Guatemala

Elderly Rug Vendor in ChiChiGuatemala Church Candles  Todos Santos ElderBar in Mountain Town of SololaChurch Steps in Chichicastenengo Church Incense in Chi Chi ChurchShop in Mountain Town of Todos SantosSunset in Ancient Mayan Ruins at TikalBlanket Seller in ChichicastenengoChildren in Streets of Santa MariaShopping in Village of Solola Annual Todos Santos Horse RaceDoor Painting in XelaOld Man Beside a Pile of Colourful BlanketsChurch in ChichicastenengoBaby in Solola

 

Guatemala – an intriguing Central American country – full of colour but lacking in the Joie de Vivre of other Latino countries.  When I asked a local why there was little singing and dancing, his response was that the civil wars had numbed those that had lived through the massacres of Maya civilians during the Guatemalan military government’s counterinsurgency operations. These lasted from 1960s up until the early nineties when at least 42,275 people were killed. The exact numbers are unknown but the effects  still  traumatise its people.