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San Cristóbal Verapaz
From a hill on the north side of town you can see the town and the laguna nestled in the valley.
Palacio Municipal
the center of town, with the park on the left. On Sundays a marimba group would set up in the arcade of the Municipal building on the right.
San Cristóbal Cathedral
CeCEP building
Where I worked for two weeks!
Mi Familia
My host mother and father in San Cristóbal
Me and the Boys
Esteban and Braulio, the two sons of my host family.
Don Jaime, me, Doña Sandra, Doña Lola, Esteban
Dinner for 60
In honor of Braulio's graduation, they killed a pig for the feast. You can see by his face that even though he had to be part of this task, he didn't take too kindly to it.
Esteban
The younger son of the Pivaral Ruiz family, working hard for his brother's party
Wooing the Family
I impressed the entire family by whipping out a Shakira classic in the wee hours of the night.
CeCEP crew
From left to right, Don Mario, Oswaldo, Don Abelino and Rumaldo (Sucely and Gerson not pictured) made up the wonderful CeCEP staff with whom I spent my time in the office.
Don Abelino
One of my favorite members of CeCEP, Abelino always had this peaceful, inviting smile on his face.
Making Maguey Paper
As part of my project for the second week, I went and talked to various artisans to learn how they made their art. Here, Maria is teaching me how she makes Maguey Paper.
El Mercado
This painting, done by local San Cristóbal Verapaz artist, Oswaldo Lem Pérez, is a commentary on the injustice many of the market vendors experience with extremely low prices for their goods and increasing competition from foreign (U.S.) produce. Oswaldo and his sister, Cristina, were some of the artisans who still do traditional crafts in San Cristóbal. Not only do they keep their cultural knowledge alive, they are very well-informed and active in indigenous rights issues.
Semuc Pools
Semuc Champey is a series of shallow clear pools formed on top of a land bridge. Where you see the pools here, the river is rushing furiously underneath. That water which doesn't enter the underground tunnel trickles over the bridge, forming these peaceful clean pools.
Swimming Hole
A view of one of the pools from below
