The Real Guatemala

We have a running joke right now, inspired by an entry in the Lonely Planet that talks about finding the real Guatemala. They´re discussing what they call the long and boring discussions of earnest travelers as they search for the essence of this country, and the experience of really being here, with the people. We usually talk joke about how we´ve found the real Guatemala as we sit at yet another tropical themed restaurant, surrounded solely by other American and European travelers, looking at yet another menu offering up hamburgers, spaghetti and English breakfasts. Well, this is it, we´ve finally found it! Not that these places aren´t lovely but...

It´s an interesting paradox to be in a country that has had a violent history and has only recently made it onto traveler´s maps as a safe and appealing country to visit. Indeed, it seems the fact that people still consider it an ¨undiscovered country¨has made it wildly popular.

Before coming here, many of my friends and family expressed concern over traveling here, and I had my own ideas about what the country would be like. Reading the Lonely Planet, you basically get the idea that if you venture off the beaten path, you run a high risk of being robbed or mutilated, although in the next breath there is talk of the magic of the country and the friendliness of the people. With all of this in your head, everybody, and I do mean everybody, sticks to the beaten path. The interesting thing is that this path is filled with Italian restaurants, American movies, handicraft shops and hastily constructed guest houses. Get off the path and you´ll find merely a whisper of a dirt road. As we follow this tourist trail, there is lots of beauty, especially in the natural form, and in the smiles and faces of the people here. But there is also the sense that this country has chosen to, or has had to, sacrifice much of their own culture to satisfy the desires of the travelers and tourists that have made Guatemala their next destination. It seems difficult, sometimes, to get a sense of what a country is about, when in order to ¨develop¨and be prosperous, it´s forced to cater to what people from other countries, with money, want. In Mexico, or in Thailand, it seems that the country has been able to hold on to their traditions, and what goes along with their culture, such as the aesthetics, the cuisine, and a certain pride in what makes their country special. The relative safety there also makes you feel that you can wander around and see more of the country. I feel a certain pessimistic irony when I look around at these twenty year old kids who fill the ¨chill spaces¨created by people here, draped in their fresh-from-the-market head to toe Guatemalan outfits. It´s interesting to see white tourists dressed in clothes that are part of the traditional way of life here. I can`t help but feel that there is something just....wrong about it.

Yesterday we went to this town called Santiago to see this saint that gets moved around every couple of years to a hidden location (hidden enough to be listed in the Lonely Planet). I was, honestly, slightly hungover, and feeling a little bit more sensitive than usual, and was a bit overwhelmed by some of the sights that are just part of being here, like skinny, mangy dogs everywhere, half finished or falling down construction, two year olds asking for ¨un quetzal,¨ women selling their beautiful handicrafts for the price of a cup of coffee, old men spending their afternoon following us for the chance we might take their taxi for a few dollars...this is all not mentioning the great things about being here, but damn, if you ever doubt you´re lucky to have been born in the U.S., or Canada, etc., a couple of hours wandering around certain towns will remind you in a hurry.