As soon as we arrived in Guatemala, we’re wrapped in a kind of daze, is it the jet lag? or the myth of the Mayan civilization, one of the five most important founding civilizations in the world, which makes you turn your head? because here, direct from myth to concrete, the real. Half the population is Maya, guardian of a strong tradition which is reflected in the faces of character, in this oral language 2000 years old, in the patchwork of her colors stalls and countryside, and in the huipiles and cortes dressed by men and women, where every detail of color, drawing has his place. Here, the Popol Vuh is a mythology that is lived daily in pagan incantations, in the offerings to the gods, in the culture corn … So yes, the Mayan culture makes you totally unscrew the head and even more if you add all these sublime landscapes of vast lakes, rivers blue and green emerald, majestic volcanoes, highlands steep, winding roads, indolent Caribbean, lush forest … but recover your mind (and your head!) … there, at the top of the pyramid of Tikal, closer to the Mayan gods, your fascinating journey into the Mayan World of Guatemala is just beginning…
Guatemala program suggestions
Guatemala at a glance
- Area : 108 890 km². Roughly six times smaller than France.
- Population (about): 14 million inhabitants. Nearly half (40% to 55%) of residents are of Mayan descent. It is the most populous country in Central America.
- Capital : Guatemala City : 1 million (out of town)
- Economy: Agriculture employs half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar and bananas are the country’s main exports.
- Have read, seen and heard : (read) El Señor Presidente and Hombres de Maiz by Literature Nobel Prize Miguel Angel Asturias, (read) Guatemala, las líneas de su mano a very fair portrait of his country written by Luis Carodoza y Aragon, (seen) the representation theatrical folk of Maya Kekchi culture : El Paabanc, (seen) a beautiful work El Silencio de Neto first existing film in Guatemala directed by Luis Argueta, (seen) the works of the prolific artist Efrain Recino Valenzuela, (seen) paints of a modern photographer in Guatemala, Julio Zadik, (heard) a group who plays marimba Las chancletas de Nayo Capero from composer Guillermo de Leon Ruiz or a waltz from Paco Perez, Luna de Xelaju.
- To read, see and hear these days : (read) Caballeriza written by one of the most original writers of Latin America, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, (read) and admire the beautiful book ouvrage les Mayas de l’aube au crépuscule du Guatemala, (read) Xib’alb’a: el nacimiento del nuevo sol of the anthropologist and ethno historian Dutch Ruud Van Akkeren, (read) Say her name by Francisco Goldman, (see) an exhibition real scale of José (Pepo) Toledo, (listen) the last album Independiente by Ricardo Arjona, and especially see the video Fuiste Tu with beautiful images of Guatemala, a duet with Gaby Moreno, the Amy Winehouse of Latin America? experts suggest a very closely follow of the artist…