Cultura Chapina

My immersion in Guatemalan culture as a FINCA Research Fellow

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Here is the final of three client stories I wrote that were published on FINCA's website.

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Three pictures from different stages in the ascent of Volcán Pecul. Click on each picture for the caption.

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The first photo is a view of Volcán Pecul, the second summit of our hike, as seen while descending Volcán Zunil. The second is a look back towards the peak of Volcán Zunil while ascending Volcán Pecul. The drop off from Volcán Zunil into the valley is the largest abyss in Central America.

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Four pictures from different stages in the ascent of Volcán Zunil.

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This is a very different view of Lake Atitlán (far left corner) taken from a lookout partway up Volcán Zunil. The volcanoes in the far upper left are the trio known as la Horqueta that surround Antigua, Guatemala. From left to right they are Volcán de Agua, Volcán Acatenango, and Volcán de Fuego. In the center of the picture is the trio of volcanoes surrounding Lake Atitlán. From left to right they are Volcán Tolimán, Volcán San Pedro and Volcán Atitlán.

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A view of Lake Atitlán from San Antonio Palopó.

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Following up on yesterday's post where I talked about traje típico, here are two photos from different towns around Lake Atitlán in the Sololá department. The three women on top were photographed in San Antonio Palopó while the two women in the bottom photo were captured while chatting in Santa Clara La Laguna.

The geographic isolation of the highlands combined with the divide and conquer strategy of the invading Spaniards that left a good deal of autonomy to cooperative indigenous communities has created very strong local identities in Guatemala. This localism is reinforced by differences in language. There are over 20 different languages within the Mayan language family that are spoken in Guatemala. In San Antonio Palopó, Kaqchikel is spoken whereas in Santa Clara La Laguna they speak K'iche'. In San Pedro La Laguna, only 7 kilometers away from Santa Clara, they speak yet another language, Tz'utujil.

The traditional clothing serves as a visual marker of local identity since each community has it's own unique pattern for the huipil (blouse) and corte (skirt). Sewn by hand, they can take months to make and are very expensive--over USD $125 for a "simple" blouse that is only partially embroidered and three times that much for one that fully embroidered (the prices are even higher for tourists). As a result, most families own few outfits and only buy new outfits once a year. I recently interviewed a FINCA client whose main business is sowing traditional blouses and I hope to share photos and her story soon. 

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I know I've already posted a photo of a fruit vendor but I loved this girl and her selection from the market in Quetzaltenango. Clockwise from the top are peaches, pithaya, a.k.a dragon fruit, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, rambutan, imported apples and plums. The girl who is tending the stall is wearing traje tipico, the traditional indigenous blouse (huipil) and skirt (corte). Dress and language are the two main identifiers of ethnicity in Guatemala.

Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala, is commonly called Xela which comes from Xelajú, the city's name in K'iche'. K'iche' or K'ichee' is the local indigenous language that is part of the Mayan language family. Quetzaltenango, like many Guatemalan place names, comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica people (commonly known as Aztecs) who served as guides for the first Spaniards. I am heading back towards Xela this weekend to hike Volcanoes Zunil (11,293 ft above sea level) and Pecul (11,499 ft above sea level).

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This is a photo of a very typical carnicería or butcher. On the far right is mostly likely chorizo and longaniza, types of sausages. 

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One thing I know I will miss when I return home is having fresh, flavorful bananas. There is no comparison between the bananas here and the insipid crescents that are shipped over 2,000 miles to the United States. Additionally, whereas a single species, the Cavendish, dominates the U.S. market, there are a variety of bananas to choose from here. On the left hand side of the upper photo are what are called "purple bananas;" they are slightly thicker but the flavor is not too different. There are also baby or mini bananas which I'll try to post a picture of soon.

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These are two statues of the legendary king of the K’iche’ Maya people, Tecún Umán. According to tradition, in 1524 Tecún Umán found himself face to face during battle with Pedro Alvarado, the leader of the invading Spaniards. Unfamiliar with horses which did not exist in the Americas, Tecún Umán took the mounted warrior and his steed as one and struck the horse first. This gave Alvarado the chance to counter and he speared the Mayan warrior through the heart. Tecún Umán was declared Guatemala’s official national hero in 1960 and has come to symbolize bravery and dignity in defense of one’s people.

Contemporary Mayan historians, however, are critical of this official history. By portraying the greatest Mayan warrior as unable to distinguish between a horse and a human being, they see the legend as reinforcing the stereotype of the dumb Indian. Additionally, because Tecún Umán is represented as “the last king” of the K’iche’ people, his death also signals the death of the Mayan people as historical agents.  

These modern day Mayan scholars are also critical of the legend that indigenous Mesoamerican peoples initially believed the Spaniards to be gods. This now common myth subtly creates a hierarchy in which white is above indigenous and presents it as a natural part of the preexisting order rather than a construct imposed by foreigners. Recently, Mayan linguists have begun to offer new translations of Mayan texts from the period of the invasion. These same concerns can be seen in the new translation where the traditional account of the first encounter with the Spaniards, “but it was a fearful thing when they entered; their faces were strange, and the chiefs took them for gods,” is replaced with, “It was really terrifying when they came, they were not known, the leaders assumed they were unnatural beings.” Describing the Europeans as “unnatural beings” as opposed to “gods” has the same effect as labeling them as “invaders” instead of “conquistadors”—it replaces the image of a heroic and inevitable conquest with that of a brutal, but indeterminate, territorial violation. For more on the subject see Kay B. Warren’s Indigenous Movements and Their Critics: Pan-Maya Activism in Guatemala. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998. 

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These are rabutan. The spines on the outside are relatively soft and the shell can be opened by hand. The fruit on the inside has a chewy texture and contains a large seed. They are sometimes called mamón chino (chinese mamones) because of their similarity to mamones which I blogged about last summer.

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These three photos of tiendas, corner stores that sell mostly snacks and drinks, were all taken near Sololá, Guatemala. On the outside of each store is an advertisement for one of the three main cellphone companies: Tigo, Movistar and Claro. Tiendas like these are a common site throughout Guatemala.

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A panoramic view of Huehuetenango taken from the 5th floor balcony of the Royal Park hotel, where we stayed this past Tuesday, Wenesday and Thursday. In the top left corner of the photo, Chiantla can be seen from a distance. Nested in the highlands, it has a beautiful colonial style town hall. It was the destination of my Wednesday morning tempo run and my Thursday afternoon easy run.

Below is a Google map screen shot putting Huehuetenango in geographic context within Guatemala.

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This is a corn field in the small town of Contepeque near Lago de Atescatempa in Jutiapa, Guatemala. Mayan mythology says that during creation human beings were molded from corn dough. Although it is untrue that Inuit languages have a myriad of words for snow, Mayan languages do have multiple names for corn.

Even in Spanish, four distinct names exist. Milpa refers to the corn plant when still in the field, as above. When harvested but still including the husk, it is mazorca. When the husk is removed and only the cob remains, it becomes elote. Only when the kernels are removed from the husk (and made into dough) does it become maíz. 

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The basic message of both is signs is to equate trash dumping with being a pig. The photo on top, from the market in Esquipuals, simply has a photo of pigs with "Don't dump trash" written beneath. The photo on the bottom says "Don't be a... take care of our Chiquimula." 

Trash dumping is a serious issue throughout Guatemala. In urban areas it is worsened by the lack of public trash cans. In rural areas, the problem is often worse with trash frequently dumped by the side of the road. 

Behavior change is difficult but these public campaigns are an encouraging first step.