Viva La Independencia?

On September 15, 1821, the Central American declaration of independence was signed. Along with this document came celebration and change! Yeah, right. Nothing really changed. At least not for Guatemala. 

According to a speaker we heard this morning, this day of celebration is in vain. The family that has most of the power in Guatemala today is the same family that had the power in the days of the Spanish conquest. I don't know the whole story for all of Central America, but it sounds like the declaration and laws created to develop this "newly independent" nation were developed in the interests of those in power.  Many people say that Guatemala has yet to find its independence. Some say the internal wars and years of revolution were a step towards that independence. The last thing our speaker left us with was this saddening fact: in a region of Guatemala, when a plot of land is sold, so are its laborers. Essentially, slavery is still happening. Where is the independence for those people? I feel like I only learned bits and pieces about this controversial and possibly false independence, and I think I will do more research to get a better idea about what other Guatemalans think about their "independence" and how much independence Guatemala has politically. 

I have to admit though, Guatemalans celebrate a false holiday pretty heavily. ;) If anything, this holiday is just an excuse to throw a big party. It reminded me of New Year's Eve. Last night there was a huge celebration in the Parque Central (which is oh-so conveniently located only 2 blocks away from my host family's apartment). There was a never-ending parade with many marching bands that kept playing around the square, and a couple of stages, one with loud marimba music for most of the night. The excitement really happened at midnight with the "Grito de independencia," or the mayoral speech, concluded with a large fireworks display and random military institution band playing a couple (like 5) songs. We happened to find ourselves directly below the window of the mayoral palace, exactly where the band stopped to play its songs. We were three feet away from the line of trumpets. Then today a few of us headed out to La feria, or the fair. It reminded me of a large state fair, just with more vendors and a lot of food that probably wasn't safe to eat. Oh, and TONS of people...thousands of people. It was a tad overwhelming, but fun to attend. :) I didn't do any rides, but a couple of my friends went on the ferris wheel. Guatemalan ferris wheel operators definitely have a sense of thrill, given that the ferris wheel was not something you went on to get pretty pictures of the town at the top. No, no...they went full speed with their ferris wheel. Safe? Probably not. Fun? Heck yes. Gives you an idea of what Guatemala is like. :)

One other highlight from this week was getting to attend a Mayan ceremony. On Monday, we drove up El Baul (the hill we climbed a few weeks ago), and found a random clearing in the woods to participate in a fire ceremony. We were each given two balls of incense that served as our offering/letting-go-of burdens to...well, you could call it mother nature, or the spirits, or I think even God. The ceremony consisted of the two leaders (a married couple) pronouncing the 260 days (I think?) of one of the Mayan calendars in Quiche, a Mayan language. Two things they shared with us that I found very interesting: (1) The woman said that one thing that people need to do is regain respect. She said, "the reason so many places have failed is because they don't have respect." So true, isn't it? They had a very hopeful outlook for the world. Which leads me to... (2) The world is not going to end in 2012. At least this Mayan couple didn't think so. There are many Mayan calendars, and one of them will end in 2012, but that does not mean the world will end, rather there will be some sort of combination of calendars. They think that 2012 will bring about changes in the world, but changes for the better. 

I need to head out for now. I wish I could say more, but I wanted to make sure to get another blog posted this week because on Saturday we head out to a village near Cantel where we probably won't have internet. We'll spend a week taking bucket showers, living with indigenous families, and studying Spanish at the mountain school. I'm so excited. :)

Please keep in your prayers our group as we go out to the mountain community and participate in a whole different way of living that is the reality for many Guatemalans. Also, pray for this theme of respect, hope, and connectedness that the Mayan couple had. And maybe spend some time asking God (or just reflecting within your own thoughts) for some clearance in how you (should) view this world--with a hopeful optimism like the Mayan woman? Or one of "the-end-is-near" ideology? I know this is a pretty open and can-be complicated thing to think about (especially if you throw in the idea of the second coming of Christ), and it's something that I think if you're the praying type, wouldn't be such a bad idea to pray about. I know I am.

Thanks again for reading! Dios te bendiga.