Guatemala

I’m back from Central America. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been traveling and working in Guatemala, accompanying a writer/filmmaker who’s working on a really incredible project that involves indigenous languages, and connections between early Mayan and modern scientific theory. An amazing project, more on that later, and more on the trip later. But for now, this quick snapshot, while I attempt to dig my way out of about 25 megs worth of emails from a certain someone in Nigeria who says I can grow a larger penis by eating low-cost prescription drugs from the comfort of my own home while enjoying the company of hot singles in my own area.

The children in this snapshot are mostly Kakchikel-speaking boys in a town called Ciudad Vieja, goofing off last Tuesday during carnival celebrations (pre-Ash Wednesday, pre-lent, lots of candy and confetti all over the place). Ciudad Vieja (“old city”) was the former capital of Guatemala during early Spanish colonial times. It was wiped out nearly 500 years ago by a massive flood caused by a volcano of water; after the destruction the capital was then moved a few miles away to what became the city of Antigua, which was then wiped out by an earthquake. The country’s capital was ultimately re-established in what we know now as Guatemala City, which strikes me as being one of the most dangerous urban places on earth. There are nearly as many ammo shops as tortilla vendors and the crime rate is insane. The local guide who accompanied us for much of our travels through the altiplano joked, “They say Guatemala is the land of eternal spring, but it’s more like the country of eternal recovery. We’re always in the process of surviving any of three things: earthquakes, volcano eruptions, or bloody wars. Pick one.”

Click thumbnail for full-size image. Ay, que me alegro volver a BoingBoing. It’s good to be back home on the blog.