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Starting on a lighthearted note, have you heard that hot chocolate has been declared a national treasure in Guatemala? An article found here further explains, “In an effort to recognize the historical importance of hot chocolate and protect the labour-intensive traditional preparation of the beverage, Guatemala has awarded the drink a special designation.” I’m especially partial to this article for two reasons: one, we are a family of devout chocolate lovers in basically any form; and two, this article sites chocolate as being symbolic of the Mixco region (Beauty’s birthmom grew up and currently lives in Mixco). In any event, the kids and I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon discussing chocolate and its background/uses in cooking and bakin, as well as sampling three different types of hot chocolate (cooled to room temperature, of course!) while we chatted. So the next time you whip up a batch of hot chocolate, you can inform your hot-chocolate-drinking-companions they are indulging in one of Guatemala’s precious national treasures.
My prior Guatemala blog discussed (in part) Children’s Day in Guatemala. Here are a few pictures of some children in a preschool in Panajachel enjoying the festivities. At this particular preschool, the children received a bag of food consisting of ten pounds of corn, five pounds of beans, a bag of incaparina (a fortified cereal), and a bag of oatmeal. In years past, the celebration has been more “party-like” with the inclusion of cake and a pinata, but due to the food shortage, the aforementioned items were far more necessary. That being said…
On an incredibly serious note, the hunger crisis is still in full effect and Guatemala remains in a “state of calamity”. I’ve listened to this broadcast, “Guatemala: Behind the Famine“, several times now and it is both incredibly informative and indescribably painful to hear. The panelists on this broadcast discuss several effects of moderate to severe malnutrition on the children of Guatemala; the kids are stunted (i.e., shorter than they should be) and are also low in weight. Around the 5:35 minute mark, there’s a mention of the children brought to the United States via adoption; one of the broadcast participants, Carlisle, states there’s an average of about a four inch difference in height between the children suffering from malnutrition in Guatemala and those who currently live in the United States. The broadcast goes on to compare the Guatemala of today to the Guatemala of the 1950’s (i.e., fundamental problems of malnutrition tie into poverty which then impact ownership of land--in short, a historical throwback to the issues relevant in Guatemala circa 1954) ; it also discusses the “encroaching drug war” and several other issues of note. There’s no shortage of information on the web that discusses any number of these topics, but I highly suggest listening to the broadcast if you are able to do so; it interlinks quite a few issues relevant to Guatemala’s economy and the state of affairs for the individulas who reside there.
