Culture in Pictures: Guatemala
This thread is designed to share the history and culture of Spanish-speaking countries through picture.
Each person that contributes should include a description of the picture included. Every few days I will post a new thread with a new country as the theme.
Today we will learn about Guatemala. Please remember to only include pictures that portray what is indigenous to Guatemala, as each country will get it's turn! Remember to vote for your favorites...it will encourage your fellow SpanishDictians to contribute!
So here is my contribution for Guatemala:
Masks from Guatemala
13 Answers
These are ruins in Tikal National Park.
Lago de Atitlán (130.1 km2) (conecta con la cultura maya)
With the end of the 36 year civil war, Guatemala quickly became a sought-after destination for anthropologists, researchers, and adventure travelers from around the world. Its combination of rich culture and vivid landscape find a place in anyone's heart. Culturally, Guatemala is divided between the Mayan indigenous people, who make up 53% of the population, ladinos, who are a hybrid people that are neither Mayan nor Hispanic, and Hispanic people, descendants of the Spanish conquistadores. Guatemala has the largest cultural diversity in Central America where 21 different languages are spoken widely (besides Spanish). Indigenous Mayan traditions are evident all around you, such as the colorful traje tipico (traditional dress) of the Guatemalan women, and the large, chaotic, and exciting open air markets. Physically, Guatemala provides unprecedented variety in an area the size of the state of Tennessee. Tropical jungle, snow-capped active volcanoes, lively coastline...it is all in Guatemala. The country is full of paradoxes, which makes it fun to explore and fascinating to study... but that is what makes Guatemala fascinating to explore, and to study and understand its history, culture, and the people.
The fishing and farming villages which emerged on Guatemalans Pacific coast as early as 2000 BC were the forerunners of the great Maya civilization which dominated Central America for centuries, leaving its enigmatic legacy of hilltop ruins. By 250 AD, the Early Classic Period, great temple cities were beginning to be built in the Guatemalan highlands, but by the Late Classic Period (600 to 900 AD) the center of power had moved to the El Peten lowlands. Following the mysterious collapse of the Maya civilization, the Itzaes also settled in El Peten, particularly around the present-day site of Flores.
When Pedro de Alvarado came to conquer Guatemala for the king of Spain in 1523, he found the faded remnants of the Maya civilization and an assortment of warring tribes. The remaining highland kingdoms of the Quiche and Cakchiquel Maya were soon crushed by Alvarado's armies, their lands carved up into large estates and their people ruthlessly exploited by the new landowners. The subsequent arrivals of Dominican, Franciscan and Augustinian friars could not halt this exploitation, and their religious imperialism caused valuable traces of Mayan culture to be destroyed. Independence from Spain came in 1821, bringing new prosperity to those of Spanish blood (creoles) and even worse conditions for those of Mayan descent. The Spanish Crowns few liberal safeguards were now abandoned. Huge tracts of Mayan land were stolen for the cultivation of tobacco and sugar cane, and the Maya were further enslaved to work that land. The country's politics since independence have been colored by continued rivalry between the forces of the left and right - neither of which have ever made it a priority to improve the position of the Maya.
Few exceptional leaders have graced Guatemala's political podium. Alternating waves of dictators and economics-driven Liberals were briefly brightened by Juan Jose Aravalo, who established the nation's social security and health systems and a government bureau to look after Mayan concerns. In power from 1945 to 1951, Aravalo's liberal regime experienced 25 coup attempts by conservative military forces. Aravalo was followed by Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, who continued to implement liberal policies and instituted an agrarian reform law to break up the large estates and foster highly productive, individually owned small farms. The expropriation of lands controlled by foreign companies, a move supported by the country's Communist Party, was the signal for the CIA to step in (one of these foreign companies was the United Fruit Company, which interestingly was part owned by the then US Secretary of State). With their help a successful military coup was organized in 1954, Arena Guzman fled to Mexico and the land reform never eventuated.
A succession of military presidents followed, and as both protest and repression became more violent, civil war broke out. Booming industrialization in the 1960s and 70s helped the rich get richer, while the cities became increasingly squalid as the rural dispossessed fled the countryside to find urban employment. The military's violent suppression of anti-government elements (which meant the majority of landless peasants) finally led the USA to cut off military assistance, leading in turn to the 1985 election of the civilian Christian Democrat Marco Vinicio Cerezo Aravalo. Aravalo's five years of inconclusive government were followed by Jorge Serrano El'as, who won the presidency for the conservative Solidarity Action Movement. His attempts to end the decades-long civil war failed, and as his popularity declined he came to rely increasingly on military support. On May 25, 1993, following a series of public protests, Serrano carried out an auto-coup. Lacking popular support, Serrano fled the country, and an outspoken critic of the army, Ramiro de Le-n Carpio, was elected by Congress.
Carpio's law-and-order mantle was taken up by new president, Alvaro Enrique Arzœ Irigoyen, who attempted to heal his feuding and crime-ridden country with a neo-liberal technocratic salve. In December 1996, the government signed a series of peace accords with leftist guerrillas and the army agreed to reduce its role in domestic security matters. The greatest challenge to a lasting peace stems from great inequities in the basic social and economic power structure of Guatemalan society. Guatemala swore in a new government January 14, 2000, under its recently elected right-wing president, Alfonso Portillo. An admitted murderer, Portillo won by claiming that if he could defend himself, he could defend his people. His main campaign promise is to shake up the country's armed forces.
On December 29, 1996, the Guatemalan government and the guerilla forces of the URNG signed a U.N. brokered peace accord which ended 36 years of civil war. Although the peace accords have been heralded as the basis for forming a national consensus and creating the political space to build a new society, it is widely held in Guatemala that signing peace does not make peace. True peace will depend on ending impunity; passing constitutional and tax reforms to implement and finance provisions within the accords; changes in economic and legislative policies to favor the poor; and will require the financial support of the international community as well as international monitoring to assure compliance.
In order for the peace accords to become institutionalized in Guatemalan law, a number of constitutional reforms must be approved by Congress and ratified by a National Referendum. These reforms included legally reorganizing the Guatemalan nation as multiethnic, multilingual, and multicultural; strengthening civil power and defining the functions of the army in a democratic society; and strengthening the judicial system. Under the revised Constitution the army's duties will be restricted to defending national sovereignty. Opposition to the accords from the military and the business community has made certain provisions of the accords difficult to implement, such as rural development, tax reform and compensation for the victims of the civil war.
The grim truth is that most of the social, economic, and political conditions within Guatemala which generated the conflict to begin with have not improved, in fact, they have gotten worse. Land, wealth and political power are still concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority. The majority remains with little power to bring about change, have very limited or no opportunity for education, and lack an adequate diet, decent shelter and basic health care. The judicial system remains hostage to corruption and impunity.
Given these conditions it remains to be seen whether the Peace Accords will serve to foster genuine development and deepening democracy or not. There are important forces outside Guatemala which bear on this question as well. William Robinson argues in an article called Neo-Liberalism, the Global Elite and the Guatemalan Transition (Report of Guatemala, Vol. 19, No. 4, Winter 1998) that by the 1990s a New Right had emerged in Guatemala that is part of a larger transnational elite whose project is to modernize the state and society without any fundamental of concentration of property and wealth and without any class redistribution of political and economic power. Former President Arzu and the PAN party represented this New Right in Guatemala, which is promoting a neo-liberal model of development, including the privatization of formerly state owned enterprises. Their interests are not so much to promote democracy as they are to make the country stable for global capitalism.
Finally, it would be naive to think that a country torn apart by war for nearly four decades could heal in just a few years. Every single Guatemalan has to deal on some level with the post-war issues looming before them: is reconciliation possible within the current context and who will foster it? Can amnesty decrees and the brute power that has protected human rights violators be overturned by the Truth Commission? Will justice be served so those responsible for the atrocities will be held accountable? In presenting the Truth Commission report, Christian Tomushcat stated, no one today can insure that the immense challenge of reconciliation through truth can be met with success. In order to do so, the historic facts must be recognized and assimilated into each individual consciousness and the collective consciousness. The country's future depends in great part on the response of the state and society to the tragedies suffered in the flesh and blood. On December 29th, 2003, Berger was elected to the presidency, ending the FRGs (Frente Republicano Guatemateco) hold on the Congress and Presidency. Because of this, there is currently is a feeling of optimism and hope throughout Guatemala.
La cultura Monte Alto (civilización olmeca - desde 1800 A C)
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The marimba is the national instrument that has developed a large repertoire of very attractive pieces that have been popular for more than a century.
Keys or bars (usually made of wood) are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys to aid the performer both visually and physically.
Just west of the capital of Guatemala City rests the former capital city of La Antigua Guatemala. Founded by Spanish conquistadors on March 10, 1543.
Traditional weaving
I copied a picture from a website about the amazing mission at San Lucas Tolimán - but it doesn't seem to be showing up. I see a window that says "alt text" with a small red x. Anyone know how to fix this, allow a picture to post?
OK - I figured it out. Thanks Renae and all for your help. Here is the picture I wanted to post. It is one of the traditions that is still most striking to me. While the practice seems very backward, it does serve the additional benefit of allowing the women some social time together. It is not what people in our culture would consider "quality social time". However, for a Mayan woman who is up at 4 am to make her husband's meal before he leaves for the fincas, and spends the bulk of her day in her home, this is often the only time available to be with other women outside of the home. One of the many projects in process in San Lucas is the construction of a women's center. Here the women will be able to come to a safe place to cook, do laundry (their traditional duties) together, as well as learn other skills they have an interest in.
Guatemalan Tamales
Recipe in English (Receta en Inglés):
RECADO: (the sauce)
Ingredients: 1-1/2 pounds of tomatos 2 large pimiento chiles 3 dried chiles (include if you want it more spicy) 2 ounces of pepitoria (ground pumpkin seeds) 2 ounces de ajonjolí 1 small stick of cinnamon 1 ounce of lard Achiote (Annatto) Salt
Preparation: Boil the tomatos with the pimiento chiles and dried chiles with a small amount of water. Liquify and colander while adding the achiote. Brown the ground pumpkin seeds, ajonjolí, and cinammon, and grind it dry in a blender. Mix the resulting powder with to cooked tomatos and colander. Boil for 20 minutes, adding the ounce of lard, pieces of meat and additional seasoning. This recado sauce needs to be rather thick and a bit salty since the tamales lose salt when they are cooked.
MASA: (tamale dough)
Ingredients: 1 pound of corn masa (the same as used to make Guatemalan tortillas) 6 ounces of rice 8 ounces of lard Salt
Preparation: Cook the rice, liquify and set aside. Break up the masa in a half-liter of water and liquify. In an appropriate pot, boil 4 cups of water, add the liquifies masa and stir constantly. When it thickens, add the liquified rice. Continue stirring, add salt bearing in mind that the tamales will lose salt during cooking. If it becomes extremely thick, add a little water. When the mixture is cooked and is smooth, remove from heat, add the lard and mix until it disappears and the mixture looks shiny.
A traditional carpet created for Semana Santa, a religious holiday. Antigua, Guatemala.
The flag of Guatemala is designed in two colors: sky blue and white. Sky blue represents the fact that is a land located between two oceans, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and the white color signifies the purity of the country's values.
The white stripe between two blue stripes originated with the national flag of United Central America, although the Guatemalan version turns the stripes vertically rather than the original horizontal design.
In the center of the flag, there is the crest with the Quetzal bird, a symbol of liberty, and the date of 15 September, 1821, the date of Central America's independence from Spain. There are crossed rifles, indicating Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by war if need be, and olive branches, the symbol for preferred peace.
nice pictures
How do I add a picture from my computer? I spent 2 weeks in San Lucas this past February and would love to post a picture or two.
