Category Archives: Guatemala

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

05 Tuesday Apr 2011

Posted by in Guatemala, life, money, movies, updates, zach

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For one, check out that movie. It’s kind of a funny story, really. Plus, you can never really go wrong with Zack Galafianakis.

But getting to my point…I’ve written before how just when Jeff and I think we’re on the brink of something going terribly wrong, something falls out of the sky and saves the day. By “something” I usually mean an unexpected amount of cash, that if something hadn’t gone terribly wrong, would’ve been nice to put into our non-existing savings account, or to be able to spend a little more freely, or cover things we can’t usually cover. But alas, it goes to cover the terribly wrong thing…but at least we’re able to cover it with that unexpected cash rather than being SOL.
Case in point: yesterday.
Jeff called me right after 5pm letting me know his car wouldn’t start, so I called AAA so they could meet him at work while I made my way over there. They got it started, but it seems like it’s going to take some cash investment to get whatever it is that’s wrong with it fixed. Might be the starter. Might be something else. Point is: money we don’t have.
I check the mail before getting into my car to go pick Jeff up, and the only thing in the mail is….our CA tax refund! I had to laugh. To myself.
The funniest thing about this is that we had gotten a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board on Saturday saying we didn’t fill out our bank account completely on our tax return, so instead of a direct deposit we’d be getting a check in 2-4 weeks. I thought, hey that’s pretty cool, Sucks that it’ll take longer…but thanks for letting us know. And yet…what are the odds that instead of taking 2-4 weeks it gets here two days later…on the exact date we find out we’re gonna have to drop some serious cash on one of those “terribly wrong” scenarios? Alas, I should’ve known better than to think we’d get that refund and actually be able to spend it on something we wanted :)
In other updated news: it seems that the Guatemala divorce fiasco is having some trouble getting off the ground.
Have a great day everyone.

Guatemala Updates: Rosenberg Assassination and First Lady Presidential Bid

04 Monday Apr 2011

Posted by in colom, Guatemala, president, rosenberg

≈ 1 Comment

It’s been far too long since I posted crazy updates on what happens in that tiny country below Mexico.
There’s one thing that’s been brewing for a while and I’ve wanted to share, but have honestly been too lazy to research what’s really happening. Let’s see. Alvaro is the president of Guatemala. Sandra is married to Alvaro. Alvaro is finishing up his presidency, which some state was actually run by Sandra. Sandra declared her bid for the presidency. The Constitution of Guatemala clearly states that the spouse of a current president cannot run for a presidential election. Sandra says this is a violation of her right to run for the presidency, and that she will fight it the Constitutional Court of Guatemala. Never mind, they decide to get a divorce instead. Alvaro and Sandra file for divorce. The divorce is still in court proceedings, but I’m assuming that with the right “leverage” the divorce will be finalized in no time, paving the way for Sandra to constitutionally run for president. Good news or bad news? I honestly don’t know. Much of what I hear about Sandra through family and friends is negative and they don’t seem to believe she has the right interests at heart (who ever does in Guatemala, though?), but this is all based on hearsay, so I should do some more research before making any conclusions myself.
But isn’t a picture worth a thousand words?
Ha!
In other news, you may remember several blog posts about the murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg, which was declared to be a [complex] suicide. Found an interesting and detailed article in The New Yorker about the whole situation. It’s fairly long, so I haven’t made it to the conclusion yet and what the author actually things about the “suicide” conclusion, but it still lays out a great detailed narrative of what happened (or allegedly happened?). It reads like a novela almost…
If you have the time, and more importantly: are interested, enjoy.

Fashion Sense

05 Saturday Feb 2011

Posted by in fashion, Guatemala, life, school, thoughts

≈ 3 Comments

I think I finally found it: I feel like I finally found a “style” that I’m comfortable with, and that is more “me” that most of the stuff I’ve been wearing in my 27 (almost 28!) years of life.
In elementary school my fashion was decided by Catholic nuns and my grandmother, and I rarely complained about what I was told to wear or really cared to give much input. Then I came back to California in the middle of junior high, and my insecurities flourished like no other. I had basically skipped a grade in my transition from the Guatemalan school year to the U.S. school year, so I was insecure about almost everything.
Most importantly, I had missed out on prime years of pop culture (which I’ve never recovered from). There there was the fact that I had attended an all girls school, so dirty jokes that flourish in junior high went right over my head. And the topper: I frequently pronounced things wrong–if I actually looked Hispanic, I’m sure kids and teachers would have understood…but how does a white girl in seventh grade not know how to pronounce basic English words? And why would she ask what her “note” was instead of her “grade”? Well that’s because in Spanish grades are called “notas,” and I decided to go for the direct translation on that one…yep, I can still remember exactly how embarrassed I was when the teacher called me out on that one…in front of everyone. Oh junior high…how I don’t miss you. High school fashion wasn’t much better…as you can tell from the picture below.
Needless to say, I wasn’t the most secure or confident child. High school and college went by, and I never had the guts to wear stuff I really liked, because I didn’t think I could “pull it off.” I still don’t, actually. But one thing that has helped a lot is having a very loving husband who has helped me be more secure about who I am and how I look. He tells me that I can pull things off…so I wear them and realize no one is staring me down as I assumed they would (“what was she thinking when she put that on?”).
So here I am, at the age of 27, and I finally feel comfortable wearing what I want.

Guatemala Update: Ex President Finally on Trial!

26 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Guatemala, politics

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It’s been a while since I posted any updates on Guatemala, but other than the escalating violence with gangs and drug cartels (which is just too depressing to write about), I haven’t come across any crazy news. Until the last few days.
Some may recall my previous entries regarding ex-president Alfonso Portillo. He was president from 2000 to 2004, and in those four years he [allegedly] stole $15 million from the defense ministry, which were originally destined for public funds. After his presidency ended, he fled to Mexico but was sent back in 2008. It’s taken over two years, but it seems he’s finally on trial. His original trial date was postponed several times because of various legal challenges from his defense team, including allegations that the judge assigned was not an impartial judge.
This is a defining moment for Guatemala and its judicial system. I am hoping and praying that all parties play by the rules, and that Mr. Portillo doesn’t get off the hook on some crazy technicality, or the judge rules important evidence is inadmissible for whatever reason she gets paid to bring up. Guatemala needs to prove it can punish criminal behavior, that corruption will not go unpunished. Here’s their chance.

Guatemala Update

15 Monday Nov 2010

Posted by in CICIG, Guatemala, news, opinion, updates

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A subject I have frequently written about is the Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala. I read a great article about it in the Washington Post today.

It was great to see the Washington Post write a long and thorough article on something that isn’t in the news much, and that no mainstream media has much of an interest for.

As usual with Guatemala, it’s depressing to see opposition to something that can actually help with the level of crime and impunity that exist within it. The CICIG has been facing opposition from various sectors since the very beginning, and I’m sure it will continue to face opposition for the remainder of its days. It just makes me sad.

It makes me sad because I read posts from my friend Isabel, who lives in Guatemala, and she talks about her frustrations with the crime and violence in Guatemala. People shut themselves in their house by 8pm. Their crime rate, as mentioned in the article, is three times that of Mexico. Three times. The crime rate of Mexico. Let that sink in for a bit.

So here’s an organization that is fighting corruption and crime, and trying to prosecute those before thought to be untouchable because of their political influence and/or wealth. But it has to fight to survive.

I hope the two year extension of the CICIG is granted, and I hope it continues to provide meaningful improvements to the government of Guatemala. I hope the people of Guatemala demand it, should anyone stand in the way.

In the Name of Science

04 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by in Guatemala, politics, thoughts, United States

≈ 1 Comment

There were reports through all sorts of sources on Friday discussing an experiment by American Scientists in the 1940’s: the purpose was to test whether penicillin would prevent/cure syphilis. So, naturally, American scientists used individuals from a third world country (in this case, Guatemala) as guinea pigs: they used prostitutes to infect prisoners and people in insane asylums with syphilis, and later offered them penicillin to see if it would cure them. From what’s come to light thus far, it seems that the results were inconclusive. Meanwhile, 696 men and women were exposed to syphilis, and it is unclear whether all of them were cured.

One article does state the prisoners were unaware they were part of an experiment, although I do find it a little humorous (politically incorrect?) that they used prostitutes….I guess this is how they keep the prisoners from knowing they are getting infected with something…instead of an injection, let us bring women to sexually deprived prisoners and see if they’ll take the bait. I digress.
Although the new discovery of this research has brought to light questionable research methods, and has led to discussions about ethics in the research field, there’s another topic I find interesting: diplomatic apologies.
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, as well as President Obama, have both offered apologies for what happened sixty years ago. As “Tom” states: “I suppose it bothers me a lot more because it was so recent. When people get all lathered up over something 300, 500, or 1000 years ago, I find myself saying the fog of history really does make it a perilous endeavor to pass fair judgment from afar. But for crying out loud, this is well within the remembered lifetimes of many citizens both here and there.”
This is where I start to over-analyze.
On the one hand, it seems only fair that someone should be held accountable for what happened, and that the people affected receive some sort of compensation for what was done to them (the government of Guatemala has already requested compensation for the victims).
On the other hand, how long can you hold an organization accountable for something that was done by prior administrations? I guess as a government, or any organization that has transitional leadership, they are always accountable for any actions done under their name, but it also strikes me as unfair to have to keep apologizing over and over again for something you had no control over (I’m taking this into a general context; the United States has only barely apologized for this incident). For example, Germany will always be made to feel like crap because of what Hitler did. I’m sure most Germans today are as disgusted with Hitler’s actions as everyone else, yet they will always be held responsible for what happened years ago. The Guatemalan government is accusing the United States of crimes against humanity, and is “reserving the right to denounce [the United States] in an international court.”
I think I agree with Tom that maybe these events are a little worse because they are fairly recent. I wonder if this news would have had less of an impact on news stories if it had happened 100 or 200 years ago, although I think both governments would still be playing the diplomatic dance and giving the “I’m sorry” and “I’m outraged” statements. I question how much of this is done to save face, and how much is because either party is really concerned with what happened.
Eh, I might not be making sense, and I’m definitely over analyzing, so I’ll leave it at this :)

Charity of the Month: Common Hope

24 Saturday Jul 2010

Posted by in charity, Guatemala

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Some of you may remember the storm Agatha and the volcano eruptions that affected Guatemala a few months back. It was because of this that I heard about Common Hope. They rose to the occasion to help with relief efforts after the storm, but they’ve actually been involved in and around Antigua for years now. The beginnings of Common Hope are actually pretty interesting: husband and wife go to Guatemala to help out, come back to the US due to safety concerns at the time, husband and wife plan to go back, wife dies, husband and son go back to continue work they started, husband joins seminary to become priest, son continues and expands organization. Not bad, huh?!
Anyhow, Common Hope works primarily with sponsorships for children, but they take a wholistic approach to things: you don’t just educate the child, but you help the entire family. The parents must take responsibility for the child’s education, and the whole family works together with a social worker to see how the families situation can be improved.
In their own words:

The work of Common Hope is based on personal relationships with people. We work with sponsored children, their families, and the communities in which they live. We believe it is especially important to work with the entire family, because a child cannot be healthy unless his or her family is healthy.

Our work is comprehensive and holistic. In everything we do, we strive to support families in their struggle for independence and dignity.

Our programs are carefully and thoughtfully developed in response to the expressed needs of the financially poor. We try to do only that which people cannot do for themselves.

Each program falls under one of these four areas: Education, Family Development, Health Care, or Housing.

I know not all of us are in a financial position to sponsor a child every month, but there are other ways you can help:

  • Make a one time donation
  • Visit Guatemala
  • Volunteer
  • Collect supplies
  • Host a party to spread the word

Please check out their website, see what they’re about, see what they do and how they do it. Then see how you can help.

Guatemalan Coffee!

12 Monday Jul 2010

Posted by in Guatemala

≈ 2 Comments


Fresh ground coffee. MmmmmMmmm. Aside from the smell of fresh cut wood, dirt after it just started raining, and maybe Guatemalan smog (not kidding), this is one of my favorite smells. I guess more specifically, fresh ground “quality” coffee. I’ve been drinking coffee probably since I was a baby. Brooke and Jeff can tell you that I’m not usually a coffee snob. As long as I have a pound of creamer and sugar in it, I could care less what the actual coffee tastes like. BUT, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good cup of coffee much more than a mediocre one.


Jeff and I had the pleasure of being visited these past few weeks by a good friend from Guatemala, Isabel. Being as amazing as she is, she brought us one of our favorite things: fresh whole bean coffee from Guat. (Our other favorite things from Guatemala: champurradas and black beans). Um, I honestly think this coffee just turned me into a coffee snob. It was ridiculously delicious. I could instantly tell the difference when we ran out of it and we had to go back to our store bought ground coffee. Such sadness of heart.


I was excited about the prospect of purchasing this delicious coffee online, since the label had a website on it. And yes, they actually do sell it online. And it’s actually reasonably priced (roughly ten bucks for a little less than a pound), but as with all things you buy online that are reasonably charged, the shipping charges are ridiculous. So here’s what I’m thinking: let me know who’s interested in getting some, we can pool our money together and just pay for one big lump sum shipping charge!


CICIG Update

03 Saturday Jul 2010

Posted by in Guatemala

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The Secretary General of the UN has chosen a successor for Carlos Castresana, who up until recently was the Commissioner for the CICIG. Mr. Francisco Dalle Anese Ruiz is currently the Attorney General in Costa Rica. I haven’t read much on the appointment yet, but I hope Mr. Ruiz will try to work some miracles in Guatemala.

Guatemala CICIG Updates

13 Sunday Jun 2010

Posted by in Guatemala, opinion

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Well, it seems Guatemala can’t catch a break. Faithful readers may remember some prior blog entries where I mention the CICIG, the Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, and the work of it’s director, Carlos Castresana. For whatever criticism Mr. Castresana and the CICIG have gotten, no one can deny the fact that more has been done in the past two years by Mr. Castresana and this organization to fight crime and corruption, then in anytime since the end of the civil war.

It was with a heavy heart that I read news earlier this week announcing Mr. Castresana’s resignation from the CICIG. From what I read, Mr. Castresana was frustrated with the lack of cooperation from the Guatemalan government, and stated that he could do no more for the country. The tipping point, apparently, was the appointment of Conrado Reyes as Attorney General, an individual whom Mr. Castresana believed was linked to organized crime. Alvaro Colom, the president of Guatemala, disregarded Mr. Castresana’s concerns and appointed Mr. Reyes anyway.
It’s interesting, however, that days after Mr. Castresana’s resignation the Constitutional Court of Guatemala handed down an ruling in which it ousted Mr. Reyes from the position of Attorney General. Colom is not disputing the ruling. Huh.
In a speech given to the press regarding his resignation, Mr. Castresana praised the success of the commission so far, giving a briefing on what they have accomplished so far, and what he recommends still needs to be done. He also stated he will be staying on board until a replacement is found.
Personally, I’m very sad to see Mr. Castresana go. He’s one of the first people that I have seen talk about the issues and problems facing Guatemala without holding back: he was not afraid to name names, and to call out people who were before untouchable. His replacement has big shoes to fill, and I wish them the best of luck.
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