Pilgrim Team in Guatemala

Pilgrim's Service Learning Team arrived in Guatemala very late on Wednesday evening June 13.  We are nine in number--Gregg and Taylor, Nan and Sophie, Janine and Dane, Charlotte and Alex, and Ed.  This is an intergenerational team, mostly of parent/teen family groups.  We spent the first few days learning about the country and its culture and history.  On Thursday, June 14, we traveled from the city of Antigua to Panajachel, a destination city and gateway to the Lake Atitlan area and Guatemalan highlands.   The first stop was La Azteo Cultural Center, just out of Antigua.  La Azteo is a coffee plantation with tours and a museum to explain coffee production, one of Guatemala's largest crops.  In quality, Guatemalan coffee is rated the world's third best.  There is also a section of the museum devoted to the history of music in Guatemala.

Midway between Antigua and Panajachel is Iximche, the site of an Ancient Mayan village.  Iximche was pivitol in the history of the conquest, because here the Spanish conquistadors wooed the allegiance of one Mayan people against another. Together, the Spanish and Ketchiqel defeated other Mayan groups and determined that the area would belong to the Ketchiquel.  Iximche was the first capital of the area under Spanish rule.  Although not as iimpressive as some sites like Tikal, some of the building sites have been partially excavated.  The site is still used by local Mayans for religious ceremonies.

We arrived in Panajachel late afternoon, checked into our rooms, and walked on Calle Santander looking for a place to eat.  Jose Pasquini's is a family run restaurant with marimba music played by the the family's three daughters.  Jose was most gracious and accommodating, and a lesson in the history of the marimba came with dinner.

On Friday, we toured two areas on the Lake.  We went first to Santiago Atitlan, directly across the lake from Panajachel.  Santiago is mostly Mayan and one of our quests was a visit to Maximon, a diety important to the indigenous people.  Many Mayans are Catholic and observe both indigenous and Christian rituals. The guide put it this way, [You bring to Maximon things you don't want to bother the priest for--or things you'd rather the priest not know.}  Maximon is dressed in lots of neckties and bright cloths and especially appreciates gifts of liquor and cigarettes!  Maximon lives with a different family each year and our guide explained some of the rituals in caring for him and moving him to a new home during Holy week.


We visited the cathedral at Santiago where Father Stanley Rother was assissinated during the civil war.  Santiago was one of the areas of conflict during Guatemala's 36 year war which ended in 1996.  There was a lot of violence in this area in the 1970{s.  Rother, the parish priest, worked on behalf of the indigenous people, even learning the Tuitsil lanuage and translating the New Testament.  During the most violent days, he opened the church and gave sanctuary to hundreds of his parishoners.  Eventually he was assissinated and his  heart is buried in the church at Santiago.


From Santiago we went to San Lucas Toliman where the Catholic dioscese of New Ulm, Minnesota has established a well known and extensive mission.  We toured their coffee production area, a new women's center, saw a new neighborhood built by their construction volunteers, and saw their very moderan medical clinic.  Father Gregory Schaeffer died in May after a lifetime of service to this mission.  Gold and white banners and bows were everywhere.  Once again, we heard stories of dedication to and respect for the traditional Mayan ways blended with holistic services to the poor.


The lake road back to Panajachel in the pouring rain was an experience none of us want to repeat!  We rested a while, and then had a pizza dinner at Circus Bar, a well known restaurnt with live music and a light hearted atmosphere.