HISTORY/WOMEN’S STUDIES

Cultural Conflict and Change in Latin America

Route

• We initiate the HIS/WST course in Panajachel (1) , from there we move south, to Tecpan (2) and visit the archeological site of Iximché.

• We spend two weeks in the Sacatepez region having as our base the city of Antigua (3). During that time we visit the House of Memory in Guatemala City (4) and San Juan Comalapa (5) in Chimaltenango

• Afterwards we travel North to Nebaj (7)where we stay for approximately 6 days. On our way to Nebaj we spend a night in Santa Cruz del Quiche (6).

• From Nebaj we move to Tecpan where we wrap up the course, to finally return to Antigua and leave the following day to San José, Costa Rica.

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Archeological Site of Iximche

Situated in the western highlands of Guatemala, Iximche was the capital of the Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandonment in 1524.

The House of Memory in Guatemala City

The House of Memory, “Kaji Tulam”, is a project of CALDH (Center for Human Rights Legal Action). Through artistic displays, the House of Memory challenges traditional narratives of Guatemalan history, leading its visitors to reflect upon the embodied experience of remembering.

San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango

A town of artists and traders, San Juan Comalapa’s habitants experienced the repression of Guatemala’s army during the 1980s armed conflict. We will meet a group of young comalapan artists who through their art question racist constructions of indigenous peoples’ lives. We will also visit the community’s place of memory that honors the disappeared and killed during the 1980s.

Speakers who have been invited

Gladys TzulGladys is Maya k’ich’e from Totonicapan. She holds a PhD in sociology from BeneméritaUniversidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) in México. Gladys is the founder of Amaq, an institute that provides legal advice to indigenous peoples. Her work focuses on the study of indigenous forms of government and communal politics. She is also a visual artist and belongs to the collective of indigenous photographers, “Con VozPropia”.

Lorena CabnalIs a maya-Xinka communitarian Feminist. She belongs to Tzk’at—the Network of Ancestral Healers of Communitarian Feminisms from Iximulew-Guatemala.

Cabnal links healing practices with the struggle against multiple forms of violence inflicted upon the bodies and the land of indigenous people, in particular women and girls.

Aura CumesAura is Maya Kaqchikel from Chimaltenango. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the Center for Advanced Study and Research in Social Anthropology (CIESAS) in Mexico City. Her work focuses on the analysis of power relations that have resulted from the overlap between colonialism and patriarchy. Aura is co-founder of a blog and writers’ group entitled Comunidad de EstudiosMayas and has published various books and articles, among them: Crossroads of Identities: Women, Feminisms, and Mayanisms in Dialogue(2006).

Victoria TubinIs a Maya Kaqchiquel from Comalapa, Chimaltenango. She is a sociologist, holds a master in Communication for development and is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of San Carlos, where she also teaches. Her work has focused on exploring the political experiences of indigenous women in Guatemala.

Edgar EsquitOf Maya Kaqchikel origin, Edgar studied history and anthropology, and holds a doctorate in social science from CIESAS, in Mexico. He is a professor or Social Anthropology and a research fellow at the institute of Inter-Ethnic Studies at the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala

His work explores Maya History and right and the analysis of the mechanisms through which colonial relationships are structured over different groups and in different places, spaces, and temporalities.

Ricardo FallaJesuit, anthropologist and writer, Ricardo Falla was born in Guatemala City. During the 1980s, Falla served as a Parish priest in communities of People in Resistance in the Ixcán. He was one of the first public figures to denounce the massacres committee by the Guatemalan State against indigenous communities. Today he lives in Santa Maria Chiquimula, Totonicapan. He continues to serve as a priest and to write. Among his books are: Massacres in the Jungle – Ixcan, Guatemala (1992), and four volumes of personal reflections called In the Dawn of life (2014-18).

Patricia Morales SicanKaqchikel leader from San Lucas Toliman, she is a member of CCDA (Peasant Committee from the Highlands). CCDA was formed in 1982 to legally support indigenous peasants in land and labor right’s struggles. CCDA also supports local agricultural initiatives and community development efforts. Today it has 58 000 members in 20 of Guatemala’s 22 departamentos.

Maria Guadalupe GarciaMaría Guadalupe Is a maya Mam activist from the municipality of San Idelfonso Ixtahuacán, in Huehuetenango. She was a refugee in Mexico during more than 10 years due to the armed conflict in Guatemala. There she organized with other women and formed the organization “Mama Maquin” which had a relevant role during the peace process in her country. Today, with other women, she struggles for indigenous women’s right to land, the defense of their territory and political participation.

Maria Concepción SaenzAnthropologist, originally from Huehuetenango, is one of the founders and former director of CEDFOG (Center of Studies and documentation of the Western Frontier of Guatemala). Her work has centered on the active support of women’s organizations in the Huehuetengango region as well as the analysis of the impact of migration in that area of the country.

Conversations with members of the Association of Ixil women weavers Q’IMB’AL

The Association was founded in 2006. Its members are Maya Ixil women who, during Guatemala’s armed conflict in the 1980s, lived in Communities of Resistance. The association is focused on supporting its members weaving and agroecological activities, both conceived as fundamental elements to defend their history and territory.

The Ixil University

Founded in 2011, the Ixil University defines itself as a community-based University. It developed an academic curriculum that promotes traditional knowledges and values of the Maya Ixil people.

The Ixil region was one of the hardest hit during the 1980s war. Today Ixil communities face other challenges: the defense of their territory and natural resources against megaprojects.