Part three of this series will feature videos that all have something to do with the culture in Guatemala or specifically in my town of Jacaltenango.
Mayan meditation
The following clips depict a Mayan ceremony that we attended toward the end of training. It was to celebrate the sacred Mayan calendar and Mother Nature. The clips are somewhat uneventful, as I didn't capture much of the priest's explanation of the ceremony, but it was very cool to be a part of it. To top it off, it took place in the middle of ruins that at one point served as the seat of Mayan power in Guatemala. Again, you can ignore the watermarks on all of these videos. It's just there because I used the trial version of some video converter software to shorten the clips.
Día del Cariño
Some have you may have picked up from reading previous posts that Guatemalans are a fun-loving people always looking for a reason to celebrate. There are easily five ferriados (holidays) a month. Some of the big ones are Día del Maestro (Day of the Teacher), Día de la Madre (Mother's Day), each town's feast day, and September 15, the Guatemalan Independence. These celebrations often end up lasting a week or longer and include lots of food, family parties, marimba bands and parades. The next video shows footage of my training host family's Valentine's Day party (see Figuring it out, Feb. 21, 2008). It was really interesting for me to see what a huge deal was made out of a day that in the United States is generally reserved for quiet, romantic celebrations between couples.
Here's where I prove that I wasn't lying when I wrote about eating roasted ants in Travels and more misadventures, July 23, 2008. Jokox are a traditional seasonal snack in Jacal gathered and eaten every year around May when the rains start and force the ants out from underground. Depending on how plentiful they are, a pound can go for up to Q100 ($12).
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