Ingrid

Ingrid is my former student at Whitworth University where she took a class that I teach in Native American Film. She is a Kaqchikel Maya woman from Sololá. Guatema with a passionate drive to defend indigenous rights. She always added a fiery, insightful perspective into our class discussions. Last year, she took a job in Guatemala at Cultural Survival to support indigenous radio. She was in town this week for a brief visit. 

Ingrid era mi estudiante en la Universidad de Whitworth donde tomaba una clase que enseño sobre las Películas de Nativos Americanos. Ella es una mujer Kaqchikel Maya de Sololá, Guatemala con un deseo apasionado de defender los derechos indígenas. Siempre añade una perspectiva intensa y profunda a las discusiones en clase. El año pasado, aceptó un trabajo con Cultural Survival (Sobrevivencia Cultural) para apoyar la radio indígena. Está de visita esta semana.  

Ingrid's boyfriend is Stephen, my friend who made an appearance in a previous blog post. He recently visited Ingrid in Guatemala. He sent me a gift that was beautifully wrapped in a newspaper with a Gallo beer ad. I seriously love the wrapping paper. 

El novio de Ingrid se llama Esteban. El es un amigo mío que apareció en una entrada pasada de mi blog. Recientemente le visitó a Ingrid en Guatemala. Me envió un regalo bellamente envuelto en un anuncio de periódico para la cerveza Gallo. En serio me encanta el papel de regalo que me envió. 

The gift was an Indian mask. 

Thank you Stephen. 

I love it!

El regalo fue una máscara indígena. 

Gracias Esteban. 

¡Me encanta!

A screen shot from the Cultural Survival website shows Ingrid and other indigenous people marching in defense of sacred lands. I truly admire her strength of spirit. 

Una captura de pantalla de la página web de Cultural Survival muestra Ingrid y otra gente indígena que marchan en defensa de las tierras sagradas. Sinceramente admiro la fuerza de su espíritu. 

Casi Cielo

My friend Connor and I visited Starbucks this afternoon and encountered a strange piece of heaven. We each grieved our separate losses, when I looked up and saw this advertisement with the line Guatemala Casi Cielo - Guatemala Almost Heaven. Yes, Guatemala was for me almost heaven, a place filled with happy, loving memories. The words alone brought a small moment of comfort in my grief. 

Mi amigo Connor y yo visitamos Starbucks esta tarde y encontramos un pedazo extraño del cielo. Los dos lamentábamos las pérdidas distintas de cada uno, cuando miré hacia arriba y vi un cartel con la línea Guatemala Casi Cielo.  Sí, Guatemala ha sido para mí casi un cielo, un lugar lleno de recuerdos felices y amorosos. Las palabras por si solas me dieron un pequeño momento de consuelo en mi aflicción. 

The End of the World (Again)

Sometime this afternoon, I overheard several co-workers talking about the end of the world in connection to the supposed ending of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. Generally speaking, I try to avoid eavesdropping into the conversations of others, but this topic compelled me to say something. I interrupted and said quite simply, "The world is not going to end, at least not any time soon."  

Of course, I had to offer some explanation. 

During our trip to Guatemala and Honduras last August, we had the opportunity to speak with several Mayan people. For my part, I had no interest in talking about the end of the Mayan calendar, but oddly enough, many of the people we met had questions for me. In particular, one Mayan woman asked me point blank, "Why do the gringos (North Americans) say that the world will end this year? That's not part of our culture." I had no answer, except to say that people have misinterpreted their culture out of ignorance, or worse, some people may have misrepresented the Mayan culture for their own gain. I suppose there's still money to be made by selling books, tours, and paraphernalia related to the end times. 

In any case, everyone we met was perplexed by the North American fascination with the false assumption that the world will end this upcoming December 21. 

However, these conversations offered some insight to the true nature of Mayan time-keeping. For example, I learned that a baktun is a Mayan unit of time that contains 144,000 days, or slightly less than 400 years. We are currently approaching the end of the 13th baktun. Much of the hype is derived from the fact that the current baktun will end on December 21 of this year. Supposedly, the calendar ends on that date, but in reality, the 14th baktun will begin on December 22, much like the new year, or the turning of a new century. The Mayan calendar will continue as it has for thousands of years. 

We survived Y2K, the supposed rapture predicted by Harold Camping, and a host of other end time predictions that have all failed. Likewise, we will survive the end of the 13th baktun. 

By the way, these pictures were taken at Ruinas Copan, Honduras. 

Utah

My family and I recently took a weekend trip to Utah and made some wonderful re-connections with friends and family. 

For our first stop, we attended a reunion dinner in Salt Lake City for Guatemalans living in the area. Obviously, my family is not Guatemalan, but we were invited by my former mission president Julio Alvarado and his wife Blanca. We enjoyed some great Guatemalan food and a re-kindling of old friendships. Brother and Sister Alvarado looked through my mission book and reminisced about old times. 

Rhonda also re-connected with two of her former mission companions. 

We attended the Saturday afternoon session of the LDS General Conference. 

Ironically, my favorite part of conference is the chaotic environment at Temple Square with protesters and counter-protesters each trying to win the other. 

Counter-protesters. 

Inside the Conference Center. 

A family picture in Salt Lake City. 

On Saturday evening, we attended a live performance of South Pacific at the Hale Theater in Orem, Utah. We were invited by actor and performer Dallin Vail Bayles (pictured below).  

Dakota and Dallin Vail Bayles stood together for this picture outside the Hale Theater in Orem. 

Our family stayed with Rhonda's father in a tiny place called Elberta, Utah. He and his wife were service missionaries at a church camp that does re-enactments of the Mormon handcart pioneers. 

Family picture with Ron and Linda. 

Don Quijote

During the final Saturday of our trip, we visited the National Theater in Guatemala City and observed a ballet rendition of Don Quijote de la Mancha. My friend Hugo was one of the dancers. I knew Hugo many years ago during the mission, though we were never companions. 

Outside the theater stands a larger-than-life bust of Miguel Angel Asturias, a native Guatemalan who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1967. 

During our visit to the theater, we met my former mission president Julio Alvarado and his wife Blanca. 

We also met Hugo's children. 

Rhonda and Dakota in the theater. 

Hugo. 

Don Quijote. 

Hugo also played the role of a gypsy. 

Antigua

During the second portion of our trip, we stayed in the beautiful and historic city of Antigua Guatemala. The photograph above shows the view from our hotel room. 

This ruined church was next door to our hotel. 

Vendors near the Artisan's Market. 

A city ordinance mandates that all buildings in Antigua maintain the original Spanish colonial style. As a result, we encountered fast food outlets, like McDonald's and Burger King pictured above, built in the old style. In this regard, Antigua is a city of contradictions. It keeps an old, traditional exterior, and yet we found more modern conveniences in Antigua than in most other places in Guatemala.  

A mime in the city park. 

Dakota and Rhonda in the central park. 

The cathedral

Another view of the cathedral. 

Antigua Guatemala was once the capitol city, but it was destroyed several times by major earthquakes. As a result, the capitol was moved to its present location in Guatemala. City. But also, the entire city is filled with the ruins of churches, cathedrals, and convents from the 1500s.  

Inside the catacombs of a ruined church. 

Antigua is home to Europeans and Americans, along with Guatemalans.