Guatemalan Portrait: El cañero

Th Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: caña or vara are the words used in Guatemala for reeds.

Often one gets to read only the negative news from Guatemala as the mass media is mostly interested in broadcasting the sensationalistic stuff. Not here, not today. Just as often, I try to bring to your the real Guatemala through the stories of real Guatemalan workers and people I encounter and photograph then catalogue under #GuatemalanPortrait or #RealGuatemala. As always, follow the white rabbit to learn about other hard-working Guatemalans who have shared their story with me and you.

These reed shoots, carrizo, are very similar to bamboo and just as strong. Don Pablo leaves home each morning with two dozen reeds for sale and he said he comes back home with nothing. Don Pablo lives in zona 4 of Guatemala City and each day he tries a new destination to sell the reeds, which sell somewhere between Q8/$1 to Q15/$2. If we assume that Q10 is the average price, he brings home around Q240/$40 minus the money spent in food and transportation.

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