There was a 36 year war that went on in Xela Guatemala. It ended in the 80's. I had no idea it happened until I went into Xela and met some strong women who told me about their experience during that time. It was guerilla warfare, mainly against the traditional Mayans that still lived in the area. Men were being burned alive. Women where getting raped in the fields, even if only to collect food from their own crops for their families.
It was Sunday and I was rock climbing like a true tourist. The background was a symphony of Mayan people crying, almost singing praise to the sky and the earth. Each family walked up steep volcanic rock, in their traditional dress until they found their platue. A foggy mist weaved in and out of the jagged, flat, rock formations and each voice joined the choir of infinite gratitude regaurdless of their haunting memories.
Many women turned to craft (embroidery/weaving) as a means of income since it was easy for travel. A group of woman shattered by the loss of their husbands and grandparents got together and started an organization called Trauma Textiles- 100% of the proceeds go to the families directly.
***Thanks to tech savvy volunteers there is a way to purchase these handmade beauties: www.tramatextiles.org
lyrics
All the beautiful people,
as they walk up to the top, singing their praises to the sky,
singing gracias madre tierra,
and thank you father sky,
then the mist it subsides.
I want to thank you for showing me where beauty lies,
its in the bones under your eyes,
its in a mountain town, full of clouds,
where the memories they sound aloud and you cry out, you cry out
and they cry out, they cry out
All the beautiful people are dressed in flowers and robes,
you can feel their soul
I wanna thank you for showing me where beauty lies its in the bones under your eyes,
its in a mountain town, full of clouds where the memories they sound aloud,
and they say
Gracias madre tierra and thank you father sky, thank you that I am alive.
credits
from ...,
released October 19, 2013
Recorded by Jimmy James in his garage
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