Connecting the Dots/Continents

Historical events have a funny way in connecting to other historical events across the globe. Okay, not funny as in "ha-ha" but more of a "ah-ha" moment of making sense of why an event happened and why a country is the way it is. Bare with me for a few moments.

Guatemala

Italy

Europe was in a cris during the 16th century from contagious diseases, poor harvests, destructive wars, an obsession with 'death', etc. (Glad to not have been living there). The (orthodox) Catholic communities met (officially known as the Council of Trent) in 1545 to 1563 with a total of 25 sessions. The main topics discussed was the concern of the clergy's morality and to clarify the true Catholic teaching that would refute the theological positions of the various Protestant reformers and become a rallying point for a disintegrating Holy Roman Empire (Early: 2012, 91). Keep a Medieval Europe context... The result was a creation of Tridentine Catholicism. Now in Guatemala, the priests were, for the most part, absent from Mayan communities. As the result of the absence of priests, bishops, etc. the Mayans adopted Catholic practices and beliefs into their traditional culture and religion. A kind of syncretism. In Europe, the Catholics wanted to implement a basic framework that would hold for the next 400 years, but this was difficult to apply in Guatemala because 1. the Maya communities were isolated from the colonized pueblos and 2. there was a language barrier of translating the prayers, sermons, rituals into the native languages (there were over 23!) 3. when the priests did preach to the Maya communities, they were unaware of their culture (a.k.a. ethnocentric) which easily absorbed elements from other 'systems'. Big picture take away point- the Catholics were missionizing to the indigenous Maya population predominantly from the 1500s to the 1600s.

Connecting to another "dot" 400 years later--- there is a shift from Catholic missionizing to Protestant missionizing. Why? For one, the goals of the Council of Trent were not making enough of a dent in the issues that Mayans were facing such as: hunger, malnutrition, land loss, unusable land, poverty, lack of access to water, low literacy, lack of education... Thus, evangelism came on the scene in Guatemala. Interesting point- when I was researching the trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt, I read an excerpt that he claimed himself as a born-again Christian who gained quite a large following, almost having a 'mythic status'. Montt called for Pentecostal missionaries to come to Guatemala to provide food, medicine, and 'spiritual guidance' (Little: 2009, 44). Do not forget, Montt was responsible for the worst crimes against humanity in Guatemala's history (1982-1982) as he conducted an all-out genocide and scorched earth campaign against the Maya population (also known as la violencia). This shift from Catholicism to Pentecostal between 1976 and 1983 accounted for an increase in Pentecostal congregations in Guatemala by up to 35%.

Maya and Catholic Cultures in Crisis

Mayas in Postwar Guatemala

Alrighty, those are some big leaps and a lot of dots to connect. On the bright side, will have plenty to analyze for the final write up.

"First comes creation, then comes country."

Jon Sobrino, SJ

November 20, 2014

Little This and a Little That

To be in (somewhat) a chronological order, the focus of this week was how Guatemala achieved Independence from the Spanish Crown. Do not worry, I will not take you through a hundred years worth of history... but to be brief, Spain was losing its control and presence in Guatemala in the last twenty years of ruling the Kingdom (comprised of present day Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and others). Napoleon's invasion of Spain and the decline of the Bourbon monarch threw Guatemala (and much of Latin America) into chaos. The colonial economy was in severe decline. From 1811 to 1818 was deemed the Bustamante Period which was seven years of turmoil. Then General Carlos de Urrutia took charge of the administration of the Kingdom until 1821. By then independent political parties were beginning to form: Caos and the Gazistas. On September 15, 1821, Gabino Gainza declared the "Act of Independence of the United Provinces of Central America" along with 19 articles and a preamble. In comparison to other Latin American countries who gained independence through a violent struggle, Guatemala declaration of independence was accomplished peacefully. Gavino Gainza continued as chief executive. From this point- I think I will not research into great detail the post-colonial era for now. Instead, I want to focus more on the role of religion in Guatemala and then specifically focus on Zacapa.

To jump ahead over a hundred years, I am researching the trial of Guatemala's former dictator Efrain Rios Montt for another class. Here is a brief outline of Guatemala's civil war that lasted from 1960 to 1996 with the signing of the Peace Accords. The bloodiest years were during the 1980s when the army began its counteroffensive strategy to combat guerrilla groups.

• March 1982- General Montt along with the help of other discontent army officer seized power in a military coup d'etat which ousted Romeo lucas Garcia.
• Montt became the first evangelical dictator in Guatemala and lead the counterinsurgency war that targeted indigenous Maya communities and declared a state of seige
• July 6, 1982- Finca San Francsisco: over 300 indigenous residents were massacred
• Reime of Montt- to create La Nueva Guatemala by usng psychological and ideological influence as military control
• Fusiles y Frijoles (rifles and beans)- over 1 million were displaced and over 200,000 Mayans were disappeared, tortured and/or killed, and the decimation of hundreds of indigenous communities
• Scorched earth campaign to exterminate the Ixil population
• Montt was not put on trial until 2012 and was found guilty of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity but the case has been thrown out on the basis of technicalities. The trial is to resume in 2015

Here are a few links to news articles about the trial:

Huffington Post

New York Times

ABC News

From the Precolonial Era to Independence

Trying to fit all the moving (literally) parts for this Independent Study has become a grand project.
To get my thoughts into somewhat of a row of ducks...

Puzzle Piece #1- Scholarly research is going very, very well. This week was focused on completing the history of the Precolonial, Conquest, and Colonial Era of Guatemala. Key figures in Guatemala's history include: Pedro de Alvarado, Dona Beatriz de la Cueva, Francisco de la Cueva and Bishop Francisco Marroquin, Licenciado Alonso de Maldoado, Father Pedro Pardo de Figueroa, Felipe V, Pape Paul III, Bartolome de las Casas. Key Concepts: Popol Vuh, Mixton War, personalismo, Habsburg Bureaucracy, Bourbon Reforms, Catholic Church, Audiencia de los Confines, Intendency System, repartimiento/encomienda systems, cofradia, Enlightenment, syncretism...

Puzzle Piece #2- Crossroads Community Church held a fundraiser for Omar de Leon and his young daughter. Omar was offere a significant raise at his current job here in Illinois, but he turned it down to be a missionary in Zacapa where he will help raise-up leaders of all ages. Enough donations were made to cover his expenses for all of 2015. Also during this fundraiser, the Celeste Centro/Mission Center was presented in order to get the "full picture" of why Omar is ready to commit to moving to Guatemala. All fundraising for the Centro will be allocated by and through Share the Hope Missions- Crossraods.

Puzzle Piece #3- After the fundraiser, I am seriously considering changing from a nonprofit corporation to a private business. One reason being that if I were an independent, I could get up and running much faster and not have to worry about the IRS... Just a thought.

Deuteronomy 16:17

Every man shall give as he is able,

according to the blessing of the Lord your God

which He has given you

Want the 411 on Guatemala?

If it were even possible, I would definitely be a VIP for Loyola's library with the amount of books I have collected about Guatemala. This week's main focus was to gather basic information about Guatemala such as:

• Geography (42,000 square miles)
• Location
• Climate/Weather
• Geographical Areas
• Coastal Plains/Lowlands
• Piedmont/Transitional Zones
• Highlands/Mountains (2/3 of the country)
• Terrain/Topography (3 Geographical Zones)
• Tierra Caliente
• Tierra Templada
• Tierra Fria
• Mountain Ranges
• Sierra Madre
• Sierra de Cuchumatanes
• Volcanoes 

  

  In Antigua- puff puff

• Tajamulco
• Tacana
• Acetenango
• Fuego (my awesome photography skills)
• Agua
• Atitlan
• Pacaya
• Natural Resources/Agriculture
• Natrual Hazards
• Environmental Issues
• Population
• Age
• Growth Rate
• Ethnic Groups
• Language 

  

  Click on the link on the Left

Recognized Languages

• Urbanization
• Major cities
• Religion
• Literacy Rate
• Demographic Profile
• Income Level
• GDP
• GNI

Like I have mentioned before, the above bullet points will be in much more detail in my final write up. It is important for those going to Guatemala to know the basics, so all of this information will be provided prior to departure for missionaries.

Making progress folks!

Proverbs 3:27

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

when it is in your power to do it