By Rylee Boswell
Today was our second full day in Guatemala City. We started the morning bright and early with a beautiful breakfast of crepes, fruit, cheese and tomato! Our driver Martin picked us up at 7:30 a.m. and we headed to an archeological site called Parque Arqueológico Kaminaljuyu in Zone 7 of Guatemala City. We took part in a Mayan fire ceremony with Lorenza. This was such an incredible experience, it consisted of lighting bark from different types of trees, sugar, liquor and candles representing different meanings. It’s done for a variety of reasons and is incredibly diverse in its uses. Overall, it’s based on the Mayan calendar, and is an offering to the ancestors. Lorenza taught us that our participation in the fire today was to mark the beginning of a new journey and to also gain permission from the ancestors. Overall it was an incredible experience.
After the ceremony which was about 2 hours, Martin drove us to the region of Palencia also known as la montaña (the mountain). Here we met with a youth organization called Colectivo Chiviricuarta. They are a group of young artists dedicated to researching and sharing political, social, and economic realities in Palencia and Guatemala more generally. Their knowledge spans from historical experiences of Indigenous peoples to the current context in Guatemala. It was so inspiring to meet young people so dedicated to political activism and who are so aware of both history and current experiences. They are so organized with many different moving parts which is so inspiring to see as a group of young university students. They took us on a historical walk of Palencia and finished by inviting us into their headquarters which is an incredibly creative space. We listened to a recap of the walk and finished off by listening to their music which is another way that they engage politically and socially.
Martin once again picked us up and drove us back to Casa San Benito where we met with Guatemalan journalist, Jody Garcia who writes for the New York Times. We had a very open discussion with her and listened to her lived experiences of being a journalist today in Guatemala, the stories she writes about, the success in civil action, and also the hardships of being a journalist today. She talked about the history of Guatemala and how journalists have historically been targeted and killed for covering stories of resistance and how today although it is less dangerous, it still brings risks of harassment and political persecution. Overall, her talk was so uplifting because she talked about her love for journalism and her passion for sharing stories of Guatemalan people.
After a busy packed day we finished off with a delicious dinner of eggs, tortillas, plantains, and beans. We then had our nightly reflection and all shared our highlights of the day. We have another early morning tomorrow and head to Quixaya and then San Lucas Tolíman so off to pack and then bed!
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