Colorful Poverty

The more we travelled into Guatemala the more we notice the differences to Mexico: the huts are still simpler, the buses are more jam-packed, but also colorfuller painted, the exhaust fumes are blacker and the animals at the wayside are thinner. Never before we saw people working harder. At the same time we also noticed something else: the traditional costumes are even in the poorest village more colourfull and sophisticated than in Mexico. At the hard field work, at milking the goats, cooking and washing clothes, the Guatemaltekan women wear extensive embroided blouses and long skirts from handweaved fabrics. The more we come into the center of the country the more we also see men in traditional costumes. They also wear colourful embroided shirts and sometimes short skirts made from weaved brown fabric. Every village has it's own traditional costume. They are for the Indegena, descendants of the Maya, a very importand element of thei identity.

Like in Mexico the people hear much music, as loud as possible. But you can feel much less of the groove here, even if the same peppy songs boom out of the speakers. The people are more stony-faced from the hard work on the fields or in the hot citchen. The joy is restrained and the talks seem to be less agile. Compared to the Mexicans with their clamant self-confidence the Indigenas from Guatemala seem to be drugged. The shade of the past bears on the people, who were forced to suffer from the violence of the 36 years lasting civil war. All the more it is surprising, when the tired faces beam us with joy, just because we greeted them politely. Many are interested in our journey and are happy, if we make a short break for a talk.
Here in Guatemala we were indeed for the first time begged intrusively and forced to buy things. It is not easy for us, to find the best way to handle that. Especially with children, who belong into school, but who were send from their parents to earn money on the road. They don't understand, how people with so much money can decline the offers of beautifull weave and knit handicrafts.

Just by chance we got into a childrens birthday and there we could experience the people happily celebrating. While we enjoyed the leaf wrapped Tamales the children were entertained with Juego de Piñata. They have to smash a puppet made from paper machee, which is filled with candy.

Here in Guatemala we find out for the first time, what it means to sleep in a house with corrugated metal roof: very loud. In rain you nearly can't converse. But also the rain drowns the singing, which is coming from the near church (Wher there are only few ways out of the poornes, sects can boom). An alarm-clock we don't need: The birds hop on the metal roof in the morning, like it is a percussion instrument. It sounds like they have feed-long crawls. However it were only harmless garden birds (or?). We are still working on our bad fantasies. Meantime we also know, what it means to have fleas in the bed and to have amebeas or other animals in the stomach. We just get used to things which are normal for others.

On studying the every day life of the people here we learn, that poorness is not the same as poorness. It has many diffrent facings and varietys. (mi)