Indigenous women are fighting back to receive recognition of their textiles’ artistic value and a fair market share in the sales. A cloth huipil, open like a book, lay on Natalia and Flavio Otzin’s wooden table, sunshine bouncing off its bright red, purple and blue designs. Otzin swept her hand across the shapes as she explained each one, reading the […]
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Teachers have a particularly difficult job in Guatemala as few resources are allotted to public schools. In theory, education is free and compulsory through sixth grade. Books, busing and uniforms are not free and result in higher drop out levels. Today, about 4 million children are enrolled out of a total population of 15.8 million people. Education in colonial times […]
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Sololá Native, Fernando Pinzón, Creates Handcrafted Journals Made of Recycled Materials. It is a hot autumn day in Panajachel and the stores selling brightly colored Mayan-threaded blankets, bags, clothing and gifts are teeming with activity. However, as we walk to the boat dock, a sidewalk display of journals unlike we’ve ever seen catches our eye. We find out that each […]
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The healthier eating trend is stronger than ever in the United States. Native and African Americans and Hispanics are at the top of the risk group for Type 2 diabetes in America, according to the American Diabetes Association. This trend will have a ripple effect on neighboring countries in the coming years, as chronic diseases related to poor eating habits […]
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With Teacher’s Day celebrated in Guatemala on June 25, we recognize teachers’ hard work and the difficulties of education in Guatemala. Many visitors ask if public education is free in Guatemala. Well, “yes” — but school supplies, uniforms and transportation are not. Public schools have little funding as Guatemala has one of the lowest investment rates per child/per school day […]
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In 2016 the Ark of Compassion brought a group of talented high school musicians to San Andres, Guatemala to participate in its program “Empowerment Training in Guatemala.” During the ten-day trip, it donated instruments and the student teachers taught trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet and violin to local children. The result, the San Andres Semetabaj Youth Orchestra is now a reality. […]
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AFEDES is fighting through the Guatemalan constitutional courts to have Mayan cloth recognized as intellectual property of the Maya people and receive fair market compensation. For indigenous Maya women in Guatemala the clothes on their backs are sacred texts of their way of life. They tell a story of spirit and war, the heritage of an ancient people invaded by […]
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WINNERS BY POPULAR VOTE WINNERS BY EDITORIAL DECISION A special thanks to all the participating photographers — there are some future movers and shakers among these students! The winners and a number of honorable mentions will be published in the June, 2017 issue of Revue. You can see all of the submissions at fb.com/revuemagazine
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The Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena (Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Costumes) celebrates the Month of Museums. When you think of Guatemala, one of the first things that comes to mind is color—and what better represents its colors than the rich textile traditions of this country? Visitors often ask me: “Do you know where I can find those beautiful textiles I […]
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Nan Cuz – A Journey to the Uncharted Depths of a Soul A tribute exhibition honoring the work of Nan Cuz “Magic and Emotions” will be open through June 16. She sits alone now, in her garden, watching the birds come and go, listening to the gentle clacking of the giant bamboo, this tiny little woman. She looks up as […]
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Attention Sacatepéquez residents, “Please Recycle.” Now there is a small recycling center, five minutes from central La Antigua Guatemala, 100 yards past the bridge as you come into San Pedro las Huertas, on the left side of the street, just past the gated community San Pedro el Alto. Recicladora San Pedro de las Huertas is run by Familia López. They […]
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While my heart and soul and culinary core are deeply Guatemalan, my desire and curiosity to learn about the synergies of all Latin cultures is only natural — after all, we share so many traits. From north to south and east to west, Latin America is rich not only in culture, but in unique cuisines. Recently, I traveled to a […]
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Pastores is the go-to place in Guatemala for handmade boots. Visiting Pastores to look for boots, I met with Alicia López, director of an English-language program for local kids. López and her students also offer free tours of the town, which has dozens of shops turning out handmade boots and leather goods. López’s English students have uncovered an extraordinary nugget […]
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WINNERS BY POPULAR VOTE WINNERS BY EDITORIAL DECISION A special thanks to all the participating photographers — lots of pretty flowers to choose from! The winners and a number of honorable mentions will be published in the May, 2017 issue of Revue. You can see all of the submissions at fb.com/revuemagazine
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This year The Procession of Jesús Nazareno de la Dulce Mirada de Santa Ana will occur on Sunday, March 26. Despite thousands of visitors from around the world who descend upon La Antigua Guatemala for Lent or Cuaresma each year, I don’t think I will ever tire of its pageantry or elaborate celebrations. To be sure, the crowds during Semana Santa […]
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Winners by Popular Vote Winners by Editorial Decision Thank you to all the participating photographers — there were so many great images! The winners and a number of honorable mentions will be published in the April, 2017 issue of Revue. You can see all of the submissions at fb.com/revuemagazine
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Food aficionados and cooks know that visiting a mercado is like taking a kid to a candy store, and not until you have been to a Guatemalan mercado do you realize that there are more than fruits and vegetables there. During my time growing up in Guatemala, my mom and grandmother routinely went to the mercados to buy ingredients for […]
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Century-old hermandades using social media to increase carrier participation. Lent is here with Ash Wednesday celebrated on March 1. All of the Lenten activities are designed and organized by hermandades. Traditionally, men and boys are in their grandfather’s hermandad and women and girls in their grandmothers’ hermandad. With processions in many of the surrounding areas and all of the active […]
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Across the northern indigenous hinterlands of Guatemala people are up in arms. You may have heard about it. They are up in arms over the companies involved in damming and mining—particularly hydroelectric projects; over their questionable business practices; deficit of environmental concern; and lack of respect for community well-being and consent, putting rivers at risk. Incidents both positive and negative […]
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Antigua Green School individually tracks each student’s progress and adapts its teaching style to them. Every parent the world over wants the best education for his or her children. And Guatemala is no different. Ensuring the best education they can is most parents’ main priority so as to provide their children with the greatest chance of success. And having a […]
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Winners by Popular Vote Winners by Editorial Decision A big thanks to all the participating photographers. Fun stuff! The winners and a number of honorable mentions will be published in the March, 2017 issue of Revue. You can see all of the submissions at fb.com/revuemagazine
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Tierra & Lava: Luxury, Ethical, Vegan Skin & Hair Care. A few years ago my favorite natural foods chef told me she would not put anything on her body that she would not put in her mouth. At first I thought that sounded like a lofty goal, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. After […]
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Lead-Up leads the way helping at-risk youth in Guatemala and around the world, creating peaceful leaders through workshops with horses. It isn’t until you meet and speak with some of Guatemala’s most vulnerable youth that you actually begin to understand the impact that a program like Lead-Up International has on their lives. Beyond poverty, physical and sexual violence are major […]
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Winners by Popular Vote Winners by Editorial Decision Thank you to all the participating photographers. Great images. The winners and a number of honorable mentions will be published in the February, 2017 issue of Revue. You can see all of the submissions at FB.com/revuemagazine.
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Many things have definitely changed in Guatemala, but in some rural areas, time seems to be at a standstill. That is the case of the molienda, the old-fashioned sugar mills powered by oxen. During a trip to Esquipulas and Quezaltepeque in eastern Guatemala not too long ago, I visited a molienda. While sugar processed commercially is one of the top […]
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Transitions Celebrates 20 Years Serving Guatemalans with Disabilities. Wheelchair Workshop Transitions operates a well-equipped workshop to manufacture new wheelchairs and repair or modify existing ones. This operation employs six to 10 technicians, mostly disabled, and builds rugged chairs well suited for the tough terrain of Guatemala. It employs modern TIG welding and other fabrication equipment and maintains computerized records on […]
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Photo by David Rojas: “This photo was taken at dawn on my last ascent to Acatenango volcano in November, 2015. The area is known as “El Plato” in the main cone of the volcano at 3,976 meters high. The night before a cold front had entered the country making the climatic conditions extreme, reaching -3 degrees Celsius in camp. It […]
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Celebrating 15 years of service WINGS provides quality reproductive health education and services to underserved, primarily rural Guatemalan youth, women and men. On an average of 18 days each month, two mobile units leave their home base in either Cobán or La Antigua Guatemala between 4 and 5 a.m. to drive up to four hours to reach a rural, largely […]
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Partner for Surgery and Compañero para Cirugía (ACPC), 15 years and going strong! Changing lives through medical care. In the July 2009 issue of the Revue, the cover featured a wonderful picture of a little girl peeking at the camera from behind the protection of her mother’s skirts. That little girl was attending a medical mission of Partner for Surgery, […]
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Ponche, or punch in English, is the quintessential holiday drink in Guatemala and other Latin countries. I must say that some of the best ponches I have ever tasted have been at people’s homes during the Dec. 16-24 posada season (Las Posadas), which recreates Mary and Joseph’s pilgrimage in Bethlehem. When I think of ponche—it’s like rewinding and playing back […]
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