By Mabel Szekely-Farrol
Our first full day in Guatemala was super eventful and informative. We started out our day with a delicious breakfast at Casa San Benito, consisting of corn tortillas, eggs, beans, fruit, and an assortment of jam and salsa, which was a great start to the morning. We then learned about the Maya lunar cycle and different accounts of time from BTS Guatemala Coordinator, Javier —from discussing the name of the current day (Kame!) to the diversity of the 24 languages that exist in Guatemala.
We then had the opportunity to hear from Marta Julia, a Maya Kʼicheʼ leader who gave a talk about the historic sociopolitical challenges that Indigenous groups in Guatemala faced and continue to face, as well as the importance of Indigenous resistance, historic memory, and community. Marta was beyond insightful throughout her talk, and we were all so grateful that she shared her wisdom and perspective.
After her talk, we went to have lunch with Marta at a vegetarian restaurant in Guatemala City which had such a wide variety of amazing dishes, such as eggplant lasagna, tofu curry, and rice and lentils! As soon as we were done lunch, we headed to Casa de la Memoria to learn more about the history of Guatemala. It was really interesting to have both verbal and visual analyses of different social and political stages of the country. The museum was divided into rooms with different art instillations meant to visually convey different stories about societal challenges, political repression, and the importance of collective memory and resistance.
After our visit to Casa de la Memoria, Javier led us on a walking tour of Zone 1 in Guatemala City. Throughout our tour, we saw many faces on the disappeared plastered on the city walls, reflecting the violence experienced by many during the country’s armed conflict. We also saw the parliament buildings downtown, such as the presidential palace and the cathedral, and discussed the individual histories of the buildings and the monuments around them.
At the end of our tour, we took the van back to Casa San Benito and had a delicious dinner, consisting of chicken, mash potatoes, and vegetables. We then reflected on the productive day we had and set our goals for the rest of our trip. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Zone 7 of the city to visit the archeological park of Kaminal Juyu to experience a Maya fire ceremony, followed by a meeting with the youth collective, Colectivo Chiviricuarta in Palencia, and a meeting with reporter Jody Garcia in the evening. It was such a great start to our trip, and we can’t wait to see where it goes next!
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