Andrew Clark
Mrs.Klug
Culinary 1
26 January 2017
Guatemala
Guatemala is a Scenic landscape from smoldering volcanoes and swirling mists to where the hues of nature complement the rainbow colors of common dress.
Guatemala happens to be the third largest country in Central America and is about the same size as ohio. There are three main geographic regions: highlands, lowlands, and a coastal plain. Volcanic uplands form the southern half of the highlands that join the coastal plain. Within the coastal plain and volcanic uplands, about 60% of the country's population lives. Most of the left over 40% live north of the uplands. The country has a greater population density than any other country in Latin America.
Catholicism
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during the colonial era was the main religion. Evangelical Protestantism and orthodoxy have increases in the recent decades. 2 quarters of the locals are protestant. The history of Guatemala is often recognized in 3 stages. Modern republic, Spanish rule, and the Mayan Empire. The bulk of the population of Guatemala is Catholic even though the varieties of catholicism varies from one area to another. This is due to the religious impact of the mayans as early priests tried to force Mayan religious rites with Catholic. There are five ethnic groups that make up the population of Guatemala.
The first and highest is Mestizos, they make up 41%. Mestizos are people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. They are concentrated in the urban areas of the country. The next is Amerindians, they make up 38.9%. They are a mix of American and Indian. The third is whites, they make up 18.5%. Whites there are more for tourism. There is only 1% of blacks and 0.6% of …show more content…
asians. Their breakfast is quite simple,simple to them at least. Typically the breakfast includes an assortment of eggs, tortillas, beans, and plantains. Also, many take benefit to the country's abundance of fruit. But most of all, breakfast is yet to be finished without a cup of guatemalan coffee. Their snacks are quite similar to ours: guacamole served with chips. Corn, rice, cheese and beans are the main choices of most guatemalan meals. Their lunch is typically one of these meals: Nachos, tamales, or enchiladas. Dinner is usually some type of soup or meat stew, but a popular dish is “Elotes” which is roast ears of corn with cheese, lime and butter or mayonnaise. A very common dessert is three milk cake. A cake drenched in three types of milk (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream). The capital of Guatemala is Guatemala City.
It is the biggest city in Guatemala, and the greatest populated in Central America. It is found in the southern central part of the country, bundled in the mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita. (Hermitage Valley). These are a few of the locals favorite restaurants: Kacao, Donde Mikel, and Restaurante Hacienda Real. The most visited tourist spots are Tikal- an Ancient Mayan city with pyramid ruins, and Lake Atitlan where there are lakes, volcanoes, yoga, kayaking and markets.
Guatemala is very wealthy in civilization. It has 21 mayan ethnicities mixed with Latin and European ethnicities. Mayan inspiration is deep and profound. Espanol is the national language and is used by most of the local population. Although in the mountains it is common to find indigenous people speaking their ancient Mayan dialect. The mountains contain the bulk of the 21 Mayan dialects spoken with many natives still wearing their traditional colorful
dress. The population is 16,886,093. The conditions that Guatemalans work are not desirable and often in violation of Guatemalan law. The average daily wage is 3 dollars for agricultural workers,$3.30 for workers in commerce, $3.38 for workers in construction and $6 for workers in specialized labor. The average workweek consists of 44 hours for a day shift and 36 hours for the night shift workers. More than 80,000 Guatemalans work at export factories for apparel. Most of them women. They are often in an unsafe and unhealthy environment. Children as young as 13 years old are recruited to work in these unsafe conditions. Some parents are forced to have their children as young as 6 years old work. And these children do not receive compensation. Also less than 15% of workers are unionized. I myself happen to be a mix of Guatemalan and Mexican among other things. I have never been to Guatemala yet in my life, but my mom and grandma have. My grandma was actually born there. They've told me stories and i've also seen things on the news about poverty and the living and working conditions in Guatemala. It is a nice place to go and visit to see all the wonders of nature the country has to offer. But not to live. There are many cases of death and kidnappings there, not to mention the fact that one or a few of the active volcanoes that are still active could erupt any day.
The Popol Vuh is a collection of historical mythos of the K’iche’ Maya, a group that still lives in the Guatemalan highlands. Popol Vuh translates as either, “Book of Council” or in proper K’iche’ “Book of Events” or “Book of the People”, and tells the creation mythos of the K’iche’ peoples, an epic tale of Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, along with a series of genealogies.
I was born in Guatemala in a city called, called Guatemala City. Life in Guatemala is hard which is why my parents brought me into the United States when I was eight months old. Some of the things that makes life in Guatemala hard is the violence. However, Guatemala has plenty of hard working men, women, and children who usually get forced to begin working as soon as they are able to walk. However, unlike many other countries, Guatemala has a huge crime rate. I care about the innocent hard working people that live in Guatemala and receive letters, threatening to be killed if they do not pay a certain amount of money at a certain amount of time.
From the time of its colonization at the hands of Spanish Conquistadors in the early 1500’s, Guatemala has suffered under the oppression of dictator after dictator. These dictators, who ruled only with the support of the military and only in their own interests, created a form of serfdom; by 1944, two percent of the people owned 70 percent of the usable land.
Spanish is the official language of Guatemala, but the indigenous people of Guatemala have maintained a distinct identity, centered on lands and villages in the western highlands. Many speak a Mayan language rather than Spanish. Although most are poor by material standards, their lifestyle is ecologically and spiritually satisfying to them, and they have largely chosen to remain isolated from national life.
Medina, Laurie Kroshus. 2003 ‘Commoditizing Culture – Tourism and Maya Identity’. Michigan State University, USA. pp 353-368
The Mayan Genocide was a result of a civil war concerning communism and democracy between corrupt leaders and the people of Guatemala. The Guatemalan army carried out the genocide under the self-proclaimed name “killing machines”. According to the article Genocide in Guatemala “the army destroyed 626 villages, killed or “disappeared” more than 200,000 people and displaced an additional 1.5 million, while more than 150,000 were driven to seek refuge in Mexico”. The army murdered and tortured without regard to age or gender, men, women, and children all alike. In an attempt to end the conflict Peace Accords were signed, in spite of the fact that there was little change. Directly following the Mayan genocides, Guatemala faced physical and emotional
Today more than six million Maya live in Guatemala Mexico and Belize. Modern Maya has brought their unique way of life. Their religion to has changed from idolatry to Catholicism, animal offerings. Tikal is a Visitor site with museums and hotels cover the space was camp of Arc.
I always live as a Guatemalan for the last 15 years, it was hard when I had to move from my country to another that was very different than mine and find out that in this new country is a different languages and different cultures. Maybe for the first time that I was walking to the school, I feel like I was in Guatemala people with the same skin color as me, but when I heard them talked I heard a new word, different accents and I realized that everything was chance.
When I was a toddler, I had blonde hair, blue eyes and white skin, and still presently do. My parents are Guatemalan, however they fit the stereotype of a Guatemalan, small, a bit chunky, and tan. My siblings also carry the same genes as my parents, but yet I stand out like the moon in a night sky. But just like the moon, the public looks at me different. Growing up in a hispanic community and having a Latino family I gained numerous titles for my abnormality. “Canche” is the George Clooney of my nicknames, it means white boy.
The Mayan Civilization consisted of 16 major communities ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 people in each. Mayan territory spanned from Southern Mexico to Northwestern Honduras but was mostly concentrated within the Yucatan Peninsula ("Maya (people)"). Through the ages of the Mayan Civilization, the migration of the Mayan people went from Southern Central Mexico to the Southeast side of the Yucatan peninsula and some parts of Northern Belize and Guatemala.
Since the beginning of discovery, the Maya have always been known as “an indigenous people from Mexico and Central America” in 1800 B.C. to about 800 A.D. (“The Maya Civilization,” 1/1). One of the most dominant societies of Mesoamerica, the Maya geographically centralized in one “block”: the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala, Belize, Tabasco and Chiapas (Mexico), and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador (“Maya,” 1/1). Their constant location, over a period of almost 3000 years, shows that the Maya stayed safe from invasion by other peoples. The Maya Empire peaked at 600-800 A.D. and suffered a decline when the Spanish conquistadors rose.
In the Central America, most notably the Yucatan Peninsula, are the Maya, a group of people whose polytheistic religion and advanced civilization once flourished (Houston, 43). The Maya reached their peak during the Classic Period from around CE 250 to the ninth century CE when the civilization fell and dispersed (Sharer, 1). Although much has been lost, the gods and goddesses and the religious practices of the Classic Maya give insight into their lives and reveal what was important to this society.
Upon arrival of the Spaniards the Mayan civilization was in full decline. Most of the Mayans lived in the Yucatan Peninsula and large cities had been abandoned centuries ago. There were few cities such as the Mayans and most of its people lived in small villages. During the colony and the Independent Mexico the Mayans kept a great diversity of languages, dialects, culture mixed with Spanish traditions and religion resulting in a rich culture that persists to this day.
The Maya was a very advanced civilization that had many important aspects to their culture. They dominated Central America for a very long period. The time of this great civilization is split into three main periods: Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic. The Maya’s greatest and most cultural achievements came from the Classic period, but the fall of this period is one of the greatest mysteries in all of history. The Mayans abandoned many primary city-states and moved for an unknown reason. Nobody is sure why this happened, but it is sure that the Maya was one of the greatest civilizations of their time. Their culture was based on their class structure, warfare, religious practices, family life, and agriculture. These were important because they made up the Maya’s unique culture.
The Maya civilization is a very important culture that has left a great impact on our world today. They are known for their written language, art, mathematical system and astronomical system. The Maya territory includes Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico. In these areas the Maya thrived in their religious practices, politics, and their use of the territory.