Reflections and Commentaries on life and people in Middle America (with an emphasis on our work and play in Guatemala)
I first developed an interest in Central America in general – and Guatemala in particular – in 1989, when Mary and I went to a presentation by a Guatemalan refugee sponsored by some Dallas-based Catholic nuns and other activists working with “The Sanctuary Movement.” For those too young to remember 1989, or those who just never became aware of this movement, it consisted of groups of people challenging US immigration law by providing shelter and advocacy to people from countries – like Guatemala – where US Cold War Policy allowed or fostered violence and extreme repression, while US immigration policy categorically denied refugee status to populations that were subject to wholesale murder and torture by their own state-sponsored security forces (often with direct covert assistance from US security forces). I found the stories compelling, and the refugees I met inspiring, and nurtured that interest for another year before one day Mary called me at work and asked how I’d like to go study Spanish in Guatemala for 6 weeks in the summer of 1990. Always up for an adventure, I jumped on the the suggestion with both feet.
When we arrived on June 26, I was able to count to ten and say “I am” two different ways. But despite the language barrier, I was immediately enchanted with the beauty and exoticness of the country. And by the time we left seven weeks later, I was captivated, and pretty certain my future would in some way be bound up with this little Ohio-sized Republic. That was indeed the case, as I continued to spend extended periods of time there every summer studying Spanish and becoming involved with various cooperatives. Then, in 1995 when our employment situation forced a change of consideration about what to do next, I applied around for graduate school fellowships, and got an offer I couldn’t refuse from Tulane University’s Latin American Studies Program. I began that in August of 1995 – in my early 40s the oldest student in the program. My interests and focus of studies within the region evolved, but my focus on Guatemala stayed steady as I acquired the M.A. and the Ph.D with a multidisciplinary curriculum that ended up looking a lot like applied anthropology.
What has not changed is my passion for being in, learning and teaching about, talking about, and when possible helping the people of Guatemala, which remains my adopted center of the universe. So … toward that end I’m adding this page to the Chichimax Ten Buck Sommellier blogsite with the goal of contributing to a greater general awareness of the people and problems of Central America. My hope is to evoke a civil conversation about life and and issues in Latin America, generally … although my own knowledge and ability to comment in depth will in most respects be limited to Guatemala and, to a lesser degree, Mexico (Another country I love).
All with the hope that somebody out there will find this page of some use or at least midly interesting ….
I invite you to comment, or to submit comments, links, photos, or any other content you’d like to share through this medium. I’ll of course moderate all comments to make sure everything stays respectful and relevant … but I promise that snuffing well-articulated controversy or contention is distinctly not my goal.
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