CHAPINADAS

Recent archeological excavations in the Quiche city of Gumarcaj have revealed that this capital of the Quiche kindom was overpopulated when the Spanish conquistadors arrived.  It is believed that only a small part of this city is visible.  There are about 200 structures underground.  It is also believed that Gumarcaj, located 4 kilometeres away from Santa Cruz del Quiche had a population of between 25000 to 30000 inhabitants in an area of two squared kilometers.

Archeologist think that there are about 200 structures underground but in their opinion it is better to keep them there due to possible deterioration if they are dug.  To study this city, the best option is to dig observation holes in the ground.  The remains analized so far are in good shape because they are underground.  Many buildings were destroyed to build the church and the Municipal buildings of Santa Cruz del Quiche in the beginning of the XX century. 

Investigations in the area of the main plaza corroborated the narrow access and streets of this city like they are described by Pedro de Alvarado.  This escavations were done in the residential area of the House of Nijaib which was one of the four reigning families together with Cawek, Tamub and Ilocab.  It appear that in this city, the designs were done so that all the space available was used in an efficient manner.  The investigators had to excavate several meters to locate the foundations of the houses and find the remains of walls made of stone and a mix of sediments.  The investigator also discovered a platform and a water system consisting of channels that shows a complicated system for the management of water.  They also found drains.

It is hoped to raise funds to continue investigating so that the rescue and conservation of the area that was known as Utatlan.  Qum’arkaaj which was the capital of the Quiche Kindom, was a city with narrow access and surrounded by precipices.  Qum’arkaaj means "Place where heaven is found".  This city was established during the Postclassic Period of the Mayan Civilization (1250 DC to 1524 DC).  There are no monumental pyramids like in Tikal, but there were big structures.  This city was burned to the ground by Pedro de Alvarado.  The main building, which was a temple, was known as "Tojil".  Nowadays, tt is a Mayan ceremonial city and a place of recreation.

Located in the west side of Peten and with more than 200,000 hectares of tropical forrest, the National Park Sierra del Lacandon is the second largest protected area of the Mayan Biosphere.  This park offers extreme adventure and contact with nature.  La Sierra del Lacandon is a treasure to be discovered.  This park was established in 1990.  This park got its name because this area was inhabited by a group of people named Lacandones.

The Sierra del Lacandon is the second largest reserve after the National Park Laguna del Tigre.  This park is also an archeological attractive because 40 % of its area is covered by archeological sites with structures dating back to the Classic and Preclassic Mayan Period.  Some of the sites within the area of the Sierra del Lacandon National Park are Piedras Negras, La Pasadita, Fajardo, La Esmeralda, El Oso Negro and El Tecolote.  The site of El Tecolote was discovered just three years ago.  This park also has a great quantity of places that have not been explored yet and therefore are an attractive for visitors.  In this area there is a great variaty of flora and fauna.  Some examples of flora and fauna on this park are the monkeys, wild turkeys, crocodiles, guacamayas and Cotton trees (Ceibas).  If you are a lover of extreme adventures, this is also your place because it posseses natural rapids made for white water rafting like El Diablo and El Chico which are in the Usumacinta River.  This park can be reached by land and water.

The rustic and simple marimba made of gourds has been transformed in a complete musical instrument that has been declared a Guatemalan national symbol.  The memory of Guatemalan composer Sebastian Hurtado (1827-1913) has been given the greatest honor with the fact that the new shop-school of the double keybord marimba has been named in his honor.  This marimba is known as cuache or "twins".  The double keyboard marimba was created and improved by this composer from Quetzaltenango.

This school-shop is located in the local market of Quetzaltenango.  The first promotion of this school will be graduated on october 5th with marimba music in the Municipal theatre of Xela.  Mario Barrios is the teacher of this school who teaches his pupils the art of building and playing this instrument.  The keys of the marimba are made of hormigo wood and the rest of the marimba is made of pine and oak.  This shop has already made six marimbas since it was founded in february of 2004.  The objective of this school is to honor and recognized Sebastian Hurtado.

The musical books of Guatemala reveal that Sebastian Hurtado was the first person to build a double keyboard marimba, capable of playing more complex musical pieces.  In the year 1899, the Hurtado brother’s marimba gave a concert in honor of then president Manuel Estrada Cabrera.  For this concert they used the first double keyboard marimba.  Before that time, there was only the one keyboard marimba where complex music pieces could not be played. 

Nobody knows the origins of this musical instrument.  Some historias say that it was born in africa and Asia.  Other historians also believe that the marimba originated in Guatemala.  They base their belief in a ceremonial pot found in Alta Verapaz 1000 A.C. where there is a drawing of a marimba.

The simple keys of the gourd marimba were changed for keys made of hormigo and the gourds were changed for resonancy boxes.  Sebastian Hurtado and his oldest son played the first double keyboard marimba.  This new design changed the Guatemalan marimba music and marimba music in general.  

El Mirador which is an arqueological site in Peten is about to be opened officialy for adventure turism by the ministry of Culture and Sports.  National and international turists could travel to the site using horses to view and experience the jungle and the farthest arqueological sites of the Mayan world.  This visit starts in the community of Carmelita and goes through the arqueological sites of La Florida and El Tintal and finishes in El Mirador.

One of the main objectives is to benefit the communities close to the sites.  This communities will be trained to provide the basic services of hosting, guiding, feeding and taking care of the horses to be used by the turists.  At the same time, these communities will provide protection to these sites.

El Mirador is an archeological adventure because it is an archeological site of 2,066 square kilometers close to the border with Mexico.  Within this area, there are 29 major archeological sites and also 50 minor sites.  The first Mayan were established there 1,000 years before Christ which corresponds to the Preclassic Middle (1200 B.C to 250 A.C).  The construction of the big cities en the area occured in the Late Preclassic period (300B.C to 200A.C).  At the end of this period there was a colapse in their civilization. 

To reach this place, the turist can arrive by plane to Flores, Peten from the capital city.  Carmelita can be reached in a 4Wd car from Flores in about 3 to 4 hours.  El Mirador can be reached from Carmelita in about two days travelling by horse.  There is about a 65 kilometers distance between Carmelita and El Mirador. During this adventure, the turist will be able to visit archeological sites such as Florida and La Tinta.  The first night, the turist will be sleeping in La Tinta, which is about 40 kilometers away from el Mirador.  From La Tinta, it is possible to observe the biggest pyramid of El Mirador.

Aunque tarde, quiero desearles a todos mi compatriotas Guatemaltecos que hayan tenido un buen feriado y que hayan celebrado la independencia de Guatemala con mucho fervor patrio.  Felicitaciones Guatemala en tus 185 anos de indepencia.  Esperemos de que Guatemala salga adelante en todo aspecto y que aprovechemos las libertades que tenemos y por las cuales los proceres de la indepencia lucharon en su tiempo.

Oscar Fernando Valizon Coronado es un joven de el departamento de Alta Verapaz que tiene bastante potencial para llegar lejos en el deporte de Pesas.  Este potencial a sido mostrado una vez mas en el campeonato panamericano de pesas realizado en Ecuador el fin de semana.  Fernando Valdizon participo en la categoria de 62 kilos en donde se corono campeon panamericano.  El obtuvo tres medallas de oro en este campeonato.  En este campeonato sub-17, Oscar Valdizon arraso con las medallas en su categoria pues se impuso en arranque, envion y total.

Una vez mas, sus triunfos confirman el potencial de este joven cobanero y prometen mas triunfos en este deporte.  El esta tratando de seguir en las huellas de su tio Luis Coronado que fue medallista en el ciclo olimpico.  Durante este ano de 2006, este joven pesista se a projectado internacionalmente pues compitio en los Juegos Centroamericanos, en los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe y en el Panamericano Juvenil en Ecuador.  Tambien participara pronto en el Mundial de pesas que se realizara en la Republica Dominicana.  Este joven dice que su meta en estos momentos es entrar a competir con las potencias de America.  Esperemos de que se le de todo el apoyo necesario para conseguir sus metas y que siga poniendo el nombre de Guatemala en alto.  Felicitaciones Oscar Valdizon.

Holtun is a Mayan Archeological site that offers a contact with the Mayan legacy.  Located in the center of the Yaxha, Nakum and El Naranjo Triangle, Holtun offers visitors a contact with remains of the Mayan culture.  Holtun comes from the Mayan word "Hol" that means head and "Tun" that means stone.  This site was built from the Preclassic to the Late Classic Period of Mayan civilization.  The site has several structures that form a triangle.  It has 3 buildings placed over a platform, an acropolis, pyramides and a ball court.  This site also has two faces, one antropomorph and one zoomorph and also a tunnel with murals.  Experts in Archeology coincide that Holtun as a big and important site like Yaxha and Tikal but it has not been explore much.  Holtun is 60 kilometeres away form the Island of Flores.

The Jaguars that live in the Tikal National Park are studied and protected by conservationists who are trying to find ways to study and save this feline from extinction.  Preliminary studies indicate that in a ratio of seven kilometers, seven jaguars were observed.  The first face of the study was considered a success because it was revealed that Tikal provides an effective refuge and habitat for the jaguar.  According the Mayan Cosmology, the symbol of the jaguar played and important part.  They were known as "Balam" or "Chac" and were attributed the virtue of power.  Only people with authority used clothing made of jaguar skin.  The Maya believed that the sun god transformed himself into a jaguar at night to travel to the world of the death.  They also believed that their mottled skin represented the stars in universe.  It is for these reasons that the figure of jaguar appear in the Mayan scultures.  

The traditional dance of the Palo Ensebado is part of the festivities in San Luis, Peten.  This traditional dance is headed by Mayan Priests in the Blanco Mountains.  This ceremony begins on August 24h, with the participation of Queckchies and Mayas Mopan.  The participants go early in the morning to cut a valerio tree.  A week before this dance starts, five men go into the forrest to choose a suitable tree.  Before the tree is cut, the priests offer their apologies and ask for permission from the valerio tree to be cut.  When the tree is cut, the tree is carried by several men to a place to be debark and waxed. 

Between the 25 and 26th of August, the tree is climb for 6 young men.  The person that climbs it the highest is rewarded with money, licour and food that have to be shared with rest of competitors.  The six people to climb the tree are chosen and they should abstein from having sexual relations eigth days before the celebration.  These are the rules established by the Mayan Priests.  This tradition is practiced since 300 years ago.  During this celebration, it is also possible to see the Dances of the Moors and the Deer.

40,000 years ago, the Centro American territory was home and a pathway to giant animals.  In the las decade, the remains of prehistoric animals have been found in different places.  The mammoth and two other kinds of paquiderms are prehistoric animales related to the elephants.  The most recent remains found were of the dwarf mammoth in Santa Rosa. A crew of municipal workers of San Rafael Las Flores were digging new drains when they found the bones.  The crew didn’t realize that those were the remains of fossils and some of the bones were loss.  It is considerend that these bones are at least 35 to 40,000 years old.  The dwarf mammoth was a prehistoric animal that inhabited the north of the american continent and used the Central American Isthmus to reach South America.  There have been fossils found in different parts of Guatemala like Alta Verapaz, Zacapa, Peten, Chiquimula, Jutiapa, Guatemala and Huehuetenango but this is the first time that fossils have been found in the South.