Agatha

Benefit Photo Exhibit for Agatha’s Victims

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Photos for the victims of Agatha

I am a lucky guy!

I am so lucky to have among my friends and acquaintances movers and shakers of the Guatemalan society. One such person is Omar Soto, photographer and member of the Antigua’s Photo Club, who captured arresting images of the damages caused by tropical storm Agatha in San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja, two communities near La Antigua Guatemala, while helping the people of those communities. Afterwards, Omar Soto turned a selection of those photographs into “Ayuda y Esperanza tras el paso de Agatha” (Help and Hope after Agatha’s Aftermath), a benefit and chronicle photo exhibit on display now at Convento Las Capuchinas ruins.

At the inauguration of Ayuda y Esperanza tras el paso de Agatha Omar Soto requested food and cash donation to help the people of San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja who are still in need.

I am very grateful to know people like Omar Soto, who set an example and inspiration of the things one can do to help others in need.

Below a few shots of the inauguration and a video clip captured by Kara Andrade. I hope that if you are in La Antigua Guatemala right now or in the following weeks, you make the time to visit the Ayuda y Esperanza tras el paso de Agatha.

Public at Omar Soto's Photo Exhibit Omar Soto

Reporters at Omar Soto's Photo Exhibit Ciudad Vieja Mayor Speaking

Kara Andrade’s video coverage:

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Agatha’s Aftermath

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Agatha's Aftermath

As the new figures and images keep pouring in it becomes obvious that the tropical storm Agatha has caused more damages in Guatemala than Hurricane Stan in 2005 or Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

By the end of Sunday, May 30, these were the figures 82 dead, 111,964 evacuees, 29,245 in shelters, 13 bridges collapsed, [many] roads blocked by landslides or floods (via webO_o). Climaya calls Guatemala the country most affected but also Honduras and El Salvador were affected by the storm Agatha in Muerte y destrucción causa Agatha en Centroamérica. HablaGuate reported about 15 houses that were destroyed in San Pedro Las Huertas (the village I live in) and all the houses lost in Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepéquez. The list of damages caused by tropical storm Agatha just in Guatemala is an endless river of updates in Twitter and Facebook.

Below I share with you just a few samples so you can get an idea of the current state of Guatemala; not a terra firma country any more but an archipelago of isolated communities. 🙁

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