous treatment at the hands of unscrupulous finca owners. Some 420 villages were completely destroyed and many of the people tortured and murdered. During my week at the school we had a fascinating session with a woman from the area who served as a guerilla for 5 years during the war. Her father had been tortured and killed as had her two brothers. Part of the peace accords in 1996 was that the guerillas would disarm and reintegrate into civil society, which they have done. She talked about how women were equal with men in the armed struggle but once the war was over the machismo reappeared in many quarters and many women returned to traditional roles.

The classes were held in nifty thatched cottages called "ranchitas" and were 4 hour long one-on- one sessions. My teacher was "Tito" who is a former semi-professional football player in Guatemala and lives in a neighbouring community.

The families were very friendly and prepared simple but generally tasty meals, often with rice, beans, eggs or some variation. My family had 8 children (6 of which were still at home) and lived in a 2 room cinder block house. In addition, assorted dogs, chickens and a rabbit also shared the space.

Food was cooked on a wood stove which seemed to regularly fill the house with smoke. We talked a fair bit but the conversation was often interrupted by kids running in and out or the television tuned into the hottest telenovella (soap opera).

The big event the week I was there was the opening of the new 2 room primary school which 2 of the kids from my house attended. I dropped in one morning and met the teacher and took some pictures of the first day of school. They were quite excited by that since none of them have cameras. I will send them copies since it seems as if my pictures are the only ones that exist of Day 1 of the Escuela Primeria de Fatima.

Our group was a fun and diverse bunch including a retired veterinarian and her husband from Alaska, an architecture student from Brazil, a Canadian from Nova Scotia (on self-funded leave from teaching high school) preparing to do volunteer work with an NGO, a PHD student researching returned refugees in Guatemala, a Swedish student and several other Americans of varying ages and backgrounds.


Given that walking around outside the grounds of the school after dark was not a good idea, evenings were spent in the kitchen doing homework and kibitzing in Spanish, English and French, which several of us could speak. One evening we had a cooking class with a local woman where we learned to make paupausas, which are fried corn dough with cheese, covered with a spicy salsa and a cabbage concoction. Muy bueno!

One of the excursions during the week was to a community of returned refugees from the civil war who had fled to Mexico called Nuevo Amanacer. It consists of about 35 families and is run as a kind of collective community with community owned businesses, stores, a school and a Church. Our guide for the day was Pedro who fled to Mexico with his family after having survived captivity and 15 days of torture at the hands of the military. His quick smile and keen intelligence belied the horrors to which he had been subjected. One of the projects Pedro and fellow community members had underway was a memorial for the thousands of dead and disappeared during the war. The community has benefited from considerable development assistance from Spain, other parts of Europe and Japan and, while they were facing lots of challenges, was a good example of the positive efforts to rebuild after the war.