…And other myths about a misunderstood country
The Guatemala I envisioned was impoverished, dirty, antisocial and sad. After a gruesome 36-year civil war between the government and leftist guerrillas that ended in 1996, when few were convicted of war crimes, or even confronted, crime there is seldom met with justice today.
As our trip neared, I began to regret enrolling in the course that would take us there. My family kept reminding me of the endless threats the country posed. Until the night before we left, I contemplated pulling out. When my mom dropped me off at Newark Airport on the morning of our trip, she couldn’t help crying from fear. As I boarded the plane, I was frightened and nervous.
U.S. citizens report being victimized by frequent crime, including assault, theft, armed robbery, carjacking and rape, as well as kidnapping and murder, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2017 Guatemala Crime and Safety Report. It’s true that Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America – and that’s what I and my family had been focusing on. What we found harder to fathom from afar were Guatemala’s more beautiful and endearing qualities.
In hindsight, I’m disappointed by how ill informed I was about the nature of life there — and I’ve made it my personal mission to bust a few myths.
Myth #1: Guatemalans Are Dangerous
It’s true that some Guatemalans are dangerous. However, in various neighborhoods of Guatemala City, villages of Lake Atitlan and the gorgeous city of Antigua, our group was received with nothing but kindness and warmth.
We were welcomed not only by the professionals we met with along the way, but also by ordinary passersby and indigenous Mayans. Everyone went out of their way to say “buenos dias.” Random people, noticing tourists scrambling with maps in hand, offered detailed directions with no strings attached.
Merchants and Mayans, men and women, were eager to share their country’s history with us, and to teach us about their heritage. Not once did I ever feel unsafe. For that, I am so fortunate, and rather upset that I almost gave up this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Myth #2: All Guatemalans are Poor
While we saw homeless people asking for change in the working-class streets of Guatemala City’s Zone 1, there seemed to be fewer homeless people than I’ve seen in New York City or Philadelphia. Many poorer citizens can also be found working hard in the markets and the fields. But the wealth gap is extreme. Income inequality is among the highest in the world: the richest 10 percent of the population owns nearly half the national wealth, and the poorest, less than 1 percent.
The top 1 percent live nearby, in a district of lavish restaurants, homes within gated communities, four-story shopping malls and BMWs that rove pristine streets. It seemed to me that people in those worlds were unwilling to help those less fortunate. This is not far off from what we are experiencing in the United States, where corporations rule the economy, leaving nothing but scraps for lower-income families.
Myth #3: All Guatemalan Women Dress Conservatively
Guatemala is rather hyper-masculine and patriarchal, meaning that we female students were obliged to dress in ways meant to stave off negative male attention. Many of us expected to see the women completely covered, and showing little skin.
Surprise! We saw some Guatemalan women wearing tank tops, shorts and even low-cut blouses. Lingerie was frequently displayed on mannequins at shop entrances. Mayan women, who represent the majority of women in the country, are an exception, though. Their daily attire is modestly composed of below-the-knee wrap skirts, short-sleeved tops and sometimes aprons.
Caption: Art was everywhere: ordinary Guatemalans often use art to express their emotions and pain.
Myth #4 Guatemala Lacks An Art Scene
We saw art on virtually every corner. Whether in the form of physical paintings in museums, public graffiti or street theatre, art is a main form of expression.
In the United States, art is often treated as a luxury, meant for the upper class. In Guatemala, it is how people express their pain and emotions. Guatemala’s daunting history has changed the citizens’ world, and a widespread call for revolution rings through the art being created in both the cities and countryside.
The moment we entered Guatemala City, we walked through an art festival in the Central Plaza, in front of the National Palace. The visual and digital art was unlike anything most of us had ever seen: it was interactive, requiring our involvement as we passed through. Another art exhibit was composed of nothing but recycled plastic bottles, emphasizing the importance of recycling and renewable energy.
Caption: A story examining the reasons for Guatemala’s high happiness score on several global indices. “Whey we’re happy,” the headline reads.
Myth #5: Guatemalans Are Unhappy
I didn’t think people living in such a poor, high-crime country, with such a bloody history, could be happy. But according to the World Happiness Index, Guatemala ranks number 29 out of 155 countries, not far below the United States, which came in 14th. Factors taken into consideration when making this list include poverty and violence, but despite those problems, Guatemalans are traditionally happy with their lives.
We could sense this in the street vibe. We saw people smiling, interacting socially in a warm and kind way, and willing to teach strange foreigners about their culture. They didn’t seem to need money to be happy.
Experiencing life there changed my perspective.
The most memorable moment of our voyage — our visit to the Guadalupe Homes Orphanage — had everything to do with humble happiness. I’d expected those children to be sad and negatively affected by the unfair hand they’d been dealt in life. But they seemed willing to learn, and to open their hearts to new people. Guatemalans, like these remarkable children, refuse to let the negative aspects of their country affect their lives and their optimism. That’s something I’ll never forget, or take for granted, again.
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