Celebrating the Assumption of Mary

Quetzaltenango. Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
August 13, 2007.
Issue: Society / Culture

“According to Roman Catholic doctrine and the traditions of the Catholic Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, ‘having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.’ This means that Mary was transported into Heaven with her body and soul united. The feast day recognizing Mary's passage into Heaven is celebrated as The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics. This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on 1 November 1950. In those denominations that observe it, the Assumption is commonly celebrated on August 15.” (1)

In October 1776, The Virgin of the Assumption was selected as the patron saint of Guatemala City. Following are images from a procession celebrating such event in the city of Quetzaltenango.

Versión en español aquí.
In Japanese: 日本語で。


1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

Day of the Dead in Comalapa

San Juan Comalapa. Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
November 2, 2004 (Day of the Dead).
Issue: Post-war / Reparations / Gender Struggles

“On November 18, 1981, the Guatemalan Army launched a massive offensive in the Quiché and Chimaltenango regions which marked the beginning of the large-scale massacres in Chimaltenango.” (1)

“Between 1980 and 1983, in the Municipality of Comalapa, a considerable number of men were detained and/or disappeared... Many were arrested inside their own homes, while others would leave home never to be seen again by their family members... The military garrison in Comalapa, located at the entrance of the municipality, became a detention center where torture and disappearances were carried out.” (2)

“As the years lapsed by, courageous women conquered their fears from the past and turned such emotions into strength. They were determined to find out what had truly happened to their loved one: fathers, husbands, and brothers, despite being fully aware that a most likely re-encounter would be via a mass grave.” (3)

As 2003 came to a close, the National Coordination of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA) organized the first of what eventually turned into 49 mass grave exhumations in Comalapa’s former military garrison. Such exhumations, carried out by the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropological Foundation (FAFG), revealed the remains of 179 war-time victims. (4) Most of these corpses revealed signs of torture and grave violence. (5)


“Gilberto Reyes, Gregorio Cutzal, Javier Tuyuc, Isabel Bal Cux, are just some of the 179 names inscribed in the stone monument erected in Comalapa’s community cemetery.” (6)

After more than a year of arduous and risky labor, the exhumations at the military garrison came to a close in October 2004. In order to commemorate the event as well as the victims, CONAVIGUA organized a walk from Comalapa’s town square to the former barracks. Such march was made to coincide with the traditional celebration of Day of the Dead (All Saints Day) which is observed every November 2nd in a number of countries including Guatemala.

Upon arrival to the clearing where the military garrison once stood, the victims’ family members carried out a Mayan ceremony.

“In cases like Comalapa’s, the strength and firm conviction displayed by the local women is and has been a key element so as to maintain family cohesion and progress, in addition to setting the foundations for the construction of an improved municipality.” (7)

Roalina Tuyuc (center), who sought to recover the remains of her father, Javier Tuyuc, and her first husband, Rolando Gomez, indicated that “if someday, those to blame assume their responsibility, the wives, siblings, and orphans left behind may decide to forgive.” Tuyuc is the current director of the National Program for Reparations (PNR), served in the National Congress from 1996-2000, headed CONAVIGUA for many years, and is a native of Comalapa. (8)

In September 2006, some surviving victims from Comalapa received a war-time reparation package from the PNR. “Such symbolic reparation will undoubtedly alleviate, in some ways, the financial difficulties which many victims’ families face. Nevertheless, it will never erase the memories etched during those times, as many survivors continue to live with the uncertainty of knowing what truly happened to their loved ones and where their remains may lay.” (9)

Tuyuc added: “We seek tranquility inside our heads because there can’t be true peace until we find our loved ones.” (10)


Versión en español aquí.

In Japanese: 日本語で。


1 Guatemala, Memoria del Silencio. Informe de la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH). Tomo VI, Anexo I: Casos Ilustrativos, P. 74.
2 Rodríguez Martínez, Dania M. “Mujeres de Comalapa, sujetas históricas activas”. Incidencia Democrática. September, 2006. (www.i-dem.org/rd/2006/septiembre/080906-1047.htm)
3 Ibid.
4 Munaíz, Claudia. “Veladoras para Desaparecidos”. Prensa Libre. Guatemala; November 3, 2004. (http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2004/noviembre/03/100788.html)
5 Op. Cit. Rodríguez Martínez.
6 Op. Cit. Munaíz.
7 Op. Cit. Rodríguez Martínez.
8 Op. Cit. Munaíz.
9 Op. Cit. Rodríguez Martínez.
10 http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/internacionales/310877.html

Toronto Exhibit

Toronto, Canada.
Nov. 22-25, 2007.

Amnesty International Canada will exhibit at The National Film Board Cinema (150 John Street) a series of 25 of my photographs documenting the violent evictions of indigenous Maya communities in El Estor and Panzós, Guatemala, during Reel Awareness, Toronto’s Human Rights Film Festival. The evictions were carried out by the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN) which is a subsidiary of Vancouver-based mining company Skye Resources.

Following are images from the same exhibit during its presentation in Vancouver earlier this month:

Version en español aquí.

In Japanese: 日本語で。

Exhibits in November

Vancouver, Guatemala City, Los Angeles, London & Lisbon.

Open invitation to attend or recommend a series of events exhibiting my work:


Vancouver, Canada:

November 8-11, 2007: Amnesty International Canada will exhibit in Vancity Theatre a series of 25 photographs documenting the violent evictions of indigenous Maya communities in El Estor and Panzos, Guatemala, during its International Film Fest. The evictions were carried out by the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN) which is a subsidiary of Vancouver-based mining company Skye Resources.

I will be in attendance during this event to provide a lecture and workshop on photo-documentalism. For information regarding the events in which I will participate, please click here.

To see the schedule of films to be shown, please follow this link.

To view the original photo-essays documenting the evictions:
Canadian Mining Company orders Eviction of Indigenous Communities
Barrio La Revolucion Burns

Guatemala City:

November 24 & 25: A series of 6 photographs will form part of the V ManifestaRte Festival in the Cerrito del Carmen, Zone 1, Guatemala City. The entrance is free and the festival will begin at 6 PM on Saturday the 24th and at 10 AM on Sunday the 25th.

Los Angeles, London & Lisbon:

The short film Desalojo (Eviction), by Canadian film-maker Steven Schnoor which includes still footage shot by me, will form part of the 2007 Artivists Film Festival and will be shown in the following cities:

Los Angeles, USA: Friday November 9, 6:15 PM, Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood.
Lisbon, Portugal: December 1 & 2.

London, UK: December 8 & 9.

For more information regarding this event, please click here.

Versión en español aquí:

In Japanese: 日本語で。