CHAPINADAS

RABINAL ACHI DECLARED WORLD PATRIMONY BY UNESCO

UNESCO declared the Guatemalan Dance “Rabinal Achi” as World Patrimony in Paris, France on Saturday.
Achí Xajooj Tun or “Baile del Tun” is the mayan name of this dance which is from Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. Rabinal Achi represents society of the periods between 900 AD and 1524AD. This period is known as PostClassic period. The story of the dance, is a dispute between the Quiches and Rabinachi. It is possible to witness this dance during the Rabinal fair in January of every year. It is a great honor for Guatemala to get this and especially for all the indigenous communities. This award will allow this piece to be conserved and recognized for all the world as one of the great traditions of the mayan culture. This is the only piece in Latinamerica which is conserved in its original form, without any changes of phrases from european origen. This piece also reflects a historial fact and it also represents the political structure of the time. This dance has survived for centuries. The Rabinal achi was presented clandestinly from 1625 to 1856. In the year 1856, Brasseur de Bourbourg witnessed it in person because he had already read the text. The Achí Xajooj Tun has been pass down orally from generation to generation. Brasseur de Bourbourg translated it to french. Achí Xajooj Tun, when traslated by Bourbourg became known as “Rabinal Achil”.

Robinho is a soccer player from Brasil. He was the star of Santos of Brasil. This year he is playing in Real Madrid. In an interview he gave to Prensa Libre, he talked a lot about the children affected by hurricana Stan. Robinho was one of the players who donated their shirt to be sold so that the money collected could be sent to Guatemala and El Salvador to help the people affected. Let’s remember that players like him come from poor places in Brasil and that due to his work ethics and skill could improve because of sports. In his interview, he is calling for solidarity with the people going through hard times because of this hurricane. Let’s listen everybody.

La ayuda que el equipo de futbol Real Madrid a recaudado ya se encuentra en Guatemala y El Salvador. De acuerdo a las noticias recientes, este equipo de futbol tratara de mandar a una de sus estrellas el proximo ano para ayudar en la colecta de ayuda para las personas mas afectadas por el huracan Stan. Cuando uno piensa acerca de estos jugadores, solo se piensa en lo buenos que son, pero ahora con estas acciones de ellos nos damos cuenta de que son buenas personas tambien. Que bueno seria que hubieran muchas personas como ellos.

In San Francisco Zapotitlan in the deparment of Suchitepequez, the tradition of making baskets out of bambu is still alive. There are about 5 families that have been passing the tradition to their children for many years. The baskets made of bambu are used to stored coffee, bread, etc. In the modern times, baskets made of plastics have become common but for these families making these basket business are good and they are even thinking about exporting them to other countries. Let’s keep our traditions alive.

I was reading in the newspaper about our troops (kaibiles) coming back from Africa in a mission with the United Nations. In a way, I felt proud of our forces and the help they provided. Nowadays, “The Kaibiles”–which are Guatemala’s special forces–are in the news often but for the wrong reasons. Apparently a few of them have been caught working as mercenaries for the narcotrafic organizations in Mexico. Let’s hope that now that they have provided help in the Congo, their reputation improves in the eyes of the world.

I was just reading that Guatemala has been given the organizing of the Modern Pentatlon World Championship next year. This is good news to our country because it showcases and gives recognizition to Guatemala. Hopefully everything goes ok and we can keep getting opportunities like this.

An international team of arqueologists have found proof of the most likely cause of the demise of the Maya. In the Mayan city of Cancuen, this team has found evidence of massacres of the nobility of this city. From samples taken from this site, the arqueologist have been able to date this event to the year 800 A.D. After this, the inhabitants of this city that was important to the mayan trade dissappeared. The importance of this city in the south of Peten was due to its location close to the Usumacinta and La Pasion rivers. The mayan civilizacion left many riddles that haven’t been solved yet. Due to the disappearance and destruction of the written documents they left, not all their history is known. For years, many arqueologist have been proposing several theories as to what cause the Maya to disappear. When the Spaniards came to Guatemala, the mayan civilization was all but disappear. What the Spaniards found were different ethnic groups of mayan extraction. The Mayan society was ruled by the nobility and then the priests. It is very likely that if this massacre occured in this place, society lost its balance and there was no guidance of any kind.

Sources involved with the turism industry in Atitlan are happy to report that turists are starting to come back to the area. From their numbers, it can be said that the turism industry in Atitlan is up to 70%. The Atitlan area was affected badly by hurricane Stan. Let’s hope that with the increase of turists in the area, it can recover quicker from the devastation caused by Stan.

Real Madrid, a soccer club from Spain, started the project “Devuelveles la sonrisa” (Give them back smiles) to help the children affected by hurricane Stan in Guatemala and el Salvador. This club and its fans have donated shoes, toys, books and school bags to the children of the affected zones. These donations have started to reach Guatemala and el Salvador. These donations are coming by plane with the help of TNT express. Some players of this team have also donated their shirts to be sold. The money collected from this sale will be given to the affected areas. THank you Real Madrid and TNT.

I was reading in “La Prensa Libre”, a Guatemalan newspaper, about the more than 285,000 people directly affected by hurricane Stan. According to the PMA–World Food Program–these people will be suffering of hunger by the end of this year. There are a kit people that lost everything of value they had. They lost their crops, harvests, houses, etc. The areas more affected are San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Huehue and Solola. Here is a the article, as it appeared in the newspaper:

Hambruna amenaza a víctimas de Stan
Programa Mundial de Alimentos hace llamado de alerta; pide apoyo para 285 mil afectados
Por: Alberto Ramírez, Corresponsales

Cultivos de pequeños agricultores quedaron destruidos por las correntadas de lodo durante la tormenta Stan. Foto Prensa Libre: Julio Vásquez.

El fantasma de la hambruna se cierne sobre unos 285 mil damnificados por la tormenta Stan que perdieron sus casas y cosechas. Para evitar “una severa crisis de hambre en la época navideña”, el Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) lanzó un llamado de socorro a la comunidad internacional.

“Esas personas practican desde hace mucho tiempo una agricultura de alto riesgo en laderas con bajo rendimiento, por ello han perdido sus cosechas; eso visualiza una gran crisis para los próximos cuatro meses”, comentó Duilio Pérez, coordinador de emergencia del PMA en Guatemala.

Las áreas más afectadas están en San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, el sur de Huehuetenango y Sololá, informó. “Son lugares donde el 80 por ciento de los habitantes son indígenas con alto porcentaje de analfabetismo y desnutrición crónica, la cual se agrava ahora”, enfatizó.

Llamado urgente

Para evitar que se produzca una “severa crisis de hambre”, el PMA llamó de urgencia a la comunidad internacional para conseguir los US$14.1 millones que se estima se necesitan para garantizar la seguridad alimentaria en esas zonas.

Hasta el momento sólo han llegado unos US$4.5 millones para atender a los necesitados. Ayer, el Gobierno de EE.UU. entregó US$2 millones más.

A la posible crisis de alimentos se suma la llegada de la temporada de frío, que agudiza las enfermedades bronquiales. “Pasaremos una de las peores fiestas de fin de año, no tenemos dinero ni con quién compartir”, exclamó Carmela Sánchez, vecina de Ojo de Agua, San Pedro Sacatepéquez, San Marcos, quien perdió a sus hijos.

“Vine por un quintal de maíz que el Gobierno me regaló, pero eso no alivia mis necesidades. La tormenta se llevó mi casa, cultivos, y ahora estoy en la calle”, afirmó Miguel Ángel Tul Vásquez, otros vecino marquense.

Sonia Aminta Rodríguez, de Ocós, San Marcos, madre soltera con seis niños menores, también espera una Navidad triste, pues las lluvias arrastraron su casa, sus animales de corral y sus siembras; ahora está en un albergue.

“Recursos para cuatro meses”

“Tenemos recursos para atender un máximo de cuatro meses con ayuda directa a los más de 285 mil afectados”, comentó Luis Santacruz, viceministro de Agricultura.

“Estamos llevando apoyo para restablecer las granjas familiares, con hortalizas o animales de traspatio, eso incluye la comida para esos animales, de manera que dentro de cuatro meses esas personas puedan producir sus propios alimentos”, añadió.

Agregó que también están llevando ayuda para reconstruir los sistemas de minirriego destruidos en el altiplano. “Concentramos a nuestros técnicos especialistas en ello y estamos dotando de materiales para reconstruirlos”, aseguró.

De igual forma están enviando semillas a zonas que no fueron afectadas por la tormenta, para que allí se produzcan más granos y así se pueda abastecer al resto del país, declaró.

El funcionario dijo que con estas medidas esperaba que no se diera una crisis alimentaria en esas zonas. Explicó que el país en general tiene alimentos suficientes para proveer a toda la población, pues las primeras cosechas fueron muy buenas, aunque reconoció que el Ministerio no cuenta con recursos para atender al cien por ciento de los afectados.

Según Hugo Beteta, director de la Secretaría de Planificación, lo más importante es la actitud de los afectados, quienes se muestran esperanzados en salir de sus problemas, y reiteró que la seguridad alimentaria es el compromiso central de la actual administración.

La Secretaría de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (Sesan) y otros entes establecerán, a partir del 20 de noviembre, el Centro de Información y Coordinación para trazar metas y coordinar acciones para una efectiva asistencia humanitaria.