Illustrations

plates, following p. 360 From Carlos Mérida’s Estampas del Popol Vuh Painting of a cofradía member Community mural in San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango “The two women are sisters” “The young man is single” “The women are selling huipiles [tunics] and hidden moonshine” “They are weighing corn” Sin título (Untitled) Isabel Ruiz performs Matemática sustractiva (Subtractive math) San Manuel exilio mártir (San Manuel martyred exile) figures Introduction Map of xxiii

I The Maya: Before the Europeans Ek Chuah, god of merchants and patron of cacao 17 Excavation of Tikal, El Petén, 1892 21 Ceramic vessel shaped as the side of a conch shell and used as a paint well 23 Parade of musicians from the Bonampak mural 25 A Bonampak lord from the Bonampak mural 25 Noblewomen watch costumed dancers with rattles 29 Capture of the K’iche’ lord Cawek of the Forest People 35

II Invasion and Colonialism A scene from the Lienzo de Quauhquechollan 46 Tecún Umán on the back of a truck, Izabal 57 Pasos (Steps) 67 xviii List of Illustrations Indigenous map of Santiago Atitlán, 1585 75 Thomas Gage receiving gifts from his parishioners 80 Drawing of an orderly agricultural landscape, by Francisco Antonio Fuentes y Guzmán 84 Antigua as seen from Cerro de la Cruz 90 San Pascualito Rey, a Guatemalan folk saint 92

III A Caffeinated Modernism Lake Atitlán from the east 123 Coffee harvesters at the Las Nubes Plantation 123 Critical Gaze 130 López 131 Maya-K’iche’ man dressed for the Dance of the Conquest 139 Maya-Kaqchikeles from Comalapa 139 Maya Poqomam woman from Mixco 140 Photo by Ramiro Díaz Pinot, ca. 1910 141 European men in , ca. 1897 142 Auto mechanics in workshop, Quetzaltenango, 1920 142 Family of Chinese immigrants, ca. 1910 143 Garífuna family from Livingston, Izabal, ca. 1980 143 Playing the marimba, Las Viñas, Santa Rosa, ca. 1878 152 Workers at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in 153 Minervalía Festival in Antigua, Guatemala 164 Huelga de Dolores, ca. 1928 174 Clothing worn in indigenous villages, by Carlos Mérida 177 Pages from Jesús ’s opera Quiché vinak 193–196

IV Ten Years of Spring and Beyond Juan José Arévalo campaigning, 1944 207 Passengers at Aviateca airfield in lores,F 1949 208 “The new sun of liberty” 209 A poster supporting agrarian reform 219 A poster opposing agrarian reform 219 Village leaders the day after the passage of agrarian reform 220 Coup leader Carlos Castillo Armas honors Archbishop Mariano Rossell y Arellano 227 “National campaign against ” 232 Carlos Castillo Armas before the overthrow of Arbenz, 1954 233 Arbencista peasants captured after overthrow of Arbenz, 1954 235 Images from an insurrection manual 241 List of Illustrations xix President Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes and citizen, ca. 1960 253 Student demonstrations, July 1960 253 Declassifying means never forgetting 257 “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” 267

V Roads to Revolution Truck purchased by a farmers’ cooperative, Cabricán, Quetzaltenango, 1961 298 Girl bathing in a squatter settlement, Guatemala City, 1984 303 Parking attendant, ca. 1980 305 Marchers responding to a police attack on a funeral procession, 1977 307 May Day march, Guatemala City, 1980 313 News reports of kidnappings and assassinations by “armed men” 321 Indigenous beauty queens protest a massacre of Mayas, 1978 328 Camp of the insurgent Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres, Mazatenango, 1982 342 “We sought life, not death!” 347 Insurgent leaflet 355

VI Intent to Destroy The Buried/Los sepultados 375 Massacre in the village of Plan de Sánchez 387 A massacre survivor visits a community memory museum 391 A meeting to discuss international aid to refugees 401 Members of the Mutual Support Group demonstrate 413 A “volunteer” member of the civil patrol stands guard 423 Santiago Atitlán citizens sign a petition calling for the removal of the local military base 425 A school organized by the Communities of Population in Resistance 429 Images of the Rey Gitano traveling circus 436–37

VII An Unsettled Peace Refugee children participate in a village fair 447 “Memory, truth, justice” 452 Maya Q’eqchi’ community members build homes on land whose ownership is disputed by the Guatemala Nickel Company 454 A woman pleads for her home as it is taken apart during eviction 455 Employees of the Guatemala Nickel Company burn the huts of Maya Q’eqchi’ community members 455 Pile of identification cards 466 xx List of Illustrations So That All Shall Know/Para que todos lo sepan 471 In memoriam 476 “Peace . . . should not be just silencing the guns” 488 “In which Olympic sport could we compete? High jumping” 488 “In which Olympic sport could we compete? Rowing” 489 “In which Olympic sport could we compete? Marathon” 489 Limpieza social (Social cleansing) 492 A youth arts collective organizes workshops and parades 497

VIII Maya Movements Illustrations by Adrián Chávez 507 “500 years of indigenous, black, and popular resistance” 515 Mi segunda piel (My second skin) 524 Community members reject mining activities in their region 539 Maya priests perform a purifying ceremony following a visit by us president George W. Bush 543

IX The Sixth Century Sin título (Untitled) 550 Michatoya, May 3, 1958 550 Social Campaign, c. 1944 551 Izote Plant, 1950 551 People praying in the home of a woman who lost her home and several of her children 556 “The rescue of Maya culture and land is the struggle for life and peace” 571 Deforestation in El Petén 580 Cruzando fronteras (Crossing borders) 590 Images from the Architecture of Remittances project 597–99 La hada buena (The good fairy) 621 Belles du jour 622 Angelito (Little Angel) 623 Saltando la cuerda (Skipping rope) 624