August 2011 in Revue Magazine
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, the Fotokids NGO could fill a library with its successes. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, Fotokids was founded in 1991 by photojournalist Nancy McGirr with the aim of using photography to break the cycle of poverty for the children of the Guatemala City dump. From six students [...]
Dozens attend fundraiser for Niños de Guatemala
Dozens of patrons enjoyed cocktails and appetizers Saturday evening, July 16, at a fundraiser for Niños de Guatemala (NDG), an NGO that operates a school for poor children in Ciudad Vieja, among other education-related services. Guests met with blue-shirted staff and volunteers and viewed a series of photographs depicting children and teachers at NDG’s school, [...]
Chance Reunion
by Eric Mencher Years ago in the infancy of my photojournalism career, after I complained yet one more time about a dropped credit line under one of my artful, award-winning photos (or so I had naively thought), an editor once told me that only mothers and other journalists read credit lines and mastheads. I can’t [...]
God’s Child Project
20 years of improving lives by Hannah Wallace Bowman Malnourished kids are among the many who benefit Guatemala has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in Latin America, with 45 percent of children under the age of 5 suffering from this chronic and life-threatening illness. When Jose Alberto arrived at Casa Jackson, an emergency [...]
Compañero en Salud
Changing lives through surgery by Astrid Barrios Since 2004 the NGO Compañero en Salud (CENS) has been providing surgical and health services to needy villagers in rural Guatemala. Our mission includes acting as a bridge between foreign surgeons and the Guatemalan patients. National and international doctors, nurses and medical personnel have helped more than 40,000 [...]
Viaventure donates bus to Global Visionaries
Many years ago, Viaventure purchased a school bus and had it driven down to Guatemala from the United States by two staff members. The bus was never used to the extent that had been anticipated by the La Antigua-based tour operator; it remained parked for long periods of time. During a recent conversation with friends [...]
July 2011 in Revue Magazine
A pageant like no other commands our attention this month as young indigenous women from across Guatemala trek to Cobán and compete for the title of Rabin Ajau—Daughter of the King. Featuring some 80 contestants proudly dressed in regal traje, it’s among the most spectacular events of the Mayan world. Thor Janson attended last year’s [...]
Make Your World A Home
Habitat for Humanity conference in honor of Guatemala success by Anna-Claire Bevan It’s not often that Guatemala is described as a global leader, but in the world of Habitat for Humanity, that’s exactly how it’s known. The NGO´s international president Ken Klein recently visited the country to celebrate the success of Habitat Guatemala and learn [...]
Dermalogica launches women’s finance program, new products
Dermalogica, the world’s leading professional skin-care brand, recently launched FITE—Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship—to help women entrepreneurs in Guatemala and other developing nations to develop or expand their business. In establishing FITE, Dermalogica partnered with the KIVA organization, a non-profit microfinance leader that provides loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. Dermalogica has also [...]
Traveling Photographic Exhibit at La Antigua’s Central Park
“Water, Rivers and People / Agua, Ríos y Pueblos,” is an international traveling photographic exhibit that takes a critical look at water conflicts around the world. The exhibit focuses on the human and environmental costs of contamination and catastrophes, ecosystem degradation, water as a human right, privatization and mega-development projects such as hydroelectric dams and [...]
Asociación Manos Abiertas
written by Hannah Freiwald Asociación Manos Abiertas (AMA) was founded in March 2008 in response to the urgent need for reproductive health services in Ciudad Vieja. Our mission is to offer a safe and welcoming place where health services are provided for women by women, in a respectful and confidential manner without discrimination. We strive [...]
Olintepeque celebrates its patron saint June 20-25
San Juan Olintepeque, a historic town about 6 kilometers north of Quetzaltenango, celebrates its patron, St. John the Baptist, with a colorful festival. This area is generally considered to be the site where the famous Maya-K’iche’ prince, Tecún Umán, died in battle against Pedro de Alvarado in 1524. The annual festival features costumed dancers, the [...]
Finca Filadelfia
A luxury getaway on a coffee plantation by Tanya Hughes “The hardest part is stepping off the edge,” my canopy-tour guide said encouragingly. Dubiously, I peered over the 40-foot drop. After a couple of deep breaths I took that step and I was flying through the air, held securely in place by my harness. Both [...]
Maximón
Mayan Patron Saint is an enigma text and photos by Thor Janson www.bushmanollie.com There is not a town or village in the entire Mayan Highlands where the presence of Maximón is not being asserted. Although the guide books for many years have only listed three Maximón shrines—San Andrés Itzapa, Zunil and Santiago Atitlán—there are literally [...]
Quetzaltenango
Guatemala’s second (and maybe best) city written by Blake Nelson I spent my first year out of college teaching in Puerto Cortés, Honduras, and a typical conversation went like this: LOCAL: Do you like living here? ME: I love it! LOCAL: Really? I don’t. ME: Let’s change the subject! After to moving to Quetzaltenango (commonly [...]
Safe Passage
One volunteer’s overwhelming experience serving in the city dump written by Hannah Wallace Bowman Every day at 7:15 a.m., a bleary-eyed group of Westerners gathers on the pavement outside La Antigua Guatemala’s San Francisco Church. Clutching banana bread and paper cups of steaming coffee, they soak up the early morning sun. Preparing to make their [...]
Ecofiltro named among world’s top 50 enterprises
Ecofiltro, a Guatemalan company that produces an innovative, easy-to-use water purifier, has been named one the world’s Top 50 Small and Medium Enterprises by infoDev, an international association sponsored by the World Bank. Based in La Antigua Guatemala, Ecofiltro, S.A., is a joint effort between Guatemalan scientist Fernando Mazariegos, who invented Ecofiltro in 1981, and [...]
Miguel Ángel Asturias
written by Anna-Claire Bevan photo by Jacobo Blijdenstein One hundred years after his birth, Guatemala honored the life of its exiled, Nobel Prize-winning poet, Miguel Ángel Asturias, by placing a statue of him on one of the main streets of its capital city. Made entirely of bronze, the full-body sculpture was the masterpiece of Max [...]
Mayan archaeology convention comes to Antigua
The IV World Convention on Maya Archaeology comes to La Antigua Guatemala and Hotel Camino Real June 17-19, featuring global experts on Mayan culture. With the theme “El Popol Vuh Visto a Traves del Arte Maya” (The Popol Vuh seen through Mayan Art), the conference will contrast the colonial-period Maya Popol Vuh writings with the [...]
June 2011 in Revue Magazine
This month’s cover story features the gem of the Highlands, Quetzaltenango (aka Xela), Guatemala’s second-largest city which is widely regarded as the country’s cultural capital. The story by Xela resident Blake Nelson points out the highlights, accompanied by photos, including our cover shot, by Quetzaltenango’s foremost photographer Harry Díaz. The enigma of Maximón is the [...]
Gourmet burgers arrive in La Antigua
Gourmet hamburgers have just arrived in La Antigua at the newly opened Lava Terrace Bar and Burgers, at 4ta Ave. Norte #3. The menu features everything from the standard hamburger and bacon-cheeseburger to imaginative concoctions such as the jalapeño popper burger, boomerang burger (sautéed onions, beetroot and fried egg), San Antonio Chili burger, Hawaiian burger [...]
Francis Dávila
written by Anna-Claire Bevan Francis Dávila is one of Guatemala’s leading DJs and is heralded as being hugely influential in the country’s electronic scene. “I first started playing a live act with a sampler and a synthesizer at the local raves in the late 90s,” says Dávila. But it wasn’t until a few years later [...]
A traveler’s Perspective of Guatemalan Destinations
text/photos by Tanya Hughes Guatemala is a magical place. I came here the first time on a brief holiday that started on the Caribbean coast of Mexico and took me through Belize and finally into Guatemala. I was impressed with Tikal and Petén, but I immediately fell in love with La Antigua Guatemala. The unique [...]
David L. Jickling
“What a fine, gentle, pleasant man he was,” recalls Luisa Wheeler of Doña Luisa’s on 4th calle, where David often enjoyed ice cream or morning coffee after checking his e-mail at a nearby internet service. Ken Veronda, another friend, added, “David leaves fond memories of his curiosity and a body of research and writings of [...]
Guatemala Golf Course Guide
Of the estimated 55 million golfers in the world, it would be a safe bet to say that a very small percentage of them would consider Guatemala a golf destination. And yet, there are some world-class golf courses here if you just know where to look. written by Katherine McIntyre La Reunion Golf Resort – [...]
Semuc Champey
written by Carla Berryhill photos: Thor Janson I had heard of Semuc Champey and its pools of turquoise water, but I had no idea just how stunning this destination would really be. My very dear friend, Richard, planned a trip for me to the eastern side of Guatemala. I had not done much traveling in [...]
May 2011 in Revue Magazine
On the cover this month is yet another stunningly beautiful photo by Freddy Murphy, one of our regular contributing photographers. Semuc Champey is one of those special places that Guatemala has an abundance of, and the story of this getaway for a first-time visitor starts on page 17. On page 14 is an inspiring story [...]
Monterrico listed among world’s “10 Best Beach Destinations”
With its black-sand beaches, powerful waves and sea turtle nesting grounds, Monterrico has been ranked among the 10 Best Beach Destinations in the World by Yahoo Travel. Guatemala’s quaint, south coast community joins the ranks of Ka’anapali, Maui, Hawaii; Hahei Beach, New Zealand; and Sanur Beach, Bali, in Yahoo’s global hit list of beaches to [...]
Between Light and Shadow
A Guatemalan Girl’s Journey through Adoption Author: Jacob Wheeler Foreword by Kevin Kreutner 280 pages, 27 illustrations 978-0-8032-3362-1 Publisher: University of Nebraska Press Lincoln, Neb. www.nebraskapress.unl.edu Veteran journalist Jacob Wheeler puts a human face on the Guatemalan adoption industry through the story of 14-year-old Ellie, who was abandoned at age 7 and adopted by a [...]
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