Rich Man, Poor Man

Mural, in Memoria of those killed during Guatemala's Civil War

At a glance, Guatemala is a rich country.  Rich with Mayan culture.  Rich with indigenous peoples.  Rich with language.  Rich with natural beauty.  Rich with natural resources.  Rich with agriculture.  Guatemalans possess diversity in language and its people, as exemplified by its 24 languages of its indigenous peoples (principally Kiche, Kaqchikel, Q'eqchi, and Mam) still spoken today and with its more than 50% indigenous population.  Backstrap weaving is a craft still passed down from generation to generation of women; and its beauty is displayed in it's regional styles of huipiles.  Coffee is its #1 export and ranks just behind Colombia as the 2nd producer of high grade coffee in the world.  Followed by sugar and bananas.  Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom in the world.  Gold is abundant in the western highlands, followed by silver, steel, iron.

Los Pajaros -- Santiago Atitlan's signature huipil style

Solola Market

Chichicastenango style of huipil

So how is it that nearly 60% of the population lives in poverty, with at least 20% in extreme poverty?  That more than 50% of the population earn less than $2 a day, and 15% of the population earn less than $1 a day? 

The answer is gross inequalities and injustices at the expense of the marginalized indigenous population.  The wealthiest 20% of the population consume more than 50% of the GDP.  Two percent of landowners own nearly 70% of Guatemalan soil -- leaving Guatemala as a country with one of the most unequal wealth distributions in the Western hemisphere.

The Steps of Iglesia Santo Tomas

Traditional Chichicastenango dress, corte = skirt

The political history of Guatemala has been a long and tortured one.  Corruption and greed, the driving forces.  In the 1920's, repression and oppression of the indigenous people became more evident.  The indigent population was forced off their native lands as outside interests made their way into Guatemala.  In 1954, Arbenz the democratically elected president who had its marginalized people's interest in mind entered the scene; and for once Guatemala's future looked potentially hopeful.  His claim to fame: major land reforms that redistributed the land among the poor.  Later accused by the U.S. government (Nixon) of being Communist, Arbenz was forced from his presidency, opening the way for more repressive governments and a Civil War that lasted more than 30 years.  The result: the death of more than 200,000 Guatemalan citizens by the government a little change in the plight of the largely indigenous nation.

Picop - how Guatemalans roll

Traje tipica of the men of Solola

And while many crooked Guatemalan politicians played a significant role in these injustices, Americans have also tainted their hands with the blood and sweat of these people.  The U.S. is the world's largest coffee drinking country, to whom over half of Guatemala's coffee is exported.  (Please buy Fair Trade only!)  The U.S. has gold mining operations in the country, along with Canada, both of whom are under investigation for human rights abuses and violations.  With headlines implicating Glamis Gold: Glamis Gold Accused of Violating Indigenous Rights, Death Threats in Guatemala Against Community Leaders Opposing the Mining Operations of Glamis Gold, a Canadian/US Mining Company.

The hustle and bustle of Chichicastenango Market

Gringo tourist trap

And the U.S. government played a primary role in the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz, possibly one of the first hopes of justice and equality for the Guatemalan people in its recent history.  Why?  Because he threatened the business security of the United Fruit Company, the US based company that claimed most of Guatemala's land in the 1950's for the production of bananas.  Reacting to the threat of land reform, and capitalizing on the fear of Communism during this time, the U.S.'s CIA led a coup to overthrow Arbenz in 1954.  (Very interesting video on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNG6xzQu1Mw&feature=related).

Maria displays Santiago Atitlan huipil

For me, living among the Mam Mayans in Concepcion and knowing all this made it difficult for me to be proud to be an American.  Even during my time in Concepcion, a protest was organized against the mining in the Western Highlands, in the department of San Marcos, and Antonina asked why my country found the mining justified.  I shook my head in shame and disgust.  Again, greed and government corruption are the driving forces.

Solola market: Nicolas (farmer) and his wife (weaver)

What is likely clear in my photos is what drew me to Guatemala in the first place -- their richness.  That in the face of adversity, they have been able to preserve the Mayan identity that could so easily slip away from them.  While there is likely a bitter tone in my writing, this blogpost is really geared to inform you about what may not be known about this little neighboring country.

If you're still curious, here is a little more: 

• http://www.voiceofamountain.com/ (website of documentary)
• Silence on the Mountain (beautifully written book about Guatemala's civil war)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNG6xzQu1Mw&feature=related  (political events during Jacobo Arbenz' presidency)

Concepcion...Life

Life in Conce is simple, leaving me with plenty of time to think or rest my mind without too many distractions.  The days were easy.  Wake up.  Eat two eggs sunny side up with rice and salt.  My morning walk into the hills and into the center of town.  Then get ready for prenatal consults, which occurred unpredictably.

Trash filled creek bank on the way to town

On days with Antonina, I was asked to cook lunch -- specifically typical food of the Philippines.  And so on my second week here, it was my turn to feed the midwives, with Beef Asado, Chicken Adobo, and Chicken Tinola.  The market in the center of town closes at 12pm, at which time the center is empty and fresh vegetables are hard to find, unless you want to make the 10 minute microbus ride to the next town, which I often did not.  More time away from the clinic meant less time with potential patients.

My modified Chicken Adobo

Ofelia watches me cook

Chicken Tinola made with Huisquiles (Sayotes)

On days when I didn't cook, we subsisted on corn in every shape and form:  atol,  a drink made from cooked corn grains for a morning and afternoon snack; as tamales, wrapped in corn leaves to give it more flavor; and as tortillas, hand shaped and pressed.  And if that were not enough for carbohydrates, potatoes and rice came on the side.  A fervent Atkin's Diet follower's nightmare.  Potatoes are in abundance here because it is the heartiest crop in this area of Guatemala.  Many times meals consisted of tamales, rice, and potatoes, with picante on the side.  Many of those times I just craved a big chunk of meat.

Santos cooks tortillas on the plancha

In the washroom of the birth center there is a cement structure that resembles a small closet, with a door 3 1/2 feet tall, which in order to enter forces you to nearly come to your knees.  It is a chuj, or temascal, a structure that is found at the homes of all the people of Concepcion Chiquirichapa; though normally it is constructed apart from the home.  According to what I've read, the chuj has been in existence for many thousands of years, since before Spanish colonization.  And now there are few areas in Meso America where they are still common, other than existing for the novelty enjoyed by many tourists.  In the Mam area near Xela though, they are commonly used for general hygiene and to insure good health.  In the state of Chiapas, Mexico temascals are used in a similar way to the Native American sweatlodge.

In the casa de comadronas, the chuj, is offered to prenatal, laboring, and postpartum patients.  Newborn babies enter the chuj as well.  It's use is said to relieve the discomfort of the first trimester, to provide strength to the woman in labor, and to rapidly heal the postpartum patient's uterus and help her to regain strength.  (The patient not the uterus.)  Azucena also noted that for women who have poor healing below or who suffered a placental or perineal complication during childbirth, the midwife would often blow steam onto the vagina, after tossing water onto the coals.  I, myself, never witnessed this.

The chuj is the small structure beside the house, dug into the ground

A small fire is prepared, after which a large tin of water is heated by the fire.  After all the smoke exits the chuj and the fire has heated up the porous rocks that hover above it, it is ready to be used.  Those who enter, enter naked and leave a large blanket and towel outside the door to prevent their body from experiencing shock from the two extremes of hot and cold.  Black soap is used to cleanse the body.  If someone has pains, the soap is used to massage.  (The midwives here often use gentle massage with the patients to rid of "belly" pains.)

Inside the chuj

Antonina invited me to enter the chuj, or bano as she calls it, with her one night.  Though not the one at the clinic but the one at her home just yards away.  While, the chuj at ACAM fits three people comfortably, Antonina's fits 5 or 6 comfortably.  Shy and awkward, I asked if we went in nude and she stated yes.  Skeptical that she understood me, "Not even in our underwear?"  "Dana, you have the same body parts I do.  Don't be scared."  And so we went and I left my insecurities behind.  We bathed ourselves with the "jabon negro" and a loofa and poured hot water from the tin to rinse our bodies.  Antonina told me to turn around and comfortably grabbed a loofa and began cleansing my back.  I felt like a child and was reminded of how nice it felt to be pampered by my own mother when I was young.  Then she threw water on the hot porous rocks to create steam and began to blow steam at my body.  Didn't quite understand it at the time, but I didn't question it.

Antonina prepares the chuj

When we exited, a gust of cold wind hit my side and I felt dizzy, drunk even.  Inside, in her bedroom, the bed was stacked with blankets which were folded open ready to receive.  And so, I layed there, with Antonina by my side, warmed by the wool, until we were ready.  Her husband and daughter-in-law catered to our needs, bringing water and tea then let us rest.  After what seemed to be 30 minutes, we headed back to the maternity house.  Oddly enough, the whole experience was a very intimate one with Antonina -- the invitation which communicated trust and comfort in my presence -- and the manner in which she cared for me which was unmistakeably maternal.  It quickly became natural to me to refer to her as my Mayan Mama.

The Lovely Comadrona Cristina

It was Antonina who decided to turn the camera lens on me.  After 2 weeks of photographing each midwife, she decided it was my turn.  And so she brought me her traje tipica, in the traditional Concepcion weaving style, and dressed me up like a doll.  And with the invitation to the chuj in her home...To a party at the home of her sister...To the wedding of her granddaughter, Antonina unknowingly initiated me into her Concepcion community.  Antonina had fully embraced me -- an unforgettably wonderful and warm gesture.

Concepcion's Traditional Huipil and Corte

Azucena's traje

My Concepcion community