Ebony and Ivory

Guatemala is a world of double vision; a land of paradox. It is two countries and two cultures, the Spanish and Mayan, rolled up into one. The result is a place where, walking down the street, you see men and women in Western garb alongside those in traditional, colorful, Mayan traje attire. And although they mix about as well as oil and water, they have somehow managed to strike a strange balance. Perhaps balance is the wrong word—heirarchy is probably more accurate. Even better would be “food chain.” At the top (and naturally the fewest in number) are the pure-bred Spanish, untainted by any indigenous blood. Next in line are the mestizos (or ladinos) who are a mix of European and Central American ancestry. At the bottom, and occupying about 70% of the human biomass here, are the Mayans, or indigenous Guatemalans. But this unlikely coexistence is only but one manifestation of Guatemala’s paradoxical nature, a nature which seems to seep into every crevice of life. More on this bizarre balancing act to come.