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First of all, I want to wish a Happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day to all the moms in my family and the world, and especially so to my very own dear mother. I love you mom!

This afternoon, my motherland was given the best gift ever; a taste of justice, and not just any justice, but justice at the highest levels one can only dream of for a country such as Guatemala. Let me explain:

Today a tiny little country in northern Central America with a fragile justice system and deficiencies when it comes to serving justice made history by becoming the first country in America to declare guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Also, it is the first time a former head of state had been found guilty of genocide by a court in his or her own country according to the BBC.

Here’s the overview written by my lawyer and writer friend Renata Avila for Global Voices Online:

Guatemalan de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt was declared guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. After organizing and fighting in courts for years, Guatemala’s Ixil Maya indigenous achieved justice… continue reading.

I won’t say more for now since I am sure you will be able to read, listen or watch this historic news through your preferred news channel. Watch, 1, 2, 3… follow the white rabbit ALWAYS!

Mother’s Day always falls on May 10 in Guatemala. Thus, today is a holiday for mothers in Guatemala and many mamás get the day off from work.

I’d like send a very special Gracias to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being (most of the time; maybe?!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently. Let me share with you the Guatemalan classic marimba Un vals para mi madre (A waltz for my mother) and wish you a very happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day!

Happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day!

I especially wish a Happy Mother’s Day to my own madre. As Luna McCarthy mentioned in XelaDailyPhoto this morning: Mother’s Day always falls on May 10 in Guatemala, as opposed to many countries where it falls on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Today is also a holiday for mothers in Guatemala, so moms get the day off from work. There are numerous traffic reports in Twitter about how light the traffic is today in Guatemala City. Some even wonder if all the traffic is actually generated by the working mommies. Follow the hash tag #traficoGT to read all the reports.

Mother’s Day observed in AntiguaDailyPhoto in previous years:

In 2010, I cherished memories of my mom and I eating POPS ice cream when I was a kid. Although, in general, I don’t like sweets, I have never passed up the opportunity to eat ice cream; now I know why. I would like send a very special Gracias to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being (most of the time; I think!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently.

In 2009 we had a contest to win a signed 4×6 post card with Guatemalan stamps to the first person that could correctly tell what Mayan language the Mayan mothers speak.

In 2008, I showed you an indigenous mother helping her son to overcome his fears in the entry Mother’s Safety Zone.

In 2007 I posted a very long entry showing you three kinds of Guatemalan mothers: the cowgirl mother, the urban rocker mom, and the indigenous mamá in the entry May 10th: Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I also touched the subject of inter-country adoptions which was it was hot topic back then. That’s no longer an issue, but if you want to go back in time to read about those three kinds of moms and the adoption issues, follow the white rabbit.

To all the visiting mothers, please, let me share with you the Guatemalan classic marimba Un vals para mi madre (A waltz for my mother) and wish you a very happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day!

Today’s photo brings forth cherished memories of my mom and I eating POPS ice cream when I was a kid. Although, in general, I don’t like sweets, I have never passed up the opportunity to eat ice cream; now I know why. I would like send a very special Gracias to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being (most of the time; I think!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently.

In 2007 I posted a very long entry showing you three kinds of Guatemalan mothers: the cowgirl mother, the urban rocker mom, and the indigenous mamá in the entry May 10th: Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I also touched the subject of inter-country adoptions which was it was hot topic back then. That’s no longer an issue, but if you want to go back in time to read about those three kinds of moms and the adoption issues, follow the white rabbit.

In 2008, I showed you an indigenous mother helping her son to overcome his fears in the entry Mother’s Safety Zone.

Last year we had a contest to win a signed 4×6 post card with Guatemalan stamps to the first person that could correctly tell what Mayan language the Mayan mothers speak.

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If you have followed the daily of updates of the La Antigua Guatemala DailyPhoto (LAGDP) for at least a year, you would know that Mother’s Day is celebrated in Guatemala on May 10th as Día de las madres.

To all the visiting moms, please, let me share with you the Guatemalan classic marimba Un vals para mi madre (A vals for my mother) and wish you a very happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day! A very special Thanks (Gracias) to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being most of the time (I think! ).

In 2007 I posted a very long entry showing you three kinds of Guatemalan mothers: the cowgirl mother, the urban rocker mom, and the indigenous mamá in the entry May 10th: Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I also touched the subject of inter-country adoptions which was it was hot topic back then. That’s no longer an issue, but if you want to go back in time to read about those three kinds of moms and the adoption issues, follow the white rabbit.

In 2008, I showed you an indigenous mother helping her son to overcome his fears in the entry Mother’s Safety Zone.

Mother’s Day Bonus: I will send today’s photo as signed 4×6 post card with Guatemalan stamps to the first person that can correctly tell me what Mayan language these two Mayan mother speak. You can read all about Mayan languages to see the possible options. Good luck to you all!

Mother’s Day is celebrated in Guatemala on May 10th. Where do Guatemalans take their mom to dine on her day? But of course, to Pollo Campero. I decided to go there and see if I could snatch a shot for you, but I was too shy. The Pollo Campero restaurant was very busy with moms going in and out of the place; there were many good photo opts, but I felt like I was intruding, so I only took one overall shot of the scene (a bit blurry at that).

Today I am also breaking the daily photo rule by publishing three photographs about three different kinds of Guatemalan moms. Regardless of all the inter-country or international adoptions or The Baby Flight as Dr. Karen S. Rotabi calls it, there are still plenty of loving and caring moms in Guatemala. I am showing only three today, but there are many more.

The cowgirl mom above is helping his cowboy kid get ready for a horsemanship show. The urban rocker mom takes her daughter to Jamtigua International Music Festival and bonds with her while listening to the haunting music of Ranferí­ Aguilar and his Rain Maker concert. Last but not least, we have the indigenous mom hurrying up with her daughter while doing some errands. The last photo was published before under the title Let’s go mija, we are going to be late… on August 21st, 2006.

The group that suffers the most with inter-country adoptions is, of course, the indigenous population since their offspring and descendants are taken away to live in far away lands under a different culture and different lifestyles. Guatemalan indigenous population are descendants from the Maya and thus Amerindians or the original peoples of the American continent. By taken away the children from these very close indigenous tribes, something very important is lost. But what the heck, we are living in global economy world with a zillion free trade agreements so there are no speed bumps to the flow of money towards the north. Why shouldn’t humans be part of this flow? Why should only immigrants who can pay their coyote be allowed to suffer the American Dream? Isn’t it the destiny of the peoples this planet to be all and only mestizos (mixed)? Is there any benefit to diversity, really?

I leave you with the questions above to ponder.

To all the visiting moms, I wish them a very happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day! To my own mother Lidia, now living in Las Vegas, I send all my loving through this entry.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Guatemalan Moms / cowgirl+mom / urban rocker mom / indigenous mom