October 17th, 2008
I’m just finishing up my week up in Monterey, California, helping radio station KAZU-FM with their Fall Pledge Drive. The radio station is located on the Cal State University Monterey Bay Campus, which is itself located on abandoned Fort Ord, a military base the size of San Francisco.
While I have been to the fort before, spending this week working and sleeping on the grounds has furthered my appreciation of its austere beauty and inspired a photography session of my own as well as hours of flickr exploration. I wanted to post a photo from flickr user Wizmo, as well as a link to hisher Fort Ord Favorites.
Wizmo, on why he she photographs the spaces he she chooses to shoot “I’ve had a thing for old buildings since I first started photographing at the age of 16, which would have been 1968. I used to go to Venice, California, and photograph all the run down places there when I was still in high school. There’s something vaguely romantic and mysterious about places that were once new and in the midst of human activity, now that they have been used up. They start to lose the scent of humans, their garish colors become more subtle as they fade, their textures more interesting. Nature once again makes her imprint and they begin to break down into their base elements. I like the sense of dignity and silence I find in them.
Old places often retain a reminder of their former selves, and all the people who once occupied them and used them, and they serve as a momento mori. We shall become them all too soon. “
September 7th, 2008
So, I’m back in the states visiting with friends & family and doing some work until October 28th. I’ve been bouncing around a lot (from Costa Rica to L.A. to Burning Man and back to L.A. in two weeks) doing the same thinking I did last time about similarities and differences between Latin America and the U.S. Living in Guatemala, one becomes very accustomed to the presence of The Police, The Military and arms in general. Soldiers in camo walk through public parks on Sundays, armed with machine guns. Armed guards stand on the sidewalk outside of banks with their hands on shotgun pumps. It becomes part of the culture, a common sight. Moving from there to Costa Rica was a nice change, as Costa Rica has no standing military and is very proud of that fact. What I was not prepared for was coming back to the states and seeing videos like those below, presenting police action against protestors at the Republican National Convention. I have to say, I forgot that treatment like this happens in my own coutnry when wathcing videos of bloody Gautemalan protests in the 80s. I’ll leave this without too much comment, but the videos below have really struck me this morning.
Gestapo Storm Troopers Launching Grenades at Protesters at Republican National Convention Alternative View-Point.
YouTube
Cops v. Kids
YouTube
Cops advance on peaceful protesters at RNC 2008 in St Paul
YouTube
August 13th, 2008
So, I finally left Guatemela yesterday on the King Quality Bus Line. Its a pretty nice bus line, with plenty of leg room and some coffee and food service - sort of like a plane only a little more comfy. We got to El Salvador around 9 o clock and stayed the night at a hotel in San Salvador. We then left at 3:30 in the morning (!) for what should have been a midnight arrival, but didn´t actually get into San Jose, Costa Rica until 1:30. Keep in mind that includes passage through El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and half of Costa Rica. But still, it was a long and tiring day. However, when else can I watch Jumper, The Marine and Firehouse Dog all in the same day, all in Spanish?! Oy.
One interesting thing on the bus was talking to some Ticos about how different Guatemalan and Costa Rican Spanish are. This should be an interesting adjustment. I´m too tired to remember any examples now, but next time.
I´ll be filling in the blog soon with pictures and stories from the dopcumentary I helped make back in Momostenango, Guatemala and about what the next couple of months look like. Hope all is well.
July 17th, 2008
Three days ago I began traveling to a small Guatemalan Highland town calledMomostenango, about 1.5 hours outside of Xela, to help my friend Robin Blotnick film a documentary about both the traditional folkloric dances and the more modern Disfraz dances preformed in this town every year as part of their Feria, or annual fair.
Momos, as the town is called by Guatemalans, is in the mountains above Xela, along a beautiful road which passes first through a town called San Francisco El Alto and afterwards through a green, dry forest. The layout resembles that of many Guatemalan villages, namely a collection of adobe and (more predominantly) cinder block homes and businesses, centering upon a church, plaza and central mercado. The people are probably 95% of indigenous Mayan descent, if not more. Quiche seems to be spoken by everyone, with Spanish as a second language. Momos is a traditional Mayan town in the sense that it adheres to the 260 day Mayan Calendar and has altars spread out throughout the town in which ceremonies can be performed, including in the central plaza.
The town is very much NOT touristy, with no real restaurants, only the Guatemalan comedor, more or less akin to a U.S. diner, which serves typical Guatemalan food at cheap prices, more or less $2 for a complete meal. Most of the hotels are pretty basic affars, though we have found the Hotel Otono, a nicer affair (we hope) where we will beliving for the next two weeks starting Saturday.
In spite of, (or maybe because of?), the fact that Momos is not a tourist town, the people are incredibly nice. My role in the making of the film is serving as both a translator & interpreter for the film’s producer within the context of the film and as more of a guide & negotiator within the town, helping us to get permission from officials and from townspeople to film the town and its events. Its been an amazing experience to be able to get to know a Guatemalan pueblo in this manner; not merely passing through, but actually getting a chance to talk to all sorts of people about their practice of their own traditions, as well as observing said traditions. I’ve been working hard at helping folks feel comfortable with the fact that there is a film crew around, and by and large this has been possible. I’m sort of in disbelief that I’ve been able to pick up enough Spanish and Guatemalan customs to make this possible, and am really enjoying being able to do it.
In the course of making the film we will be watching the process of putting together the dances, observing the dances themselves and speaking with dancers, musicians and the townspeople. I’ll update more with pictures and more specific info about the dances as I learn more.
July 9th, 2008
Sitting in the wooden room, listening to the old man talk, its as if we could have been anywhere. Not necessarily on top of a ridge in Guatemala, not necessarily in a small town called San Martin Chiquito (Little San Martin). The placelessness grew stronger as the clouds started to enter the building: what were wisps of cloud could have just as easily been smoke entering from a fire.
This man is a Mayan Spiritual Guide of the Mam tradition, and was merely talking to our group as a friend. He began speaking about the ways in which life is related to nature, and as an example spoke of the way that many Mayan names derive from names given to aspects of the natural world; for example women named after trees. However, this naming tradition changed “when the Spanish invasion came.” (Amazing to think of the Spanish arrival as an invasion upon a people who still feel it 500 years later). The coming of the Spanish brought many new things, including a naming convention consisting of hard to pronounce names such as José and Maria (which has in this generation progressed further to gringo names such as John and Mary). Only the Quiche people, one of 23 Mayan peoples in Guatemala, have retained their Mayan names.
He spoke also of the changes brought by music and movies to the Guatemalan culture and spirit. One more change brought by the Conquistadores. How now the Mayas are being more and more incorporated into el mundo a fuera through hearing and seeing things that are nor part of their culture. I found this interesting, really seeing from the point of view of a man who lives an hour outside of Xela, in a town of 2500 people, which has suffered invasion, dictators and civil war massacres, just really wants to be left alone to practice his religion and culture. However, he was also quite happy to share aspects of this culture with this group of foreign visitors, his guests.
We ended up at his house as part of a visit to Laguna Chicabal, a small volcanic crater transformed into a lake, which is a Mayan sacred site, surrounded by 20 altars representing the 20 Nahuales of the Mayan Calendar, as well as a generally beautiful place to hike and visit. Its also unfortunately a site of some intense civil war battles, and on our hike our guide pointed out old Guerrilla camps, as well as the mountains across the way where the army attacked from. We walked up through the corn fields that provide the town with some of its annual corn harvest, though our guide was quick to point out the harvest is not nearly enough. Coming to the lake after a two hour hike, we were lucky enough to get a beautiful view from the lookout spot just before the clouds came in and obscured it. After looking over the lake, we took 620(!) steps down and spent some time on the shore of the fogged over lake before hiking up and returning down, for a lunch of Caldo de Res (Beef soup - squash, carrots, potatoes, a chunk of beef and a delicious broth) and the aforementioned conversation.
On the hike our guide pointed out man medicinal plants, such as a tree whose bark contains a watery substance which is drunk as a cure for stomach problems. Also a beautiful, sweet smelling form of mint used for liver infections and flowers that can be used as soap. Its great to see how the Mayans learned to benefit from their natural world and incorporate it into their lives.
(I have since hiked back up on a second trip, this time led by the shaman dad. I appreciated being able to travel to the lake with the dad, seeing him pray and give appreciating to the lake, as well as telling some local Mayan cuentas or tales. He also baptized me with a Mayan name, which I can’t spell, but comes out more or less as Jorge Ve, and signifies a descending path with stairs.)
We took the hike with Rogelio of Chicabal Tours, based out of San Martin Chiquito, who is as a friend of mine and head of Conocimiento Para Todos (Knowledge for All) a small project which brings satellite internet to the tiny town in which it resides. The project is all volunteer, and is run out of the same small room we spoke to his father the Shaman in. Quite a site - a small wooden room containing 5 computers and a satellite internet connection, looking over a ridge out over mountains to the Pacific beyond. Rogelio teaches classes seven days a week to provide basic computer & internet skills to the children of the town who would otherwise have no way to acquire these skills. Seeing the dedication of this man, who received a scholarship and actually studied agriculture and computer science in Fresno for two years, is something to behold. He talked about how he could easily leave and find other work, but his calling is there in the town (and home) of his abuelos.
Truly a beautiful day, and inspiring to see people doing the work Rogelio is doing.
June 4th, 2008
If you’re in Xela this Friday, don’t miss this party. And if you’re not, well, plane tickets are cheap these days aren’t they?
May 15th, 2008
A technology worker named Joshua Zeidner interviewed me for his blog last month, about the work I’ve been doing with Partners in Solidarity. The link is here for those that would like to read. Also, a new site should be up for Partners within a few days, more or less designed by me with a little help from my friend DJ Payne on the backend.
May 15th, 2008
I saw this photo on Flickr and thought it was beautiful. I see this women such as these in processions often, but never looking quite like this.
May 15th, 2008
Okay, well maybe two. I’ve been back in Xela now about a week-and-a-half, and am enjoying my time here again. I’ve got some great friends here, and really do enjoy where I live and what I do. Including what happened last weekend.
A Guatemalan friend of mine who has a lot of interest in the religion of the Mayans brought his spiritual guide, Tata Pedro, to Xela for a two day event. Day one was a class on the Mayan Calendar, including its use of twenty Nahuales, which make up the twenty days of the calendar, which repeat in a cycle of 13 months. Each Nahual contains certain characteristics, holding importance both to people born on the individual day, as well as to any activities that might take place on that day. I found the information interesting, but a little much to take in, given the immense amount of information, plus the fact that it was all in Spanish. (I found I could translate the words but had trouble uniting them in any meaningful way). There’s great information about the Mayan Calendar on Wikipedia, and also on the Tzolk’in, or calendar used in Guatemala . There’s also a nice presentation of the nahuales on the web page of a local magazine, Xelawho, prepared by my friend Pedro who organized the event.
The second day of the event, and the “day” mentioned in the title of this post, involved a trip up a mountain above Xela, called La Muella, or the Molar. La Muella was and is a sacred place for the indigenous religion of the region, with its mix of beautiful views, abundant plantlife, volcanic rock outcroppings and steam vents converted into saunas. The group who attended reunited Sunday morning, and after some time gathering materials, stuffed into taxis and cars to get to the trailhead for the hike up La Muella. The hike consists of first a short, easy walk up a trail to a soccer field used by locals of the neighborhood, which this day had a lone horse tied up and awaiting its owner as well. After the field, the trail arrives at a lower-down sacred point, marked by a large rock outcropping and a small shack constructed to allow volcanic steam to be used for saunas. The Tata entered to meditate and use the sauna; we stayed outside, with me doing a little of my own meditation. After this point, the trail heads up a rocky hill, requiring a fair bit of scrambling to reach the peak of the day’s journey, literally and figuratively.
The top of La muella is a small space, surrounded on all sides by rocks and with an amazing view of the valley which gives the 200,000+ residents of Xela their home. In this space we built a fire ring, which was then filled with wood, incense, garlic, sacred seeds and LOTS of colored candles. The candles represent various parts of life on earth, with for example, red representing the sun and black representing the sunset. I found the ritual significance of all the items and their variations to be beautiful. The ceremony went for about an hour and a half, consisting, to my ears anyway, of much giving thanks for the world around us, for our thoughts, for the lives that we live. All this being led by a man who has lived his whole life on Guatemala’s beautiful Lake Atitlan, in a small village named San Pedro. He is 65, never attended school, knows very little of reading or writing, speaks Spanish as a second language (the indigenous Tzu’tuhil as his first). And yet he obviously knows SO much about the world. I’ve been to another ceremony, or banquete espiritual of his in the past, and more than anything they just cause me to feel. Pure emotion. Something about his leading of the ceremony, as well as his spirit, really brings an amazing feeling to me, and also obviously to those around me.
Other parts of the ceremony include a ritual spiritual washing with branches and flowered natural perfume, and the ritual smoking of a cigar. At the end of the ceremony I felt very united with those around me, and unspeakably lucky to be where I am living the life that I am living. Afterwards we shared a traditional Guatemalan meal of Tamalitos de Chipilin (corn tamales with a green herb mixed in), refried black beans and fresh avocados. We walked down the hill, grabbed a taxi, and continued to spend the next hour or so enjoying what a Sunday in a public park can be - friends walking in and out and chatting, just enjoying a nice day in the sun.
Afterwards, met up with a new friend who I have been showing around Xela. I had hoped that we could go off adventuring somewhere, but given the lateness of the day that seemed impossible. However, after doing some walking and exploring we ran into another new friend of mine, who arranged for us to get a ride up another of Xela’s beautiful hills to talk and watch over the beautiful night lights of the city from a covered gazebo.
And so went one of the better days I have had in this town. Through the specialness of the banquete, the powerful feeling of friendship and the spontaneous adventure. Sorry for the long post, if anyone is still reading I hope to hear from people and be in touch. For those that I saw in California, it was great, for those that I didn’t I’m sorry and hope to see you all soon!
josh
May 15th, 2008
Back in California, I found myself walking the two two miles between the Pleasant Hill BART station near San Francisco, and my father’s house, ruminating on being the only walker on a completely non-commercial strip of what essentially amounts to highway. On a two week trip back to the US, I had an interesting time observing cultural and societal differences between Guatemala and California. That suburban walk was certainly a huge diversion from my ultra-urban life living in the center of Xela. Here, its impossible to leave the house without a few buenas dias to strangers, as well as the inevitable conversation with at least one person that I know. Obviously like an urban environment anywhere in the world, but it was a large difference in my trip.
I also noticed a marked difference in the social formalities exhibited by the two cultures. Here in Guatemala, at least in my experience, there is a large amount of what feels like genuine cultural nicety. As mentioned above, there is constant greeting on the streets, even to gringos in a neighborhood where the sight of is common. This as opposed to walking down the street and feeling resentment for being yet another traveler. Walking into and out of stores always comes with its own share of niceness, in greetings and goodbyes. All this combines to allow one to feel very welcomed into the place, as if in some way surrounded by friends. To me, getting back to LA was a marked contrast. There is of course a world of formality as well, but in some way it feels and looks SO much more forced. The attitudes of waiters and waitresses, that of store clerks. Its a subtle difference, but struck me nonetheless.
Other than that, I of course enjoyed the food cultures of LA and San Francisco. And the artistic culture, getting out to museums and photography shows and concerts and DJ events. All that is lacking pretty intensely here in the Guatemalan highlands, in no small part due to the cultural and intellectual genocide carried out here with the help of my very own government. But those thoughts can be saved for another post.
