Between the green mountains of the Guatemalan altiplano, in the department of Sololá, lies Lake Atitlán, magnificent in its colours and its three volcanoes: Tolimán, Atitlán and San Pedro. Together, their silent presence and majesty make Lake Atitlán one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The municipality of Santiago Atitlán is situated on the southeast of the lake, in the bay of Santiago and in the skirts of the Tolimán and Atitlán volcanoes; it is one of the most interesting villages in the Department of Sololá for its rich history and culture. The majority of its inhabitants are Maya Tzutujul, tall, well-built, bilingual and very traditionalist, so much so that its priests have abounded and their fame has spread throughout the surrounding areas. Here, some worship Maximón and they also have an idol who represents the ancient God of the wind, related to the strong Xocomil wind that blows across the lake.
Fray Francisco Vázquez, in the penultimate decade of the XVII century wrote: "the Tzutujil nation of Santiago Atitlán is the most aggressive, proud, acute and astute of all those who make up the great and powerful men of this Guatemalan province".
The 45.000 Atitecos of today live off their cultures of maize, coffee and avocados, and from their handicrafts of beadwork, weaving and painting. Pride for their ancient culture and their strong character has changed very little over the centuries; the majority of the men and nearly all the women dress in their beautiful traditional clothing, all speak Tzutujil and respect for the Mayan traditions guides the lives of the large part of the population.
This same pride for their race and their strength of character meant that in the terrible Armed Internal Conflict in Guatemala (1982-1996), the area of Santiago Atitlán suffered heavily from the atrocities of a State that tried to destroy the Maya and their culture. Guatemala still mourns the loss of the 300.000 men and women, girls and boys who disappeared in the State genocide.
In Santiago Atitlán the resistance to the guerrillas was strong, and the army's reaction brutal: murders and homicides of civilians and men continued until the night of 2nd December 1990. That night, in the District of Panabaj, 2 kilometres to the south of Santiago, the exasperated population united against the military, the army's reaction left a final thirteen dead: an incredible movement from the people then unfolded that led to the expulsion of the army from the Municipality of Santiago Atitlán, six years before the signing of the Guatemalan peace accords. Since then the army is prohibited to enter the municipality, and in Panabaj, at the place where the military insurgence took place, there is now a Peace Park.
Needless to say, the consequences of the war can still be seen from the cries and the tears; the widows and the orphans remain, the social fabric torn and severe poverty predominates. The district of Panabaj, before the onset of Hurricane Stan, had 5.000 inhabitants living off a poor agricultural labourer's daily wage of around three dollars a day; not all the children, who represent a great part of the population, have access to education, and most of them work on the land and / or collect firewood; many of the women are weavers of beautiful garments that they sell to intermediaries for very little money.
In spite of their difficult lives, the inhabitants of Panabaj maintain the strength and pride of their ancestors: their honour and dignity makes this village an emblem of the suffering and greatness of the Mayan culture, their cohesion and non conformity are reasons for hope. We continue walking, in the belief that " In the history of mankind, each act of destruction finds it's answer, sooner or later, in an act of creation" (Eduardo Galeano, The Open Veins of Latin America).
