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.