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Let’s do an observation experiment. What things do you find interesting in the picture above?

One of the things about cultural and traditional events that I like is that they are people magnets and it’s so much easier to photograph people and situations that normally are difficult. Take as an example the photograph of the Guatemalan lady and the Maya man from yesterday or the ease with I was able to capture these Maya teenagers while they pay attention to the Mayan ceremony (see video clip from two days ago).

Oh what a culturally rich and diverse country is Guatemala for being such a small territory, don’t you think?

Here’s the essence of the Guatemalan dichotomy for you. On one side, those with very strong roots to their ancestors and on the other side those who want to be anything else, but themselves; fully alienated pues. On one hand, the man explaining the details and intricacies of a Maya ceremony and on the other hand the woman, after having learned the details, explaining that the Maya ceremony is very similar to what Hindus do. That’s Guatemala for you.

Everyone needs to take a break every once in a while, I am taking mine right now; best wishes for this new week and please take it slowly.

This year FOTO»30, Guatemala’s Photo September, a month full of photographic exhibits has as the encompassing theme the concept Nation.

I remember what Manolo said last year when I entitled a post Perpetuating a Nation.

It [Guatemala] is a country, a republic… but a nation… I am not sure. —Manolo

Everyday I come across more Guatemalans who project a loss of identity. This is even true with the Maya people, especially the men, most of who have abandoned their traditional dress clothes in favor of a more Westernized look.

This alienation is also evident in the language where many young Mayas don’t speak the tongue of their parents. This is also true of mestizos (mixed) or ladinos who often use or mix English words into their every day talk without even realizing it or sometimes on purpose. All you have to do is look at the updates in Twitter, Facebook, Google+, et cetera to notice the abundance of English words, phrases or even entire thoughts being used for a peer audience who mostly speak Spanish.

For instance, once I came across a travel agent who handed me a brochure as he called it and when I questioned why he didn’t call it folleto (the Spanish word for brochure) he told me he didn’t know the word brochure was not Spanish. This is merely one example of the many I encounter almost everyday in Guatemala.

By the way, did you know that many Guatemalans now celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving in Guatemala?

Well, I do agree that Guatemala is NOT a nation. Furthermore, I believe Guatemalans are alienated. There are SO many examples of this alienation for sure. However, I would like to read some of your samples of Guatemalan alienation.

You’re welcome to submit as many examples of alienation in Guatemala as you can remember.

This past weekend the municipal government promoted the work of the artisans from the villages around Antigua Guatemala through handicraft fair at the Plaza Mayor and what better sound track than to have live marimba music.

That’s why the Kaqchikel Marimba played at the Main Plaza; normally they are found at Calle del Arco on the weekends. I was walking by while they were taking a break and ask if I could take there portrait; they said NO and then they laughed. I guess they are so used to having their picture taken that they were surprised that someone actually asked permission.

Here’s a sampling of their live performance at Calle del Arco. Enjoy!

As we have mentioned before, if you’re planning a visit to Guatemala, make sure you pack your sunglasses if you don’t want to be blinded by the rich saturated colors found everywhere in the land of the Eternal Spring. Especially so, if you plan to spend time in La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park which is the main hub for people watching and a guaranteed spot to enjoy the best of Guatemala.

If you have spent time in Antigua’s main plaza (Parque Central), please, share with us your experiences!

In Guatemala, October 12 is a national holiday known as Día de la Raza or Day of the Race. October 12 is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza in many countries in the Americas, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día de la Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain and as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Uruguay. These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century, and officially in various countries since the early 20th century.

So, once you know that in Guatemala the October 12 holiday is officially known as Día de la Raza and that in Spain is known as Día de la Hispanidad I found a little ironic that Prensa Libre published a note with the following title: Marchas y carreteras bloqueadas en el Día de la Hispanidad since the news report is about manifestations in Guatemala. Certainly editors in Prensa Libre have a monkey on their back, which is just a reflection of the Guatemalan idiosyncrasies and low self-esteem. For a country with an official indigenous or native population of 60% or more and unofficially close to 90% most Guatemalans will tell you that their grandparents were pure 100% Spaniards. Another characteristic, or let’s call it a feature, of Guatemalans is how much emphasis is put on last names; like if by magic a Spanish-sounding last name could erase our mix ancestry.

All this talk about España and Spanish reminded me about a recent study entitled “El español en la red” (Spanish on the Internet) which found that the Spanish language is the third most often used language on the interwebs, after English and Chinese. So if you want to understand 46% of what’s available on the Internet or at least comprehend the song below, you must learn Spanish. That’s right, October 12 should be a reminder that soon enough Spanish will the official language of all the countries in the American continent; and by American continent, I don’t mean the U.S., but all the countries from Canada to Argentina.

To finish this entry with a smile on our face, I would like to share with you the humoresque piece Valona de la conquista by Botellita de Jeréz, a Mexican rock band, formed in Mexico City in 1982. Their music is a fusion of rock, cumbia, and Mexican traditional music like mariachi and son, creating the genre called guacarrock (rock and guacamole). If you want to know more about Botellita de Jeréz, follow the white rabbit to Wikipedia. Enjoy! (more…)

In the previous century it was common knowledge that one could identify the provenance of the Maya people in Guatemala, especially women, by their corte and güipil (skirt and blouse). Pan-Mayanism is changing this at such fast rate that in just a few years the Maya will mix and match textiles from all over the Mayan world and it will be impossible to apply the outdated and expired canons. In La Antigua Guatemala this mixing and matching is already true. Of course, textiles and Maya weaving is only one aspect of Pan-Mayanism, the most obvious perhaps, but only one facet of this movement.

Looking for other aspects of Pan-Mayanism I found the entitled Pan-Maya Ideology and Bilingual Education in Yucatan [PDF file] which shows how this movement is all over the Mayab (Mayan world). Below I share with you an excerpt of the above essay to

Pan-Maya ideology is the conscious construction of a local identity in the Maya area with connections to other Maya groups in Chiapas, Guatemala, Belize, and the United States. Pan-Maya ideology is much more associated with the highlands, especially the highlands of Guatemala…

Pan-Maya ideology is a relatively new political direction for revitalizing Maya identity in the world of the Maya…

I also found a reference to “Becoming Maya in San Francisco: The Redefinition of a Pan-Maya Identity among Guatemalan Refugees,” American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, published in December 1992, but I was not able to find the document (at leat for now).

Perhaps I need a follow up article to expand in the subject, what do you say, does pan-Mayanism interests you?

As a graphic designer I can never ceased to be amazed by the intricate brightly colored textiles worn by the Maya people of Guatemala. I hope to always remain astonished.

You know what I mean!

Okay, let’s review the recent events of the last four days:

1. Fast jolt by an earthquake
2. Pacaya volcano erupted
3. Tropical storm Agatha drowns Guatemala
4. Floods and landslides
5. Massive sinkhole in Guatemala City
6. Guatemala soccer teams loses 5-0 against South Africa (Well, this one might not be a surprise at all)
7. … Are these 2012 signs?

Most Guatemalan families are very tight with several generations often interacting with one another. It is not unusual to have at least three generations living under the same roof. That’s what I call family ties.

Have you had to opportunity to notice this or to live with a Guatemalan family?

Visiting the El Carmen ruins folkart market is among the top things people do on the weekends and holidays in La Antigua Guatemala.

Here’s a little secret. One of things on my to do list is to capture through time-lapse photography the contrast between the stark, almost monochromatic muted colors of the El Carmen ruins and cobblestone streets and the colorful handicrafts sold at the market.

Can you imagine watching the time-lapse video beginning with just the ruins and cobbled streets as backdrop and then how the color is added as each new vendor sets up shop and displays the colorful Guatemalan handicrafts?

On January 4, 2010, in the comments posted under Digital life in Antigua Guatemala, Braaad wondered aloud:

“I can’t wait till smartphones are cost-effective enough to saturate the entire country, i.e. the average Jose will be able to browse, watch vids, get email…PAY BILLS ONLINE, ahem.

Can you imagine LAG without all the lines to pay utilities at the bank? That’s some Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
I give it 2 years to become a reality.

Within the same entry SJBJ commented:

one of the sharpest memories I have of Guatemala is our first trip there, in 2007. We were in Chichi and there was an elderly woman there, in traditional dress, could have been 100 years ago. EXCEPT, she was speaking (in a native language) into a cell phone. Really took us aback, the contrast between traditional and modern.

Well Braaad, it’s already happening and I forgot to mention that to you back then. Sorry!

I was enjoying a Guanabana ice cream from Sarita and having my shoes shined while I took today’s picture. Next to me were two young Maya men from the Quiché Department talking in the K’iche’ language and doing something with their phones which I did not understand. I asked them what they were doing and they kindly and slowly explained to me that they were swapping videos and music via bluetooth. Hah? I uttered and they spoke slowly and with terms a neophyte like myself could understand.

I asked where they had gotten the videos and music in the first place. “Oh, from various sources,” they said. “Sometimes we swap among friends, like right now. Other times we download from the internet or get them from cyber-cafes.” The two men kept flying through the telephone keyboards without missing a keystroke while explaining all those hi-tech things to me. It was like the scene from Martin Scorsese’s The Departed – where the infiltrated Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) sends a warning text message while keying it blindly because the telephone was in his pants packet.

Both of the young Maya men, under the age of 25, are from San Antonio Ilotenango, Quiché and are entrepreneurs. The hand on the left belongs to the owner of several ice cream carts through La Antigua Guatemala. The other hand belongs to a shoe shiner with several boxes around the Main Plaza.

That day I learned that the Maya are not sitting down waiting for “us” to bring them the technology and the knowledge of “how to use it.” That day I learned to be hopeful of the New Guatemala that peeks from just around the corner of the near future. That day I was reassured that Internet access in every corner of Guatemala will become a realty sooner than I expected; that edge and 3G mobile smart phones with Internet access are being used by a wider range of people than I expected; that Open School computer workshops are benefiting a lot of people who are usually off our attention radar.

It’s like what George Whitesides said in his recent TED talk, A lab the size of a postage stamp about the cellphones: “I don’t know if the idea of one computer, one child makes any sense anymore; here’s the computer of the future… The screen is already there and the device is pretty ubiquitous.”

That day I left the park with my shoes shined, my appetite satisfied, my heart full and a big smile on my face. Life is good!

The Maya represent a culture that demonstrates how tradition and technology can thrive together. This Maya woman, dressed in the traditional Mayan falda – or skirt – fills the tank of her scooter at a local gas station: Guatemala truly is the “Land of Contrasts.” I love what it symbolizes… progression without losing the rich attributes of the past.

text and photo by Laura McNamara