La edición no. 16 de la revista Fundated News esta elaborada en las tradiciones guatemaltecas y experiencias de ex-participantes SPOR en tradiciones noruegas y tanzanas.
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Musicians from the heart, how a Tanzanian can start a day without music?
Impossible. Music around the house: around the whole town showing the
happiness that they have inside them. No matter what the situation is, you will
hear music in everywhere. I get to learn a song in just a few days; because if it is a
new hit in the radio you will hear it as a soundtrack all the day.
Nothing could impress me more than realized that a Tanzanian
without music is incomplete, he need it, he love it, he can not
pas a day without hearing it, and is incredible how many
rhythms can be together. Hip-hop, Bongo-flava, reggae,
gospel and more. Breaking beliefs; the music
connects them to each other, doesn’t matter the
religion the musical tone of gospel music make them
one by singing the songs.
On the street you appreciate the people playing an
instrument, singing, dancing, hearing very loud music, with
headphones, alone, in group, in the car, in the bicycle, in the radio, in
the phone, music videos all over. Definitely the music goes everywhere.
What a musical culture, I get to love it more, but what i love the most is that they
feel really happy and proud if you are singing and enjoying their music.
By: Patricia Maria Martinez; Ex Spor # 5 s/s.
PRINTS ON ME!
I’m not going to talk about one, but two of the traditions. One, to COTIDIANA: a
word. The second; a show that take place in Bagamoyo since a lot of years;
already a tradition.
Was one of the first words that I learned in kiswahili and probably one of the words
that I will never stop saying even far from Africa: “karibu”. This term has leave a
mark in me because of their multiple meanings, all of them with the intention of
share and bring with the people an join them. It can be understood as “welcome”,
“you are welcome”, and “you are welcome to come in”, “feel free to take it. It
leaves a mark in me because is the first word you hear when you just arrived
and is the last word that people say when you are leaving, inviting you
to be part of them.
The other tradition that leaves a mark in me is the
Art Festival in Bagamoyo, organized by the
collage TASUBA, it take place each September.
I feel my self so lucky for had the opportunity to
attend to many of the presentations, were
dancers, acrobats and musicians from all over
Africa and beyond made their perform with all the
splendor during a week. That was the demonstrations
that in Bagamoyo in such small town can be huge
events and a lot of festivals, were the African culture
decked their selves and wet to feel proud of it salve.
The event is open to the tourists and the local community, so because of that it is a
great opportunity to know and strengthen the identity of the town by their
representations of their artistic expressions, from traditional dances to new
movements and rhythms.
By: Julio Antonio Urizar; Ex Spor # 5 s/s.
MY BEAUTIFUL GUATEMALA!!!
By: Diana Montenegro.
When we get to see the sun since early in the
morning and it is pretty shinning, we know that
the summer starts in Guatemala. We can see
processions, carpets made of sawdust; the Holly
Week starts and for the catholic people means the
commemoration of the life, passion and death of
Jesus.
But to me what i like the most of those days is the
delicious food; we get to enjoy many dishes like
“jocotes en miel” ( a fruit in Guatemala cooked with
honey), mole (Guatemalan food made of banana,
chocolate and sesame seeds), buñuelos (bread
sweetened with sugar and honey) sweetened mangos,
torrejas (Bread with caramel inside and covered with
brown honey) garnachas ( Typical food of Guatemala
made from a small tortilla with meat, vegetables, sauce,
and dry cheese on the top) and Of course I could not
miss the Dry Fish with Vegetables.
The food is something that I enjoy very much with
my family.
Our food, our traditions, our customs made us
unique. My beautiful Guatemala, I couldn’t
change my beautiful country for anything.
SAN SYLVVESTER’S RUNNING RACE
By: Edgar Montenegro.
With this name are known different popular athletic races, which are played annually around the world on December 31, day of St. Sylvester as the Catholic calendar.
In Guatemala thousands of competitors involved since 1957, with the peculiar
difference that here, there are prizes for costumes.
Several activities we made in Guatemala to celebrate the New Year, as the San Sylvester race. I remember last year that during the event I could see a series of color-filled costumes that make the rice so full of colors. One of the highlights was the "Tashimovil". That you can appreciate in the picture. The distance of the test is 10 kilometers, starting on one side of the “Centro Comercial de la zona 4” and ends in front of the entrance of the stadium “Mateo Flores” in zona 5.
These are the categories:
female from 20 years and up
Male from 20 years and up
Yung Female From 14 up to 19 years
Yung Male From 14 up to 19 years
Costumes Free edge
"LA HUELGA DE DOLORES" ¿WHAT IS IT?
By: Barbara De Leon.
La Huelga de Todos los Dolores del Pueblo
de Guatemala is a tradition starring primarily
by the students of the Universidad de San
Carlos de Guatemala ("sancarlistas" from the
heart), it is celebrated during the Easter and
the most special day is "Viernes de Dolores".
La Huelga de Dolores was born in 1898
when the ex president Manuel Estrada
Cabrera gave the poblation the freedom to
express their needs and disagreements, the creative students saw this as an
opportunity to manifest satirically and that's how on April 1st of 1898 the first
Huelga de Dolores was celebrated.
Since then, thousands of students from all the
academic units of the University participate in the
satirical parade, it means, using mockery to
express outrage or dissatisfaction of the situation
of the country, criticizing politicians and citizens of
Guatemala society. This "bufo" (snorted) parade
goes trough the streets of the historic center of
Guatemala City.
Another important fact of the "Huelga de Dolores"
tradition, is "La Chalana", the sancarlistas anthem, other call it "El Son de Guerra
de los Estudiantes sancarlistas y de la Huelga de Dolores". An important person
who participated in the creation of this famous song
was Miguel Ángel Asturias, who, at that time, was a
law student in the University.
It is important that we keep the traditions as long as
we take care and respect the cultural heritage of our
country.
BIRTHE RIISNES,
BIRTHE RIISNES, with twenty-tow years old, is from Norway and is our special guest
this edition and in our country. She came to Guatemala as a volunteer and is
living in PATZUN, Chimaltenango.
Les’s know more about her in this interview FUNDATED made to her.
FUNDATED: What do you do in Norway, your
country?
BIRTHE: What I do is study Civil Engineering, the last
June I finished three years of study and since July of
that same year, I start working in construction as part
of a project where I was just as assistant and
responsible of “HSD” (Health, Security and
Environment). I worked in that project until
December to have enough money for travel.
FUNDATED: Why did you decided to came to Guatemala?
BIRTHE: I want to experiment something different, I always knew that I have
to take a tame and stop my studies, but I really want something more that
just travel, I want to know people and know their culture, a culture that I
didn’t know anything about it. That make me talk with a friend that is part of
the SPOR program, about volunteering, she has being in Tanzania, her
name is TUVA, and she has being one of my best friends. She knew
something about volunteering in Guatemala and she gave me the contacts.
I start communication with Norma Lopez, who talked to me about how many
time I want to stay in Guatemala and what I could make here, she prepared
everything about my trip, and finally I decided to come because it was a
great opportunity that I can not let it pass.
F: When you go back to Norway, what is going to be the first thing you
are going to tell your friends and your people?
B: The moment I met my family, the people in PATZÚN and here in Fundated;
The goodness in everything since I came and how well received I get to felt.
Although people have very little, they go ahead; they are happy with what
they have and with their life and always show respect and equality between
them.
F: How did you feel in Guatemala? I need you to tell me something
positive and something negative.
B: I love the nature and climate of Guatemala, even if it is not the most
important thing but it is something that I really like, the goodness of people, I
love food like tortillas with guacamole and salsa.
The negative is how insecure people lives here, I used to go out at any time
and any where I want, but when I want to do it here, people tell me that it is
not safe after six in the evening and that is better to not go; that makes me
block the desire to go out to know and experiment.
F: How do you see FUNDATED and people working in the
organization?
B: I have a very good impression of the organization, the people are very
professional, I do not know details about how is the work here, but the first
impression is that they are very dedicated to their work. I like the spirit of
support they have in FUNDATED.
F: Is there any advice you could give FUNDATED and people who work
here?
B: Keep up the good work and continue doing what they do to help people.
F: How was the welcome your family in PATZÚN?
B: It was very pretty, very
special, although my Spanish is
not very good but it improved
with the passage of time. I
came, then they put me in my
room, after that I was introduced
to the two girls in the house,
they hugged me, grabbed my
hand, we went to the market and
then they took me back home,
they give me a copy of the key, so I could go out and in when I needed it,
they were very gentile and kind since the beginning. Every time they try to
help me with my Spanish and that makes it a beautiful experience.
Something that makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes is that they live
differently than I used in Norway; the food is different and I struggled a bit,
the family is always working on something in the house, to clean, for
example, and when I just want to sit and talk to them, you can not do it, I go
to my room and sit there because they have no place to share like this.
F: Is there anything that impressed you the most when you just came
to Guatemala?
B: Apart of the situation of insecurity, I think Guatemala is a country more
developed than I thought, or at least, is on track to achieve a little more
development, the people are friendly and try to do more of what they have,
They love their country and fight every day to bring it up, that impressed me
the most from Guatemala.
F: Would you tell your friends about your experience in Guatemala to
engage in volunteering?
B: Yes, definitely
F: From 1 to 10, what score you would give us:
B: FUNDATED: 9
FUNDATED Workers: 9
Operation mode and Organization of
FUNDATED: 9
Family: 9
F: Would you like to experience this again?
B: If I could, yes.
F: What would you change about this
experience?
B: Read a bit more about Guatemala and of
course, study a little more Spanish.
F: Final words, a phrase that you would like to
share:
B: Today I told my mother, "I feel I'm in the right place and the right
situation."
GUATEMALA, LEAVING PRINTS ON THE
HEART….
Hola!
We are four students from Norway studying child
welfare at the University of Stavanger. During
our studies, we have to practice our skills for one
semester. The first two months were in Norway
at various places. The next three months are
going to be in Guatemala.
In Norway, equality and freedom of speech
stands very strong. Norway has come far when it
comes to equality and it is getting more and more normal that the dad takes a
bigger part of the work at home, which gives the mother an opportunity to create a
career. Equality between men and women has been an important political issue
after the law of equality (Likestillingsloven) was established in 1978. Freedom of
speech gives us legal rights to be able to have the lifestyle we choose and to say
what we mean, without the government interfering.
The reason we wanted to spend a part of our studies in Guatemala, was to give us
a new perspective on how Norwegian government is operating. By experiencing
the Guatemalan way of life, we hope that it will help us see the benefits and the
drawbacks of the Norwegian child welfare system.
It has been ten days since we arrived Guatemala City, and we have experienced a
lot! We could probably write a small book about all the impressions and
experiences we’ve had these few days, like the contrast of the structures within
and outside the city, the flower, animals and bugs we’ve never seen before, the
food, people and customs, and so on! To make it shorter we have decided to tell
you about the most significant experiences we have had so far.
What first struck us was how warm and welcoming the people are. Greeting friends
and family with a kiss on the cheek, saying “Buenos Dias!” to strangers in the
street and insist on helping if you are in some sort of difficulty are just some of the
things we noticed. Even on the plane from Panama to Guatemala, we could see
strangers talking to each other. This was new to us Norwegians, who hardly gives
a nod to each other in the streets, and mostly greets friends and family with a
common “helo”.
As mentioned earlier, equality stands strong in the Norwegian culture. Because of
this, one of the biggest contrasts for us has been the difference between genders
in Guatemala. To see how it is granted that females work at home and the men
takes care of finances by working elsewhere, is in our eyes contributing to a
patrialcalistic government. Without female interference in politics and economy, it
will be hard for equality to find its place in society. Even so, we can see how this
lifestyle is helping to create strong family connections and keeping important
traditions alive. In Norway, it has become more common that institutions like
kindergartens take a bigger part of raising the children while both of the parents are
working. This leaves less time for the family to be together for bonding and keeping
traditions alive. Over the next three months, we hope to get a better understanding
of the Guatemalan way of living, and in that way get a clearer perspective of the
benefits and drawbacks of our own society.
We want to thank Fundated, our host families and everyone else who is
contributing to make our stay both possible and enjoyable. We have had a fantastic
time in Guatemala so far and are looking forward to the rest of our stay!
Cheek-kisses from Ole, Kristian, Kristina and Marlene!