Say Cheese

Friday, March 25, 2011

Guatemala Highlands and Volcanoes

This part of Guatemala is situated between Lake Atitlan and Quetzaltenango at an altitude between 1,500m and 3,000m above sea level and is home to the Maya nations of Kaqchikel, K'iche and Tz'utujil, each of them speaking their own unique language.

Essentially rural and poor, the tiny communities live in a way that has changed very little over the past several hundred years. Women wear traditional dresses every day, gather firewood with their children and take care of the house, men work the corn and vegetable fields. Simple one room houses, many still made of mud bricks, have traditional smoke saunas instead of bathrooms.

I was totally captivated by this area, by the hardworking Maya people and children, by the rough beauty of the altiplano landscapes shaped by volcanoes and earthquakes.

First you will find pictures of Maya children, later I will post pictures of landscapes, houses, volcanoes and people working the land.

Maya people are very camera shy. It took lot of time to get close and have their confidence for a picture or two. A few Kaqchikel words helped, as did the introductions of our Kaqchikel guide Pablo. Usually, adults would refuse to have pictures of them taken, but women often let me take pictures of their children.