Guatemala English language Magazine
Part of the Yin and Yang of Travel Series by Mark D. Walker Guatemala: First Stop on my Global Sojourn (Trekking in the Peace Corps) My global travels started at twenty-one years of age in Ponce, on the lush tropical island of Puerto Rico, where, in 1971, the Peace Corps sent me to learn Spanish, live with a local family […]
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I came across this travel classic after writing an essay published in ELAND Press, and as a token of appreciation, the editor offered any three of their books. My first choice was this book with the cover of the iconic Santo Tomas church in Chichicastenango, Quiche, which is filled with a mix of indigenous flowers and women in traje (traditional […]
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The Rubbish to Runway ReFashion Show creates second virtual fashion show to support Long Way Home In June, Merilyn and Sheyla Mux Sucúc, two second graders at the Long Way Home Hero School located in San Juan Comalapa, began collecting neighbors’ soda can rings, chip bags, and bottle caps for a school project. After crocheting the rings into a blouse, […]
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“Crossing Borders, Building Bridges: A Journalist’s Heart in Guatemala” by Mark D. Walker I first became aware of Maria E. Martin at a Peace Corps Connect Conference in Austin, Texas in 2019. I was there to witness Guatemalan filmmaker Luis Argueta, whom I had helped nominate, receive the Wofford Harris Global Citizenship award. During the conference, Argueta participated in a […]
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Anna Zauner received the evacuation notice at 10 p.m. on March 15th, 2020: Have all of your things packed and ready in an hour. “I was 30 minutes from home with nothing packed,” according to Anna, “home” being the highlands of Guatemala where Anna was one of 165 Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) serving in the “Land of Eternal Spring.” Due […]
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When the Guatemalan government of President Alejandro Giammattei instituted daily curfews, suspension of public transportation, closure of open marketplaces and schools, cancellation of all incoming flights and the prohibition of gatherings of more than 100 people to prevent the spread of COVID-19 those living in poverty were hit the hardest. Before the virus while over 59% of Guatemalans were estimated […]
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Municipal Fire Department of La Antigua Guatemala – Historical Summary CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT On November 3, 2004, the Municipal Firefighters of La Antigua Guatemala Association and the “Municipal Fire Department of La Antigua Guatemala” were born into legal life, as its operational body. The Municipal Firefighters of La Antigua Guatemala Association, is an autonomous public service entity, essentially technical, professional, […]
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Guatemala: Trouble in the Highlands A Documentary Film Production Climate change, unemployment, and relentless grinding poverty—these are the underpinnings of the current migration crisis. There is also the historic reality of land and economic inequality and the nationwide infestation of the narco trade which has led to near total government dysfunction. Guatemala: Trouble In The Highlands, which began production several […]
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In Guatemala, inadequate public programs, rising crime levels, drastic climate change resulting in natural disasters and hunger, are all driving forces for the massive surge of Guatemalans choosing to leave for the United States. Friendship Bridge’s Microcredit Plus program (microcredit paired with education and health services) has proven to be an effective solution to improve the lives of thousands of […]
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The streets were buzzing with excitement when news hit that John Alexander Serna, a renowned Colombian street artist aka ‘Chota,’ would be part of a team to help kick start an urban renewal initiative in Jocotenango. Our tuk-tuk zigzagged around a steep hill until we reached ‘aldea’ Vista Hermosa, one of four barrios that comprise the community of Jocotenango, a […]
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Fotokids is now in its 28th year, and our focus is acting as a catalyst to stimulate leadership roles for young people in areas affected by poverty and gang violence in Guatemala and children of farm workers in California’s central valley. Fotokids transforms and empowers through its media training in photography, graphic design, video, writing, and web design, opening up […]
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Strengthening School Environments in Pre-schools Across Guatemala (English) Samuel Camhi Levy Foundation began its work in Quetzaltenango, locally known as Xela. In 2013, with the support of the Foundation for the Integral Development of Socioeconomic Programs (Fundap as executor), together the group supported 13 public schools — five years later there are more than 100 communities using this model. At […]
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Since the eruption of the Fuego Volcano on Sunday, June 3, 2018, I have been watching the updates on the internet and hearing news from friends close to the front line with a profound sense of helplessness. Hundreds of people were killed just 12 miles from our home on the steep pitch of volcanic land in a tragic natural disaster. […]
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The only public Pediatric Oncology hospital in Guatemala specializing in treating pediatric cancer. I only crossed paths with 9-year-old Litzy Lorena Hernández for a few minutes, but the mark she left on me was significant and enduring. Litzy was sitting in a lounge at the National Pediatric Oncology Unit (UNOP) in Guatemala City waiting for a social program to begin. I […]
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Overflowing with wildlife, ARCAS asks for help. Established in 1989 to rescue wild birds and animals, especially endangered species, the Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Association (known as ARCAS, its Spanish acronym) has grown into one of the most complete rescue centers in the world. Receiving hundreds of animals each year at its three sites in Guatemala, ARCAS also faces a […]
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In 2016 the Ark of Compassion brought a group of talented high school musicians to San Andres, Guatemala to participate in its program “Empowerment Training in Guatemala.” During the ten-day trip, it donated instruments and the student teachers taught trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet and violin to local children. The result, the San Andres Semetabaj Youth Orchestra is now a reality. […]
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The Good Hotel Antigua demonstrates how premium hospitality and doing good for the local community can go together. I am so excited to tell this success story. In 2012 when I first heard about it, Good Hotel Antigua was of those utopian dreams that sounded both totally exciting and practically impossible with its ambitious goals. In September 2016 this […]
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For 50 years, ALDEA has partnered with indigenous Guatemalans to strengthen communities and enhance the health and well-being of families. This year we are celebrating the profound and lasting legacy in Guatemala of Dr. Carroll Behrhorst, a U.S. doctor from Kansas, affectionately called “Doc” by those who knew him. —Sue Patterson Celebrating 50 Years of Dr. Carroll Behrhorst’s Legacy in […]
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A Dream Come True for the Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro Residents. The pilgrimage for resident patients with multiple disabilities from their home at the Hospital del Santo Hermano Pedro in La Antigua Guatemala to Virgen del Socorro—on the road to Santa María de Jesús—was an event celebrated by many with great jubilee on Dec. 3 of 2016! The […]
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Lead-Up leads the way helping at-risk youth in Guatemala and around the world, creating peaceful leaders through workshops with horses. It isn’t until you meet and speak with some of Guatemala’s most vulnerable youth that you actually begin to understand the impact that a program like Lead-Up International has on their lives. Beyond poverty, physical and sexual violence are major […]
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Transitions Celebrates 20 Years Serving Guatemalans with Disabilities. Wheelchair Workshop Transitions operates a well-equipped workshop to manufacture new wheelchairs and repair or modify existing ones. This operation employs six to 10 technicians, mostly disabled, and builds rugged chairs well suited for the tough terrain of Guatemala. It employs modern TIG welding and other fabrication equipment and maintains computerized records on […]
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Celebrating 15 years of service WINGS provides quality reproductive health education and services to underserved, primarily rural Guatemalan youth, women and men. On an average of 18 days each month, two mobile units leave their home base in either Cobán or La Antigua Guatemala between 4 and 5 a.m. to drive up to four hours to reach a rural, largely […]
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Partner for Surgery and Compañero para Cirugía (ACPC), 15 years and going strong! Changing lives through medical care. In the July 2009 issue of the Revue, the cover featured a wonderful picture of a little girl peeking at the camera from behind the protection of her mother’s skirts. That little girl was attending a medical mission of Partner for Surgery, […]
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Update from The Coffee Trust on The Food Sovereignty Project Coffee is grown on some of the world’s richest lands, yet most coffee farmers cannot properly feed their families. Before relying on cash from coffee, families grew their own food on the same land. Their ancient knowledge of agriculture and how to grow and prepare nutritious foods was passed down […]
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Every Wednesday, 11 indigenous women journey to a communal plot of land in San Antonio Palopó, perched above the shores of Lake Atitlán to work on the community garden. There, the women grow rows of corn, amaranth, carrots, medicinal herbs and seasonal fruits. Each crop represents a chance for learning and health in a town that sorely needs these opportunities. […]
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Over 70 Guatemalan businesses have stepped up to support Fundación Namaste Guatemaya. The annual event fundraiser theme is “Businesses Helping Micro-Businesses” and this year the special night will be on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Casa Convento Concepción (4a calle oriente #41, La Antigua Guatemala) at 6 p.m. This fundraiser has a unique and engaging concept. More than 10 Antigua restaurants […]
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The most important factor in achieving an organization’s goals is if its members can work as an efficient team. BalamBe has improving been team building for the last eight years and now offers workshops in La Antigua Guatemala. Guatemalan founder Axel Alburez has been a serial business entrepreneur for over 30 years, but his true passion is service and being […]
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Replenishing Soil Nutrients The Use of Effective Microorganisms for Strengthening Coffee Crops Coffee grows on some of the world’s richest land. For generations, the plots where modern coffee farmers plant their trees served as fields for corn, beans and other foods that made up a subsistence lifestyle. For hundreds of years, the ancestors of today’s coffee farmers fed themselves off […]
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I covered the wars in Central America during the 1980s as a staff photojournalist for Reuters. I documented brutality and assassinations and there are images that will never leave me. When I slowed down enough to process all that I had seen I was not surprisingly—depressed. It was during this period that I received an assignment to take photos for […]
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In Guatemala, 97 percent of rivers are contaminated. The poor of the country, who depend on streams and rivers for drinking water, are left to drink a parasite-infested liquid that wreaks havoc on health. Tragically, it also causes the death of 1 out of 20 children before the age of 5. The impact of intestinal disease in these children and […]
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