University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
2007
Ethnic tourism and indigenous activism: power and
social change in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Benjamin Michael Willett
University of Iowa
Copyright 2007 Benjamin Michael Willett
This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/149
Recommended Citation
Willett, Benjamin Michael. "Ethnic tourism and indigenous activism: power and social change in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala." PhD
(Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2007.
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/149.
Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of the Anthropology Commons
ETHNIC TOURISM AND INDIGENOUS ACTIVISM: POWER AND SOCIAL
CHANGE IN QUETZALTENANGO, GUATEMALA
by
Benjamin Michael Willett
An Abstract
Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Anthropology
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
July 2007
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Rudolf Colloredo-Mansfeld
1
ABSTRACT
This dissertation analyzes the politics of representing Mayan ethnicity in
Guatemalan tourism. Most importantly, it demonstrates the importance of cultural
representations in tourism events to local Mayas themselves. It does this by
demonstrating how tourism organizations are, in some cases, dynamically challenging
long-held stereotypes of Guatemala’s Mayan populations and creating new economic
resources that are helping to empower local Mayan communities in Guatemala’s second
largest city, Quetzaltenango.
However, through this examination it is also evident that not all tourism
organizations in Quetzaltenango share these goals or produce these particular types of
social and economic changes. How a tourism organization affects change on social and
economic landscapes is often determined by its power to make its goals a reality. By
examining tourism organizations with a wide range of ethnic and economic
characteristics (be they for-profit, non-profit, indigenous, or non-indigenous), and how
these characteristics are managed and manipulated, this dissertation analyzes how
tourism organizations accumulate the power to make some changes in Quetzaltenango’s
social and economic landscapes more possible than others.
Additionally, within anthropological literature there is rich material that examines
the foundation and growth of indigenous movements in Latin America and the ability of
these movements to mobilize political support for collective indigenous rights, cultural
diversity, and the celebration of ethnic pride as well as to overcome indigenous political
marginalization and poverty. However, within this body of work there is rarely mention
of the political potential of tourism to mobilize support, celebrate diversity, and to
overcome indigenous marginalization and poverty. This dissertation also demonstrates
how the political potential of tourism can help indigenous movements accomplish these
goals.
2
Abstract Approved: ____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date
ETHNIC TOURISM AND INDIGENOUS ACTIVISM: POWER AND SOCIAL
CHANGE IN QUETZALTENANGO, GUATEMALA
by
Benjamin Michael Willett
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Anthropology
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
July 2007
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Rudolf Colloredo-Mansfeld
Copyright by
BENJAMIN MICHAEL WILLETT
2007
All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
PH.D. THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Benjamin Michael Willett
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in Anthropology at the July 2007 graduation.
Thesis Committee:
Rudolf Colloredo-Mansfeld, Thesis Supervisor
Michael Chibnik
Florence Babb
Douglas Midgett
Brian Gollnick
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
Power ................................................................................................................4
Ethnicity and Power in Latin America .............................................................6
Ethnic Identity and Contemporary Indigenous Activism ...............................10
Ethnic Identity and Pan-Mayan Activism.......................................................12
Tourism and Socio-Economic Change ...........................................................15
Tourism and Economic Power ................................................................15
Tourism Representation and Indigenous Identity....................................17
Quetzaltenango: The Western Highlands and Tourism..................................19
Quetzaltenango and Pan-Mayan Activism ..............................................21
Tourist Organizations and Activities in Quetzaltenango.........................24
Spanish Language Schools...............................................................25
Instituto Linguistico Maya: .......................................................25
Sayaxché: ..................................................................................25
Iztapa:........................................................................................25
Local Travel Agencies .....................................................................26
Q’anjob’al Tours: ......................................................................26
Hyper Tours: .............................................................................26
Jaguartrekkers: ..........................................................................26
Women’s Weaving Cooperatives.....................................................26
TelaMaya: .................................................................................27
Ethnographic Research Methodologies ..........................................................27
The Organization of this Dissertation.............................................................28
CHAPTER ONE. TOURISM AND CHANGING CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF
MAYAN ETHNICITY...................................................................................32
A Survey of Local Reactions to Quetzaltenango Tourism Promotion ...........33
Two-Step Cluster Analysis......................................................................44
Group 1: 26% “Tourism Connection/Mayan Supportive” .............45
Group 2: 35% “Low Mayan Support/Low Tourism
Connection”......................................................................................45
Group 3: 39% “Mayan Supportive/Low Tourism
Connection”......................................................................................45
Quetzalteco Reactions to Specific Tourism Events........................................48
A Sample of Ladino Reactions to Mayan-Themed Tourism...................51
A Sample of Mayan Reactions to Mayan-Themed Tourism...................55
A Sample of Mixed Mayan and Ladino Reactions to MayanThemed Tourism .....................................................................................59
A Sample of Foreign Tourist Reactions to Mayan-Themed
Tourism....................................................................................................61
Conclusions.....................................................................................................63
CHAPTER TWO. INTERNAL RELATIONS: QUETZALTECO TOURISM
ORGANIZATIONS, PRO-MAYAN POLITICS, ALLEGATIONS OF
CORRUPTION, AND POWER .....................................................................65
Civil Society and Quetzaltenango Tourism....................................................66
Civil Society, Indigenous Movements, and Quetzalteco Tourism .................68
ii
The Foundation of Tourism in Quetzaltenango..............................................70
The Founding of Three Language Schools .............................................72
Instituto Linguistico Maya ...............................................................72
Sayaché.............................................................................................74
Iztapa ................................................................................................75
Quetzalteco Trekking Companies ...........................................................76
Jaguartrekkers...................................................................................77
Hyper Tours......................................................................................78
Q’anjob’al Tours ..............................................................................79
Women’s Weaving Cooperatives ............................................................80
TelaMaya..........................................................................................81
Capital, Foreign Support, and Allegations of Corruption...............................82
Allegations of Corruption........................................................................85
Instituto Linguistico Maya ...............................................................86
Sayaché.............................................................................................89
Iztapa ................................................................................................92
TelaMaya..........................................................................................93
Capital, Competition, and Conflict in Quetzaltenango ...........................94
Q’anjob’al Tours ..............................................................................94
Jaguartrekkers...................................................................................96
Hyper Tours......................................................................................98
Conclusions...................................................................................................100
CHAPTER THREE. EXTERNAL LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND
INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCES IN QUETZALTECO TOURISM.........103
Local Relationships and Power in Quetzaltenango Tourism........................105
Pro-Mayan Political Activism and Inter-Organizational
Relationships .........................................................................................106
Local Business Alliances and Tourism Guilds......................................110
National Alliances and Instability ................................................................113
International Alliances and Tourism in Quetzaltenango ..............................123
Conclusion ....................................................................................................131
CHAPTER FOUR. INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS AND THE
QUETZALTENANGO EXPERIENCE .......................................................134
Ethnicity and the “Exotic”: A Tourist Narrative .........................................135
Interactions and Borderzones ................................................................136
Guatemala and the International Tourist Narrative: Websites and
Guidebooks ...................................................................................................138
International Guidebooks and Guatemala’s Tourist Narrative..............142
The National Marketing of Guatemalan Tourism: Websites and
Brochures...............................................................................................146
Local Marketing of Tourism .................................................................151
The Quetzaltenango Tourist in Profile and Experience................................156
A Day in the Life of a Quetzalteco Tourist: Typical Activities,
Interactions, and Dilemmas ..........................................................................161
Conclusions...................................................................................................169
CHAPTER FIVE. REPRESENTING THE “MAYA”: QUETZALTECO
ORGANIZATIONS AND TOURISM ACTIVITIES ..................................172
Quetzaltenango Representations of Mayan-Themed Tourism .....................173
iii
Extremely Mild Support for a Pro-Mayan Activism Agenda ...............175
Support for Pro-Mayan Activism in Name ...........................................182
Backstage and Surrogate Pro-Mayan Imagery ......................................186
Pro-Mayan Activism in Action .............................................................191
Pan-Mayan Activism in Action .............................................................200
Conclusions...................................................................................................209
CHAPTER SIX. THE DIRECT, ECONOMIC INFLUENCES OF
QUETZALTENANGO TOURISM..............................................................214
Wages and Career Development ..................................................................214
Capital Accumulation ...................................................................................220
Quetzaltenango and Social Development Programs.....................................229
Pro-Mayan Activism and Highly Beneficial Social Development
Programs................................................................................................231
Marginal Support for Pro-Mayan Activism and Marginal Benefit
from Social Development Programs .....................................................240
No Commitment to Pro-Mayan Activism and No Social
Development Programs .........................................................................242
Conclusion ....................................................................................................243
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................245
APPENDIX A. SURVEY OF QUETZALTENANGO ..................................................255
Survey Content .............................................................................................255
Cluster Analysis............................................................................................257
APPENDIX B. MARKETING IMAGES.......................................................................258
Web Pages ....................................................................................................258
Guide Books .................................................................................................259
Guidebook Websites.....................................................................................261
From Lonely Planet ...............................................................................260
From Cadogan .......................................................................................261
From Moon............................................................................................261
APPENDIX C. TOURIST SURVEY .............................................................................262
Research Methodology .................................................................................262
Survey Questions ..........................................................................................263
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................265
iv
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Age of Respondents Compared to 2000 Census................................................35
Table 2. Monthly Salary of Quetzaltecos ........................................................................36
Table 3. Exposure, Benefits, Views.................................................................................37
Table 4. Exposure to Mayan Themed Tourism and Reactions........................................39
Table 5. Respondents: Importance of Mayan Culture ....................................................40
Table 6. Tourism and Opinions of Mayan Culture ...........................................................41
Table 7. Characteristics of Ladino Focus Groups.............................................................51
Table 8. Characteristics of Maya Focus Groups ...............................................................56
Table 9. Characteristics of Maya and Ladino Mixed Group ............................................59
Table 10. Characteristics of Foreign Group......................................................................61
Table 11. Use of Terminology in Guidebooks................................................................143
Table 12. Use of Terminology in National Level Websites ...........................................149
Table 13. Frequency of Terminology in Brochures........................................................150
Table 14. Frequency of Terminology in Quetzalteco Organizations..............................152
Table 15. Length of Time Tourists Planned to Stay in Quetzaltenango .........................158
Table 16. Types of Tourist Activities Planned ...............................................................158
Table 17. Importance of Mayan Culture in Travels........................................................160
v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Percentage Clustered Groups ............................................................................44
Figure 2. Sources of Information ....................................................................................139
vi
1
INTRODUCTION
This dissertation analyzes the politics of representing Mayan ethnicity in
Guatemalan tourism.1 Most importantly, it demonstrates the importance of cultural
representations in tourism events to local Mayas themselves. It does this by
demonstrating how tourism organizations are, in some cases, dynamically challenging
long-held stereotypes of Guatemala’s Mayan populations and creating new economic
resources that are helping to empower local Mayan communities in Guatemala’s second
largest city, Quetzaltenango.
However, through this examination it is also evident that not all tourism
organizations2 in Quetzaltenango share these goals or produce these particular types of
social and economic changes. How a tourism organization affects change on social and
economic landscapes is often determined by its power to make its goals a reality. By
examining tourism organizations with a wide range of ethnic and economic
1 In the title of this dissertation, I have used the term “ethnic tourism” to describe a type
of tourism that is being promoted and developed in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Smith says that
ethnic tourism, “is marketed to the public in terms of the “quaint” customs of indigenous and
often exotic peoples…” (Smith 1989: 4). By utilizing this term I do not wish to suggest that I
believe that Quetzaltenango’s Mayan populations are any more quaint or exotic than any other
group in the world. Rather, I have chosen this term because I believe that it expresses the tension
that exists between promoting Mayan culture in tourism activities, and the promotion of
indigenous activist agendas. Many international, national, and some local tourism marketers
present images of Mayas as quaint and exotic. Local tourism organizations with pro-Mayan
political agendas use these exotic images of Mayas as examples of centuries of international and
state stereotypes and the hegemonic subordination of Mayan populations. Pro-Mayan tourism
organizations use this evidence of subordination as a foundation to recruit international tourists’
support for the organizations pro-Mayan political agendas. The tension between ethnic tourism
and indigenous activism illustrates the central dilemma in this dissertation. Does tourism in
Quetzaltenango improve local Mayan social and economic circumstances, or does tourism
support the continuation of Mayan subordination?
2 I worked with seven ethnic tourism organizations while gathering the research for this
dissertation. The names of all seven ethnic tourism organizations, as well as the names of their
leaders and employees, have been changed to maintain anonymity.
2
characteristics (be they for-profit, non-profit, indigenous, or non-indigenous), and how
these characteristics are managed and manipulated, this dissertation analyzes how
tourism organizations accumulate the power to make some changes in Quetzaltenango’s
social and economic landscapes more possible than others.
I argue that there are four main factors which determine an organization’s power
to shape social and economic landscapes through tourism:
•
The first factor is the ability to establish and maintain alliances on local, national,
and international levels. In tourism, ethnic identity formation and positions of
economic dominance/subordination are influenced by formal and informal
relationships between individuals and organizations in society – indigenous
movements, non-governmental organizations, local and national bureaucracies,
businesses, cooperatives etc. In Quetzaltenango, I have found that the ability of an
tourism organization to establish a network of mutually beneficial alliances with a
wide range of local, national, and international individuals and organizations also
helps to determine the tourism organization’s power to meet their goals.
•
The second factor is the ability to accumulate capital. As many have demonstrated,
tourism requires a large economic investment both at the initiation of the project,
and throughout the projects implementation (see Bleasdale and Tapsell 1999: 185;
Prideaux 2002). Quite simply, those who have the ability to amass and direct
economic capital have an increased advantage over those who do not.
•
The third factor is authority. In Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry, authority comes
in two forms: representational and political. The first is the authority to represent
Mayan ethnicity in tourism activities. The presentation of Mayan culture in tourism
events helps to define ethnic boundaries between Mayas, Ladinos, and foreign
tourists (see Hitchcock 1999; Van den Berghe 1994; and Rojeck and Urry 1997). If
an individual or group can establish the authority to present Mayan culture to
tourists, the ability to use these boundaries can attach particular characteristics to
3
Mayan culture and affect larger Guatemalan conceptualization of Mayan ethnic
identity above and beyond presentations to tourists.
Political authority gives organizations the power to shape social and
economic landscapes in Quetzaltenango and to make decisions that affect the
structures of Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. Those who are able to obtain
leadership positions within local and national tourism industry organizations attain
the authority to set the direction for future tourism development. With the authority
to set the agenda for development come increased possibilities for beneficial
alliances, advantages in wealth and capital accumulation, the ability to influence the
images of Mayas that are presented in tourism, and a larger influence on how Mayan
identity is perceived by Guatemalan society.
•
Finally, the predominance of pro-Mayan political activism differentiates
Quetzaltenango from many other tourism destinations in Guatemala. The vast
majority of tourism organizations in Quetzaltenango engage in pro-Mayan political
activism which can take form at a number of levels. This political activism can be
found in marketing materials, educational information and conferences for tourists,
as well as in social development programs. If and how tourism organizations
manage their political activism also plays an important role in establishing the
organization’s power to meet their goals.
In his recent work, Mayas in the Marketplace, Walter Little finds that in Antigua,
Guatemala and its surrounding communities, “Kaqchikel Maya handicraft vendors
strategically use different identity constructions for political and economic reasons to
help maintain their livelihoods” (Little 2004: 6). Throughout my research experiences I
have also found that Mayas in Quetzaltenango strategically use identity constructions to
maintain their livelihoods. Additionally, I have found that Quetzaltenango differs from
Antigua in that Quetzaltenango’s pro-Mayan political activists use constructions of
Mayan identity in tourism activities to dynamically alter conceptualizations of ethnic
4
identity. The ability to use the four factors listed above (separately or, more importantly,
in combination) challenges a gap in anthropological literature that underplays the
political potential of tourism to redefine ethnic identities and reorder economic
relationships.
Within anthropological literature there is rich material that examines the
foundation and growth of indigenous movements in Latin America and the ability of
these movements to mobilize political support for collective indigenous rights, cultural
diversity, and the celebration of ethnic pride as well as to overcome indigenous political
marginalization and poverty (see Nelson 1996; Rappaport 1990; Van Cott 2000; Warren
1998; Warren and Jackson 2002). However, within this body of work there is rarely
mention of the political potential of tourism to mobilize support, celebrate diversity, and
to overcome indigenous marginalization and poverty. This dissertation demonstrates
how the political potential of tourism can help indigenous movements accomplish these
goals.
Power
Wolf (1990: 586) offers four useful types of power. Borrowing from Kaufmann
(1968), Wolf first points to the Nietzschean idea of power, which is power based in
personal attributes. This could be power based on brute strength, size, and intellect.
However, as Wolf points out, this type of power says little about how exactly power is
attained and maneuvered. Wolf then describes a second type of power, which is the
power of one person to impose his or her will on another in social action. This includes
the ability to use power within a particular context. Yet, it does not give insight into how
the power was obtained, nor the thought process behind its successful employment. In
this dissertation I will combine these first two types of power by describing who is
involved in tourism in Quetzaltenango, their organizational characteristics, and attributes
within the context of Quetzaltenango’s social and economic landscapes.
5
Wolf’s third type of power, “tactical power,” involves the ability to manipulate a
particular setting that would allow someone to exercise their will over another (Wolf
1990). Inherent in this analysis is the examination of alliances, cooperation, resistance,
and conflicts between groups and individuals. In order to understand the importance of
politics in tourism one needs to investigate the tactical manifestation of cooperation and
conflict as groups and individuals attempt to realize their goals.
Finally, Wolf’s fourth type of power, “structural power,” which “shapes the field
of action so as to render some kinds of behavior possible, while making others less
possible or impossible” (Wolf 1990: 587). From the perspective of tourism in
Quetzaltenango this includes how individuals and organizations maneuver their particular
characteristics to both meet their goals and influence the structures of tourism. It also
includes how the ability, or inability, to meet particular sets of pro-Mayan political goals
through tourism affects Mayan abilities to contradict longstanding structural hierarchies
of social and economic subordination.
This dissertation pays special attention to these last two forms of power: tactical
and structural. Tactical power is examined in tourism organizations’ abilities to establish
alliances and accumulate wealth and capital. The ability to successfully accumulate
tactical power influences tourism organizations’ access to structural power that provides
organizations the authority to present Mayan culture to tourists, the authority to make
decisions that affect the structures of Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry, and the power
to, or not to, successfully pursue a pro-Mayan activist agenda. I will further explore how
agency, globalization, cross-cultural interaction, commercialization, indigenous political
activism, changing national and international identities, religion, and changing gender
relations all affect tactical and structural power in the tourism project.
6
Ethnicity and Power in Latin America
Throughout the history of Latin America, systems of ethnic categorization have
played an important role in developing and maintaining the power to structure social and
economic relationships. The roots of contemporary Latin America’s system of ethnic
categorization date back to the arrival of the Spanish when colonial forces imposed a
unifying “Indian” identity, with its own system of rules, rights, and obligations, under the
Spanish Crown. During the colonial period, the Crown subjected Indians to programs
such as servicio ordinario, mandamientos, repartamientos de indios, and encomiendas
designed to supply the Spanish with food, building supplies and manpower and in the
process, fetching large profits for Spanish landowners (Lutz 1994: 22). These systems
often separated Indians from their localized kin groups, mixing Hispanic and indigenous
traits into a complex and constantly negotiated system of “ethnic” categorization (Lovell
1995: 111).
When many nations in Latin America first became independent from Spanish
rule, “ethnic” categorizations continued to be equally complex (Little-Siebold 2001).
Such terms as “Españoles,” “Indios,” “Negros,” “Mulatos,” “Esclavos,” or “Sambos” (to
name a few) have been used to classify “ethnicity” depending upon the region of the
country and the historical time period (Little-Siebold 2001: 114). In the Highlands of
contemporary Latin America, interactions between citizens have been structured by a
system which has been generally limited to two distinct “ethnic” categories separating
Indians from Ladinos/Mestizos. While the politics of identity do not fit easily into the
dichotomy, this system has remained central to contemporary social and political life
(Little-Siebold 2001: 109). Regardless of the complexities of identity classification, this
system has often functioned as a means of indigenous subordination. Nowhere has this
been truer than in Guatemala.
In colonial Guatemala, the Spanish settlers and their Creole descendants managed
state functions (Wortman 1982). Local settlers were given encomiendas (gifts of Indian
7
labor) that were organized around preexisting territorial units (Lovell and Swezey 1989).
Under this system, all who were classified as Indians were forced to work for the Spanish
and pay them tribute in goods and cash (Lovell 1995: 107). Indian subordination was
“something that was regarded as a natural right, an unqueried fixture in the imperial
enterprise” (from Lovell 1995: 116; see also Warren 1978). These colonial relations
were shaped by an economic system that required cheap labor sources, supporting Ladino
dominance in economic, political, social, and religious areas (Stavenhagen 1970: 277).
The enduring legacy of Guatemala’s ethnic relations has been the continuous
subordination of indigenous populations (Warren 1978; Warren 1998). Throughout the
nineteenth century indigenous cultures have continued to be in conflict with state power
and development (Arias 2001). The term “Indian” has long been stigmatized and
negatively stereotyped as a justification for the hindered development of the Guatemalan
nation. In the Guatemalan non-Indian intellectual discourse, Indians have been
characterized as “the very symbol of backwardness – a group of people still rooted in the
traditions of a colonial past” (Smith 1990: 5).
Historic evidence of popular stereotypes of “Indians” is easy to find in national
newspapers:
We generally recognize that we are opposed to these
compatriots, ignorant, filthy, lazy, sick, licentious, without
consciousness. We have often felt ourselves rebel against their
evilness. We have also found ourselves in agreement with those
who would favor their gradual disappearance by whatever means
that would progressively diminish their ranks (Imparcial December
19, 1944; from Adams 1990b).
And what an inferiority complex the Guatemalan suffers
for his Indian blood, for indigenous character of his nation…The
Guatemalan does not want to be Indian, and wishes his nation were
not (Imparcial January 10, 1945; from Adams 1990b).
As these statements illustrate, “Indians” have sometimes historically been
considered by some Guatemalans to be filthy, lazy, potential evil, and should be
8
eliminated. Furthermore, they have often historically been believed to be holding back
the progress of the Guatemalan nation.
On the other hand, “Ladino” identity has often historically been closely tied to
notions of “modernity” such as speaking Spanish, wearing “western” clothes, and
enjoying access to technology. Popular Guatemalan stereotypes have also historically
defined Ladinos as against the tradition, superstition, and backwardness of indigenous
cultures (Nelson 1999: 78). In fact, the concept “Ladino” has been associated with a
scale of “civilization” relating to the person’s level of formal education, ways of
behavior, and attitudes (Little-Siebold 2001: 182). Where “Indians” are associated with
the tools of manual labor, and physical endurance, “Ladinos” are associated with the
tools of literacy, and knowledge gained through education (Warren 1978: 51).
Diane Nelson has called this ethnic boundary the “colonial binary,” in which the
modern cosmopolitan West is opposed to the archaic Maya (Nelson 1996: 288). In his
book, Maya Saints and Souls, in a Changing World, John Wantanabe describes a
conversation with a Mayan friend that further illustrates how deeply Nelson’s “colonial
binary” has been assimilated into Guatemala’s social hierarchies. Wantanabe asked his
friend, “If you were to write a book about Chimaltenango (his town), what would be the
most important thing you would talk about?” His friend responded,
‘I would write about Indians and Ladinos.’ He proceeded
to draw an elaborate diagram consisting of two columns, on the
one-labeled ‘Ladinos’ on the other ‘Indians’. In the Ladino
column he wrote: Wealth, Exploiter, Literacy, Religious Faith,
Medical Curing, Self-Improvement. In the Indian column he
penned: Poverty, Ignorance, Illiteracy, traditional Beliefs, Magical
Curing, Alcoholism (Wantanabe 1992: 24).
He then drew a line from the Indian to the Ladino column demonstrating his
desire to enjoy some of the benefits of being classified as Ladino. These columns
represent the “colonial binary.” Furthermore, they illustrate the ways in which
subordination and powerlessness are reflected in Mayan ideas about themselves and their
positions within Guatemala’s social hierarchies (Warren 1978: 3).
9
In Quetzaltenango it is evident that severe and iniquitous ethnic boundaries and
aspects of the “colonial binary” still exist. There are many in Quetzaltenango who
continue to propagate negative Mayan stereotypes. For example, in the summer of 2001,
in Quetzaltenango’s El Terminal marketplace the graffiti said, “Dirty Indio Go Home.”
Elsewhere, past the statue of Tecun Uman guarding the entrance to Quetzaltenago,
graffiti on a building on the right side of the road said: “Queme (the Mayan mayor) is a
robber, he has stolen 17,000,000 Quetzales.” I found the same message scattered about
the Central Park and on government buildings, on street corners, houses and schools.
The side of the police station ordered: “Indio Queme, clean the streets!” There seemed
to be anti-Mayan sentiment throughout the city.
When I returned to live in Quetzaltenango from August 2004 through June 2005 I
found that these types of anti-Mayan graffiti campaigns had continued. For example, a
defenseman on the local professional soccer team, who was of Mayan heritage, became
the focus of a racist graffiti campaign. All over town, on the side of buildings, at bus
stops, and in the parks someone used black marker to write that this player was “a stupid
Indian,” “a worthless Indian,” and “a lying Indian.” It is true that all the graffiti was
written in the same handwriting and it looked like someone had a personal vendetta
against the player. Yet, the fact that they used the player’s ethnic heritage as the focus of
their attack demonstrates the continuation of ethnic boundaries, negative Mayan
stereotypes, and the persistence of historically structured social hierarchies.
It is also very easy to find evidence of negative Mayan stereotypes in everyday
conversations and interactions in Quetzaltenango. For example, my wife and I were at a
local bookstore searching the English titled novels for a bit of entertainment. While we
were there a young Mayan man walked into the bookstore and began to search the
shelves. He was not able to find what he was looking for, so he asked the clerk if he had
a K’iche’ and Spanish dictionary. The clerk did not seem interested in helping the young
man. However, one of his associates found a large dictionary and the Mayan man
10
decided to buy the book. He brought the book up to the counter and tried to start a
conversation with the clerk. The Mayan man said that he was a priest from a town in the
countryside and he wanted the dictionary so that he could translate some of the bible for
his local parish. The clerk seemed uninterested and began to write up the receipt. He
asked the priest for his NIT (his tax number) so that he could record the number on his
receipt. The priest apologized and replied that he did not know what a NIT was. The
clerk repeated “NIT, NIT your number.” The priest still denied knowledge of a NIT.
Then the clerk became visibly mad. He rudely asked the priest for his name and wrote it
on the receipt instead. The priest appeared offended and humiliated and rushed out of the
store. My wife and I were shocked by this blatant disrespect for the customer. When we
bought our book (and this was the last time we ever shopped at that store) we were
treated cordially. We were asked for our NIT, and when we told him we did not have
one, he smiled and politely placed our book in a bag. It seemed obvious that the clerk
was disrespectful to the priest and not to us because he assumed the priest was a poor
Mayan from the countryside.
This type of stereotyping and disrespect for Mayans is, unfortunately, still typical
with some Quetzaltecos. Certainly, there are many others in Quetzaltenango who are
actively working to oppose racism and discrimination. Direct evidence of this can be
found in the projects of the many Pan-Mayan NGOs in Quetzaltenango. However, it is
undeniable that anti-Mayan racism still exists. In Quetzaltenango racial stereotyping and
Mayan subordination are real aspects to daily life.
Ethnic Identity and Contemporary Indigenous Activism
As a reaction to this political, economic, and cultural aggression that indigenous
populations have endured for over five hundred years, contemporary indigenous peoples
have become influential political activists in many Latin American countries (e.g. Hale
1997a: 571; Langer 2003: xi; Stavenhagen 1992: 424). By the 1970s, many of Latin
11
America’s indigenous groups, as well as concerned outsiders, began to mobilize at many
levels to improve the rights and conditions of indigenous communities as a form of
resistance challenging ideologies of social and economic exploitation in Latin America’s
bipolar system of ethnic categorization (e.g. Brysk and Wise 2000; Langer 2003; Warren
1998).
The initial sparks of contemporary indigenous movements in the 1960s and 1970s
came from the local level as a handful of indigenous groups formed grassroots
associations to defend their interests, usually with international assistance (Brysk and
Wise 2000; Warren and Jackson 2002). These movements created a wave of
transnational organizing as indigenous groups became involved in complex projects of
self-affirmation while building their own constituencies and influencing wider politics
(Warren and Jackson 2002: 1).
In the 1970s, 1980s, and especially in the 1990s indigenous groups were reaching
across international boundaries to form transnational indigenous associations such as the
World Council of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Working Group of
Indigenous Populations, founded in 1983 (e.g. Brysk and Wise 2000: 18-19; Langer
2003: xiv; Nash 2001; Nelson 1996). As leftist labor movements suffered continuing
repression, organizations switched to the new discourse of collective rights and cultural
diversity (Warren 1998). Working with ILO and UN templates for indigenous rights,
indigenous movements strove to create political space for indigenous groups to make
claims on the basis of being a distinct “people” with particular identities, cultural values
and practices (Warren and Jackson 2002: 13). With the growth of indigenous
movements, organizations began to actively confront the issue of indigenous
subordination by arguing that culture is an important resource, and indigenous
organizations made a wide variety of demands to celebrate indigenous ethnic pride (see
Rappaport 1990; Warren 1998), as well as to overcome political marginalization and
poverty (e.g. Van Cott 1994; Van Cott 2000; Warren 1998).
12
Ethnic Identity and Pan-Mayan Activism
Between the 1940s and 1970s, Guatemala’s indigenous populations also
experienced a “social awakening” through the formation of political parties, trade unions
and the Catholic Action movement, which became the basis for Mayan ethnic
revitalization (Davis 1992: 16; Warren 1978). However, the Guatemalan military and the
wealthy agrarian and commercial elite, interested in maintaining their control of the
country and its land, were not prepared to allow Indians to participate in national politics.
The root of what eventually led to Guatemala’s thirty-six year Civil War are
commonly thought to have begun between 1945 and 1954 when two freely elected
presidents, Arévalo and Arbenz, sought to create a more equitable distribution of wealth
in Guatemala. These efforts were not well received by large foreign corporations such as
the United Fruit Company (UFCO) who had “controlling interest in the country’s
railroads, communications, and banking services” (Fischer 2001: 75). These large
foreign corporations were able to use their influence to characterize the socially liberal
policies of Arévalo and Arbenz as socialist/communist. This reframing of liberal social
reform pushed Guatemala into Cold War conflicts of capitalism versus communism.
With the justification of containing communism, large foreign corporations were able to
mobilize the support of the United States government to sponsor a CIA-backed coup.
With United States support, a string of right-wing military leaders who supported the
United States’ anticommunist campaign were established.
In 1963 (commonly accepted as the beginning of Guatemala’s Civil War) a
communist centered military movement, supported by Cuba, began in the eastern
Guatemalan highlands. However, strong military ties between the United States and
Guatemala prevented the growth of the communist movement. Then, again, in the 1970s
new communist based guerrilla movements developed in Guatemala’s indigenous
western highlands. The state responded by dispatching secret death squads to rural
villages in the western highlands to discourage indigenous support of the communist
13
guerrilla movement. Then, later in the decade, the state openly used ideological
stereotypes of rural, primitive and anti-modern Indians to justify state-sponsored violence
against potentially subversive indigenous communities (Fischer 2001: 77).
What had originally started as a military movement to eliminate supposed
communist interests in Guatemala began to take on “strong ethnic overtones” (Warren
1998: 87). State justifications to eliminate communism soon began to place Mayan
communities in between communist guerrilla forces and the Guatemalan military. This
resulted in political turmoil which threw the country into a military-initiated period of
increasing violence against Mayan communities, known as la violencia of the 1980s
(Davis 1992: 20). During this period state sponsored violence was strategically used to
intimidate Mayan communities and prevent them from joining the communist guerrilla
forces.
The period of la violencia was tragic and the effects that it has had on the Indian
communities are devastating – ranging from the total destruction of some four hundred
villages and municipal centers to periodic sweeps, repression, and violent killings of tens
of thousands of Mayas (Warren 1998: 86). Many anthropologists view la violencia as a
demographic, social, and cultural “holocaust” (Davis 1992: 21; Warren 2003: 169).
During this period of violence, it is estimated that between 250,000 and 1 million people
were displaced, over 116,000 children were made orphans (Annis 1992; Davis 1992: 1011; Paul and Demarest 1992), and at least 80,000 people were killed – the vast majority
from the western highlands (Warren 2002: 157).
However, the legacy of la violencia has not been limited to silence and denial. As
an extension of a developing Indian identity, the Pan-Mayan movement developed on a
national level in the 1980s (e.g. Cojtí 1997; Pellecer 1998; Warren 1998). Carlos Rafael
Cabarrus Pellecer, a Guatemalan intellectual and Pan-Mayan activist, states that la
violencia and the repression of the time helped to reinforce and intensify Mayan identity,
and helped to create the platform for a Mayan social movement (Pellecer, 1998: 50). In
14
order to make sense of la violencia, Indian activists began to construct an ethnic
collective identity as “Mayas,” bonding together the community in a form of collective
action against centuries of discrimination, violence, and exploitation (Hale 1997b: 824).
By the late 1980s, “ a growing number of Mayan intellectuals, some of whom
were supported and encouraged by foreign academics, formulated in increasingly selfconfident terms what it meant to be Maya” (Grandin, 2000: 226). Mayan scholars, who
had spent many years abroad, returned home and contributed to a broadening awareness
of ethnic issues. They helped to form the core of the Pan-Mayan movement and began to
steer ethnicity in a new direction. According to Warren, Pan-Mayan activists seek to
build a cross-class movement – a new sort of Maya solidarity – that would include
middle-class professionals and business people as well as cultivators, students, teachers,
development workers, and rural shopkeepers (Warren 1998: 49). The movement
“searches for the re-vindication and recognition of the Mayas as a nation and people in
order to form a common ‘reality’ and identity, and to propose solutions to bring Mayas
together”(Cojtí 1997: 45-46).
A Pan-Mayan answer to Guatemala’s “ethnic” dilemma has often been to
concentrate on building a positive Mayan identity – an identity that celebrates a rich
cultural heritage, while at the same time presenting a plan for the future. As PanMayanists continue to challenge traditional concepts of Latin American identity,
Guatemalan ethnic categories, and the presentation of ethnicity – such as in tourism
events – they are beginning to reshape longstanding social and economic power
structures.
Within the anthropological literature on Mayan political activism and changing
images of Mayan identity, scholars have neglected a serious consideration of the power
of tourism to help achieve, or subvert, these goals. At first glance the relationship
between tourism and indigenous movements may appear to contrast. On the one hand the
world of tourism and travel that would seem to be the antithesis of what an ethnic
15
movement stands for: relaxation, leisure, commerce, entertainment. However, this
dissertation will demonstrate that the social and economic dynamics of tourism have
become a crucial field for not only the fight for ethnic equality, and have allowed Mayas
to feel they are making real gains towards that equality.
Tourism and Socio-Economic Change
Since the 1960s and 1970s, inspired by the now classic works of scholars like
DeKadt (1974) and MacCannell (1976), academics have taken an increasing interest in
the analysis of tourism development. Many researchers have since demonstrated (see
MacCannell 1976; 1992; Smith 1989b; Urry 1990) that the promotion of tourism can
influence the direction and pace of change in the organization of society. How society is
changed, how economic gains or losses are distributed and how ethnic boundaries and
characteristics are represented is then determined by the politics at work in organizing
tourism activities.
Tourism and Economic Power
In the literature on tourism there is much statistical evidence demonstrating the
economic strength and growth of tourism. In the twentieth century the growth of tourism
has been unparalleled (Elliot 1997: 4) and tourism is now (according to many) the largest
world industry (see Stanley 1998: 40; World Tourism Organization 1998; World Tourism
Organization 2000). In 2003, the World Tourism Organization estimated that
international tourism receipts generated 514 billion U.S. dollars, and in their estimate of
long term tourism prospects they estimate an average annual growth of 5.4 percent
(World Tourism Organization 2001; World Tourism Organization 2004).
One element that statistics do not explain, however, is who enjoys these economic
benefits and how this new influx of money affects local communities. Tourism has
traditionally influenced the economic activity of ethnic groups in a wide variety of ways.
Many scholars have pointed to instances where the promotion of tourism has contributed
16
to the economic exploitation of indigenous groups. For example, Trask (1993) gives a
detailed account of how native Hawai’ians have experienced economic exploitation such
as lower per capita incomes, the extinction of animals and natural environments, and
rising living expenses. A further example of economic exploitation in tourism is
described by Jamaica Kincaid (1988) in Antigua. According to Kincaid, the vast
majority of money earmarked for economic development in Antigua is spent on support
of the tourism infrastructure. Profits from tourism are then returned to external investors
and local Antiguans are left with sweeping corruption, dilapidated schools and hospitals
(Kincaid 1988). In both of these cases, local ethnic groups have not had the power to
shape the flow of economic activity and they have come to resent and oppose tourism
development.
However, if the local populations have the power to shape the flow of economic
activity, economic growth may be created in their community. Deitch offers an example
from the Southwestern United States where the influx of new tourism money caused a
renaissance in Native American productions of fine weavings and rugs, pottery, basketry,
bead making, and jewelry (Deitch 1989). Deitch argues that this revival of Southwestern
handiwork served to strengthen Indian identity, pride in heritage, and “perhaps most
importantly,” local income became an alternative to out-migration towards jobs in urban
centers (Deitch 1989: 235).
As these examples demonstrate, the promotion of tourism can influence local and
national economic structures. However, these changes are anything but uniform. In
some cases tourism has contributed to the degradation of local environments and aided
the economic exploitation of indigenous groups. In other cases, new economic activities
have been used to improve local economies and change patterns of migration. Beneath
the surface in all of these cases lies the power to control not only the settings that create
economic interactions between individuals, but also the power that orchestrates the
structure and direction of economic flow to create the settings themselves. Ultimately,
17
the power to control both economic settings and “to structure the possible field of action
of others” (Foucault 1984: 428) – or to control the creation of the institutional structures
that make these settings possible – determines the direction of local, national, and
international economic power relationships.
Tourism Representation and Indigenous Identity
Tourism produces much more than just economic change. The works of
academics such as Hitchcock (1999), Van den Berghe (1994), and Rojeck and Urry
(1997) have demonstrated that representations of ethnicity, as well as the ethnic
boundaries they create, become important in tourism through the interactions of the
organizers, promoters, observers, and local participants involved. In many instances
representations of indigenous identity have reproduced negative stereotypes of the
“natives” and re-established the legitimacy of colonial indigenous subordination. For
example, Crystal (1989) and Adams (1990) have highlighted the ways in which the
sacred funeral ceremonies of the Toraja of Sulawesi, Indonesia have increasingly become
directed to meet the needs of tourists, and in so doing have provoked community
resentment. In 1987, this resulted in a number of communities temporarily refusing
tourists. Another example can be found in Ladakh, India where rapid tourism
development brought disruptive changes to local traditions (Goering 1990). According to
Goering, by observing foreign tourists on vacation, the Ladakhis came to believe that the
“West” was a paradise of consumer goods. As a result, young people began to despise
the thinking of their parents and embrace whatever they saw as “modern,” which led to
extreme internal conflicts (Goering 1990).
However, tourism has not always been detrimental to indigenous
conceptualizations of identity. Representations of cultures in tourism have also caused
what some have described as a cultural revival (see Howes 1996; Gladney 1994;
MacCannell 1992). In some cases the “marketization of culture,” or commodification of
18
tradition, has become essential to cultural survival (Firat 1995: 116-121; from Howes
1996: 12). In fact, there have been instances where tourism has functioned to reaffirm a
sense of ethnic self-worth. In these cases, representations of ethnicity can be used as
“symbolic capital” (Gladney 1994) and “rhetorical weaponry” (MacCannell 1992: 196) to
transform perceptions of ethnic identity and challenge long held negative stereotypes of
particular ethnic groups (Pearce and Butler 1993: 40).
For example, in Alaska, “Eskimo” culture is now an attraction – an ethnic
commodity with economic value that is marketed to tourists. According to Smith
(1989b) the commercialization of Eskimo ethnicity contributed to the renaissance of
Eskimo culture. It has shown Eskimos that their culture is of great interest to tourists
who are prepared to pay substantial sums to visit the Arctic to see the Eskimo life-style.
Tourism then reaffirms the ethnic pride that had been lost in the early years of this
century (Smith 1989b).
Similarly, in Japan, the “Cultural Properties Protection Law” and “Festival Laws”
have been designed to both promote local identities and stimulate the tourism industry
(Hashimoto 1998: 35). Hashimoto argues that these laws have provided local
communities with the opportunity to recognize folk performing arts as traditional and
regional culture. He states:
…by investing in folk performing arts with a certain authority and
promoting awareness of their value among local communities and
the general public, these laws have turned what were originally
customary practices performed without conscious reflection into
something practiced consciously, with specific meaning and
purpose (Hashimoto 1998: 43).
Here once again, locals, through their participation in folk performances, have become
conscious of the value of their performance, and have used these performances to help
shape positive local identities.
Elayne Zorn’s book, Weaving a Future, is a well documented and striking
example of the dynamics of power and the process of change that can accompany tourism
19
development. Through decades of research on Taquile Island in Lake Titicaca, Peru,
Zorn demonstrates how tourism development has created new economic resources for
indigenous communities, provided increased access to higher education, and helped to
promote positive indigenous identities (Zorn 2004).
Tourism can affect a wide range of change for local, national, and international
social hierarchies and relationships. In some instances, tourism has caused internal
conflict, and in other cases it has created a cultural renaissance for particular ethnic
communities. These results are certainly not random and behind the scenes are the social
and economic interactions and relationships that influence indigenous identity formation
and development. However, within the literature there seems to be a lack of research
about why some groups within the same tourism market have the power to control the
development of tourism and meet their goals while others do not. What we miss in many
of these ethnographies is the examination of the process of change and the friction
involved in the contestation for power between competing tourism organizations. It is
within these contestations where special interests arise between tourism development
organizations, where opposites clash, boundaries are created and crossed, and new
alliances are formed. Ultimately, the power to control these changes determines an
organization’s success or failure to meet their goals. In order to flesh out the rich
political interactions, conflicts and contestations that arise with tourism promotion, it is
important to pay attention to the dynamics of power and the process of change.
Quetzaltenango: The Western Highlands and Tourism
In Guatemala, tourism already plays a large role in the national economy. In fact,
the Guatemalan tourism industry has grown to the point where for the first time in 2001,
tourism generated 493 million dollars, overtaking coffee as the largest industry in the
country. Then in 2002, this figure rose 24% to 612.2 million dollars (CAMTUR 2003).
Both INGUAT (Guatemala’s Tourism Institute) and CAMTUR (Guatemala’s association
20
of tourism related businesses) would like to see these figures continue to grow in the
future. With the execution of the national tourism development strategy, they hope that
by the year 2008, 1.1 million tourists will come to Guatemala. In 2012, they plan to
receive 1.3 million, and 1.8 million by 2014. This growth would represent 5% per year,
which is slightly higher than the World Tourism Organization’s estimations for tourism
growth in Central America (CAMTUR 2003).
Quetzaltenango has always played a pivotal role in Guatemalan history and
national tourism developers are becoming increasingly interested in promoting it as a
major tourist destination. The city is the second largest center of commercial and
industrial activity in the country and is the political capital of the highlands. Officially,
contemporary Quetzaltenango has around 128,000 inhabitants (although many locals
estimate the population to be much higher), 55% of whom are Mayas (mostly K’iche’)
and 45% Ladinos (non-Mayan) (Quetzaltenango 2000: 28). Quetzaltenango is accessible
from the Central American Highway, which provides links between the city, the Mexican
border, and the capital, Guatemala City. As a result of the importance and accessibility
of Quetzaltenango, Mayans and Ladinos, alike, travel from great distances, on foot over
the mountain passes, by bus, in the back of pick-ups, or in cars, to sell goods, work,
socialize, engage in political activity, and attend to administrative errands in the
government buildings.
In the five years that I have been visiting Quetzaltenango as a tourist and
researcher (2000-2005) I have seen the rapid proliferation of tourist-related businesses.
For example, when I arrived in January of 2000, there were effectively four places where
tourists could access the Internet. When I left in June of 2005, there were at least forty
Internet cafes. In 2000, there were two dance clubs and a handful of bars that catered to
foreign tourists. In 2005, I would estimate that there were three times the clubs and six
times the bars that catered to foreigners. Most of these tourists come to spend at least a
little time studying Spanish in the over 40 Spanish language schools. Once tourists arrive
21
in Quetzaltenango, they often remain in the city to volunteer in social development
programs, or with the many NGOs that rely on foreign volunteers to staff their projects.
Foreign tourists also use Quetzaltenango as a base for exploration of other parts of
the Guatemalan countryside. From Quetzaltenango, tourists take day trips to the many
smaller, mainly indigenous, villages to see local markets, buy souvenirs, visit regionally
famous religious sites and figures, and learn a bit more about local cultures and histories.
Furthermore, Quetzaltenango is becoming a popular spot to organize longer, more
complex travel itineraries throughout Guatemala. Many travel agencies are offering
customized itineraries that will take tourists to the far reaches of Guatemala to experience
ethnic, eco, and adventure tourism. One of the most popular activities in recent years has
been multi-day treks that start and end in Quetzaltenango and allow tourists to explore
Mayan Highland areas on foot such as the Ixil triangle, or Lake Atitlan.
Although Quetzaltenango is becoming a popular tourist destination and is the
regional center for economic activity, the area has historically experienced widespread
poverty. Due to high populations in the mountainous regions and the violent conflicts of
the 36-year Civil War (ended in 1996), poverty is particularly prevalent in the rural areas
of Quetzaltenango. The World Bank estimates that 61% of the population of the
department of Quetzaltenango lives below the poverty line (INGUAT 2001: 145). In the
face of this poverty, organizations at local, national, and international levels have
promoted Quetzaltenango as a premier site for ethnic tourism (CAMTUR 2003;
INGUAT 2000, 2001).
Quetzaltenango and Pan-Mayan Activism
Quetzaltenango has always played a special role in Guatemala’s regional and
national politics. Quetzaltenango’s Mayan K’iche’ have often been able to avoid the fate
of similar indigenous communities through the political activity of a large, urban,
indigenous middle class who have played a significant role in the development and
22
governance of the city (Grandin 2000). As a result, there is a strong tradition of K’iche’
Pan-Mayan activism that predates the formation of the movement on a national level,
with the founding of the Mayan organization, “Sociedad El Aldelanto,” over one hundred
years ago.
More recently, Quetzaltenango’s K’iche’ activists made national and international
news when, in 1995, “Xel-Ju” became the first Mayan-based political organization to
place their candidate, Rigoberto Queme, in exclusive control of the mayor’s office. XelJu was founded as a political committee in 1970 in order “to create an organization where
Mayas could discuss issues that are important to the community and participate in local
politics” (Comerma 1998: 78). Xel-Ju has stated that they are interested in the rights and
identities of diverse peoples and linguistic communities. They wanted to combat and
eradicate indigenous poverty by making “visible the invisible” by representing Mayan
concerns in official political action (Cardona 1999: 8).
Although Rigoberto Queme and Xel-Ju were not elected to a third term (he ran for
President of Guatemala and lost), K’iche’ activism and participation in ethnic identity
issues remains strong in Quetzaltenango. As both official government administrators and
Mayan activists, Xel-Ju, along with Muni-K’at (a Non-Governmental Organization
founded by Rigoberto Queme) are interested in promoting tourism in the Quetzaltenango
area as a means to fortify Mayan ethnic identity (Cardona 1999). K’iche’ activists in
Muni-K’at, La Sociedad Aldelanto, Xel-Ju and other Mayan-based political organizations
are invested in reinforcing positive Mayan identities and many are attracted to tourism
development as a means to do so. They are also interested in tourism for its potential of
alleviating poverty in local Mayan communities.
With the growth of tourism in Quetzaltenango, Pan-Mayan activists are finding a
new and powerful venue to promote Mayan economic and identity development. In
Quetzaltenango, there are a number of tourism organizations that were founded “to form
a common ‘reality’ and identity, and to propose solutions to bring Mayas together” (Cojtí
23
1997: 45-46). Through tourism activities, many of these organizations directly challenge
Mayan subordination in all forms and work to create a stronger local Mayan community
through numerous social development programs. Furthermore, these same organizations
have creatively used the many interactions they have with international tourists to
establish beneficial international connections and new forms of financial support. As a
result of this support and the increasing profile and importance of tourism in
Quetzaltenango, tourism has become an effective means for Pan-Mayan activists to meet
their goals. Pan-Mayan activists have founded language schools and weaving
cooperatives and used these tourist activities to promote a particularly Pan-Mayan
political view. Pan-Mayan organizations have also used the profits from these tourism
activities to support their families as well as a range of social development projects that
have been designed to strengthen local Mayan communities.
However, Pan-Mayan tourism promoters are not the only parties active in
Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. In December 2001, INGUAT drafted a tourism
strategy through the year 2020 with the goal of alleviating widespread poverty through
the increased promotion of ethnic tourism (INGUAT 2001). INGUAT named
Quetzaltenango as one of three sites for intensive tourism development due to
Quetzaltenango’s “multiple opportunities to encounter living indigenous cultures”
(INGUAT 2001: 141).
CAMTUR also recently became involved in the Quetzaltenango tourism industry
when it began organizing a local tourism committee on May 15th of 2005. In this
meeting, CAMTUR outlined a plan to build a series of roadside rest-areas between
Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango. The rest-areas would provide utilitarian services
like restaurants, gas stations, police, and mechanics. CAMTUR also proposes the
presentation of cultural information on the area as well as spaces for local artisans to sell
souvenirs to tourists.
24
With the growth of tourism in Quetzaltenango, local, national, and international
groups are increasingly becoming involved in representing Mayan culture to international
tourists. Some local Quetzaltenango tourism organizations consciously construct these
representations to express many of the values of the Pan-Mayan movement, while others
consciously try to avoid politicized representations of Mayan ethnicity at all. In either
case, these organizations profit from presenting representations of Mayan culture to
international tourists. These representations help to establish and solidify ethnic
boundaries. Whether or not these organizations actively and consciously confront ethnic
tension and Mayan subordination by the nature of the activities they promote, all of these
organizations are inevitably involved in the debate. Ultimately, the power to control
tourism development could determine the extent to which Guatemala will continue to
reproduce a bipolar system of Mayan subordination, or if Mayans will experience greater
equality.
Tourist Organizations and Activities in Quetzaltenango
In my original research design, I intended to analyze two events – one Ladinocontrolled and one Mayan-controlled – in order to compare and contrast how Mayan
culture is portrayed in tourism events and how these events influenced the community.
As with many projects, a few months into my research my plans changed. With further
investigation, I found that tourism events alone did not even come close to representing
the entire complexity that is Quetzaltenango’s tourism arena. As I began to look around
Quetzaltenango, I found a wide variety of tourist activities and experiences. Some were
more popular than others, some seemed to have larger influences on society than others,
and the organizations staging these events had a wide spectrum of characteristics and
goals. With further research, I hypothesized that the organizations’ for-profit or nonprofit status and their ethnic compositions played a huge role in determining
25
organizational access to power. Therefore, I chose to work with the following
organizations which have a diverse range of ethnic and economic characteristics:
Spanish Language Schools
Quetzaltenango has over forty language schools. Some schools are for-profit,
some are non-profit, some are Ladino controlled, some are Mayan controlled, and some
have both Mayan and Ladino organizers. These schools are the most popular foreign
tourist attraction in Quetzaltenango. They often offer many foreign tourists their first
opportunity to encounter “Mayan culture,” as well as the lens by which they interpret
these encounters. Furthermore, the vast majority of schools offer the opportunity to work
with or support a community development program.
Instituto Linguistico Maya: This is the only all Mayan-run and owned language school.
It is a non-profit cooperative and a smaller school that offers classes in Spanish and two
Mayan languages. With the profits from this school, the organizers support a university
scholarship program for Mayan women, provide scholarships for local school children,
and assist a number of artisans.
Sayaxché: This is a part Mayan, part Ladino-owned, non-profit cooperative. It is one of
the larger schools in Quetzaltenango and has created programs to build latrines and
stoves in Mayan villages, to help at orphanages, and to provide scholarships to over
eighty local school children.
Iztapa: This is a Ladino-owned, Ladino run, for-profit school. It is also one of the
smaller schools in town with opportunities for students to volunteer in a variety of
agricultural and human rights projects.
26
Local Travel Agencies
Quetzaltenango also has a number of travel agencies that offer a wide variety of
Mayan cultural experiences in and around the Quetzaltenango area. Most of these
agencies rely on organizing the extra-curricular activities of language school students.
Many travel agencies offer multi-day treks as well as one-day excursions through
predominantly Mayan communities.
Q’anjob’al Tours: This is a Mayan owned, for-profit agency with culturally-based
walking tours, as well as three and four-day treks into Mayan villages. Many of these
tours and treks feature displays of local cuisine, religious ceremonies, and Mayan
weaving techniques.
Hyper Tours: This is a foreign-owned, foreign-run, for-profit agency with culturallybased walking tours and treks into Mayan villages. It is also the largest and most
profitable trekking company in town.
Jaguartrekkers: This is a foreign-owned, foreign run, non-profit cooperative which also
offers treks that include a variety of Mayan cultural activities. Profits support a local
orphanage.
Women’s Weaving Cooperatives
Quetzaltenango has at least four weaving cooperatives. Once again, most
cooperatives rely on the extra-curricular activities of the language students. Often the
members go to the language schools themselves, to sell their products and to recruit
27
students for single or multi-day weaving classes. They are a strictly female-organized
tourist activity.3
TelaMaya: This is the most visible Mayan Women’s weaving cooperative. It is located
half a block from the Central Park. The cooperative sells weavings in their store and
offers weaving classes for the financial benefit of its members and to further support the
development of Mayan identity and weaving techniques.
Ethnographic Research Methodologies
I combined qualitative and quantitative research activities to gather data for this
dissertation. The core of the research material was gathered over an eleven-month
period, from August 2004 to June 2005. However, this research is also informed by three
previous research trips to Quetzaltenango, totaling six months of research between 2000
and 2004.
The following chapters are based on six types of data: (1) quantitative and
qualitative data that were gathered in two large-scale surveys: one conducted among
Guatemalan citizens, and the other conducted among foreign tourists, (2) extensive
interviews with tourists, tourism industry leaders and organizers, and cultural activists,
(3) a video project of over 20 hours of video, which was edited and replayed to a wide
variety of groups in Quetzaltenango in order to obtain their reactions to tourism
representations of Mayan cultural activities, (4) historical information from archives and
provincial newspapers, (5) a collection of Mayan-themed marketing materials designed to
attract tourists, (6) qualitative ethnographic observations I collected during meetings with
tourism organizers, as a resident of Quetzaltenango, and as a tourist. I participated in
3 TelaMaya activities are organized strictly by women. Although the weaving techniques
that these women teach are practiced exclusively by Mayan women in their communities, they
offer weaving classes to both female and male tourists.
28
over four months of intensive language study, four multi-day treks, four single-day tourist
excursions, two weeks of weaving instruction, and countless conversations and
interactions with tourists and Quetzaltecos.
The Organization of this Dissertation
Tourism can produce a wide range of changes in social and economic landscapes.
Some of these changes have benefited the local indigenous populations while others have
not. This dissertation is organized to systematically examine how management and
manipulation of alliances, the accumulation of capital, the authority to represent Mayas in
tourism events and direct the development of Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry, and proMayan activist agendas affect the power of tourism organizations to challenge long held
negative stereotypes of Mayas as well as to improve Mayan economic circumstances.
In Chapter one I begin with a basic and important question: Do the cultural
representations produced by Mayan and non-Mayan tourism professionals influence the
general population of Quetzaltenango and their views on ethnicity? Through my
examination of material gathered in a large-scale survey and a video-based focus group
project, it becomes evident that the overwhelming majority of Quetzaltecos are positive
about tourism development and see it as a new and viable economic resource for the
community. It is also evident that ethnic representations of Mayas in tourism events are
viewed by Quetzaltecos as political in nature. In general, Quetzaltecos believe that
tourism has improved people’s opinions of Mayan culture and support additional
promotion of Mayan tourism events. However, Quetzaltecos hold a wide range of
opinions about how, specifically, Mayas should be represented, who should do the
representing, and how individual tourism events affect their opinions of Mayan culture.
As the opinions of Quetzaltecos differ, so do the characteristics of
Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations. In Chapter two I examine the influence of civil
society activism and pro-Mayan politics in the establishment of internal alliances that
29
make many of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations possible. I start with the
foundation of each tourism organization, the formation of alliances to create it, and the
political objectives that solidified many of these alliances.
Many of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations are Spanish language schools
that formed during Guatemala’s Civil War. As a result, many organizations created
alliances based on the goal of reducing violence against Mayas and promoting a proMaya agenda. The political stances of these original organizations have influenced the
subsequent development of the vast majority of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations,
which portray themselves as political actors in civil society. Today, it is difficult to find a
tourism organization that does not portray pro-Mayan representations of Mayan ethnicity.
Furthermore, nearly every organization advertises the promotion of Mayan-based social
development programs. The extent to which these organizations have been successful in
obtaining capital for their activism in civil society, and whether or not this activism has
actually supported a pro-Mayan political agenda, has often been a source of internal
organizational tension. This tension has led to personal conflicts and allegations of
corruption. How organizations have managed this internal conflict has helped determine
the organizations’ power to make some changes in society more possible than others.
In Chapter three I continue my analysis of the importance of civil society activism
and pro-Mayan politics by examining the contemporary role of tourism organizations’
external alliances. The power to establish and maintain external alliances with local and
national tourism organizations, as well as with international tourists, is essential to the
livelihood of Quetzalteco tourism organizations. External alliances provide access to
clientele, sources of capital, and the power to govern the structures that shape
Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. Factors that break these alliances are, once again,
personal conflicts and allegations of corruption. The major factor that keeps many of
these external alliances together is a common interest in civil society activism and proMayan politics. How these organizations manage and manipulate these relationships
30
helps to determine their power to realize their organizational goals, and to make lasting
changes in Guatemalan society.
In Chapter four I explore tourism representations of Maya through an analysis of
the marketing images that are presented to tourists and how these images and Quetzalteco
tourist activities affect the tourist experience. I begin with a deconstruction of “the
tourist narrative” that is created by representatives of the international, national, and local
tourism industries. Then, through a survey and interviews with tourists in
Quetzaltenango, I examine what attracts tourists, where they get their information, why
they come, and what they do while they are in Quetzaltenango. Finally, I demonstrate the
complex, and sometimes contradictory, relationships that are encountered in the average
day of a tourist. Tourists attend politically charged lectures and work in social
development programs. At the same time, they seek exotic images of Mayas and
participate in the propagation of negative Mayan stereotypes. How tourism organizations
choose to represent Mayas not only helps shape the tourist’s experience, but also
ultimately influences the extent to which tourism represents and promotes the agendas of
pro-Mayan activism.
In Chapter five I continue to examine tourism representations of Mayas through a
deeper examination of the events, themselves. My first goal in this chapter is to describe
the types of images that are presented in tourism events. I then analyze the extent to
which these representations align with the goals of the Pan-Mayan movement. Finally, I
examine the relationships between the organizations that frame representations of Mayas
and the Mayas who are being represented to understand the extent to which specific
tourism events may, or may not, directly challenge negative stereotypes of Mayas.
My dissertation culminates in Chapter six with an analysis of the direct economic
influences that tourism has on Quetzaltenango’s Mayan communities. My examination
begins with an analysis of tourism organizational labor relations. For instance, it
investigates whether Mayas’ wages in tourism make a significant difference in their lives.
31
Next, I take a close look at what happens to the capital earned through tourism by
examining social development programs and their influences, or lack thereof, on Mayan
communities. The overwhelming prevalence of tourism-promoted social development
programs differentiates Quetzaltenango from many other tourist destinations in
Guatemala. I examine the claims and substance of each tourism organization’s social
development programs to determine the extent to which these programs actually benefit
local Mayan populations.
The literature on civil society activism and indigenous movements has often
underplayed the political power of tourism. The proceeding chapters demonstrate how
tourism organizations obtain and maintain power through the ability to establish
alliances, accumulate capital, gain authority to represent Mayas, and to shape the
structure of tourism, and the promotion of a pro-Mayan political agenda. Ultimately, this
dissertation is not only about the power of tourism organizations to create economic and
social change. It is about how power is used and manipulated in establishing economic
relationships, cross-cultural encounters, agency, social hierarchies, and contested
narratives.
32
CHAPTER ONE
TOURISM AND CHANGING CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF MAYAN
ETHNICITY
Representations of ethnicity in tourism events can create and redefine boundaries
between groups of people (see Hitchcock 1999; Van den Berghe 1994; and Rojeck and
Urry 1997). Representations of indigenous populations have often reinforced boundaries
that define or redefine negative stereotypes that support indigenous subordination (see
Adams 1990; Crystal 1989; and Goering 1990). In other cases, groups have used tourism
to redefine more positive conceptualizations of indigenous identity (see Howes 1996;
Gladney 1994; MacCannell 1992). How these boundaries are defined and redefined
depends on how power is obtained and manipulated during the interactions of organizers,
promoters, presenters, and observers involved.
Guatemala has a lengthy and often violent history of Mayan subordination (see
Arias 2001; Carmack 1990; Grandin 2000; McCreery 1990; Smith 1990a; Warren 1978).
I suggest that tourism challenges long held negative stereotypes of Guatemala’s Mayan
populations and can create new economic resources for local Mayan communities in
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. If, when, and how these goals are achieved is largely
dependent upon power at play in the interactions of organizers, promoters, presenters,
and observers. However, before we delve into how these groups of people accumulate
power through alliances, capital, authority, and pro-Mayan political agendas we need to
answer one basic and important question: Does tourism promotion influence
Quetzaltecos’ views on Mayan culture? If so, how has the population been influenced?
In order to answer these questions, I designed a large-scale survey and a video
project. I surveyed twenty respondents from each of Quetzaltenango’s eleven
administrative zones to gain a perspective on their experiences with and opinions about
33
tourism, as well as how, or if, these experiences have changed their views on Mayan
ethnicity. The video project featured edited footage of six tourism events chosen for a
variety of Mayan cultural representations that are found in typical Quetzaltenango
tourism events. These six events were then shown to nine groups of Quetzaltecos, chosen
for their range of demographic characteristics, to determine if, and how, specific and
potentially controversial themes in Quetzaltenango tourism activities influence their
views on Mayan ethnicity.
Ultimately, the result of the survey project demonstrates that Quetzaltecos are
overwhelmingly positive about tourism and tourism development. They also report that
the promotion of tourism has generally improved their valuation of Mayan culture. Yet
this sentiment is not entirely uniform. Mayas tend to be more positive about tourism than
Ladinos and those closer to tourism centers tend to be more positive about tourism than
those further away from the centers.
The video project supports these conclusions. It also demonstrates that
Quetzaltecos differ on what exactly they value in tourism events and why they value
these events. Mayas tend to value a wide variety of tourism events and tend to encourage
the participation of a wide range of Guatemalans in these events. On the other hand,
some Ladino groups have a more static vision of Mayan culture. In general, Ladinos
have more restrictive opinions about which tourism events help to improve views about
Mayan culture. Ladinos also tend to be proponents of more limited Ladino participation
in the portrayal of Mayan tourism events.
A Survey of Local Reactions to Quetzaltenango Tourism
Promotion
The city of Quetzaltenango is officially organized into eleven different zones of
governance. Zone One is the center and oldest section of the city. Zone Two is the
second oldest section of the city and close in proximity to Zone One. As the city has
34
continued to expand, city administrators have designated new zones to help organize and
govern the expansions. The newest areas of development in Quetzaltenango are in Zones
Nine, Ten, and Eleven which are a significant distance from the historic center of the city.
Through centuries of growth and cycles of prosperity and hardship in Quetzaltenango,
these zones have developed with a wide range of socio-economic differences.
In order to gather Quetzalteco responses that are representative of the entire city’s
population I decided to collect twenty survey responses from each of the eleven zones.
While designing and testing the survey, I also found that there were significant socioeconomic differences within the zones. I then decided to break each of the eleven zones
into four quadrants, collecting five survey responses from each of the four quadrants.
Within these quadrants, I then picked a random starting point on a map. That starting
point was used to guide door to door visits, at private residences or businesses, to collect
survey responses (see Appendix A for actual survey questions). In order to gather the
220 survey responses in all eleven zones, I hired Henry Diaz to assist with the survey.
Henry has an Economics degree, with a specialization in statistical analysis, from the
University of San Carlos. His assistance in “pounding the streets” of Quetzaltenango was
extraordinary. For this, and many other reasons, I am eternally in his debt.
Zones One and Three have the highest percentage of tourism activities and
organizations. Therefore, for the purposes of survey tabulation and comparison, I have
often grouped Zones One and Three together under the premise that respondents from
these zones have more contact with tourists and tourism activities and this more frequent
contact may affect their views on tourism. In many cases, as the following tables
demonstrate, this proves to be true. Respondents in Zones One and Three do have more
contact with tourism activities and this increased contact does seem to elevate their
overall valuation of tourism in Quetzaltenango. Furthermore, all non-demographic
questions were cross-tabulated with the respondents’ ethnic demographic characteristics.
35
As many of the following tables will demonstrate, ethnicity also has some influence on
Quetzaltecos’ experiences with and opinions about tourism.
In order to obtain a portrait of the survey respondents, we gathered demographic
data. I then compared this survey’s demographic data with the 2000 Guatemalan Census
data to determine how our cross-section of respondents compares to the larger
Quetzaltenango population. The demographic results of this survey are as follows:
Table 1
Demographic Profile of Sample Compared to 2000 Census
Characteristics
Number
Percentage
Census 2000
Percentage
20-30
98
45
38
31-40
68
31
24
41-50
35
16
16
51-60
12
6
10
60+
6
3
12
Male
118
57
47
Female
89
43
54
Maya
65
30
43
Ladino
153
70
57
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
36
Table 2
Monthly Salary of Quetzaltecos*
N=215
Q0-1,000
# (%)
Q1,001-2,000
# (%)
Q2,001-3,000
# (%)
Q3,001-4,000
# (%)
Q4,001+
# (%)
This
Survey
48 (23%)
112 (52%)
42 (20%)
4 (2%)
9 (4%)
* The Guatemalan Census of 2000 did not provide income data for Quetzaltenango. So it is not
possible to gage how these survey respondents’ monthly income levels compare to the entire
body of Quetzaltecos.
As the tables demonstrate, the respondents to this survey are slightly younger,
there are relatively more male respondents, and the respondents represent a higher
percentage of Ladinos than are reported by the 2000 Guatemalan Census. These
differences are unintentional and the result of chance and random selection. The 2000
Guatemalan Census did not gather income information from respondents. Therefore, a
comparison between the incomes of the respondents of this survey and national averages
cannot be made. According to my survey results, more than half of Quetzaltecos reported
that they make between Q1,000-2,000, or between approximately $120 and $240 per
month.
Once the demographic profile of the respondents was gathered, many of the
questions were designed to measure the extent to which Quetzaltecos have been directly
exposed to tourism. The remainder of this survey was then designed to measure whether
the cultural representations produced by Mayan and non-Mayan tourism professionals
influence the general population of Quetzaltenango and their views on tourism and
ethnicity4.
4 To see the exact and complete wording of the questions, please refer to Appendix C.
37
Table 3
Exposure, Benefits, and Views
All
Respondents
(N=220)
Maya
(N=65)
Ladino
(N=153)
Zones
1&3
(N=40)
Other
Zones
(N=180)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Work in
tourism
13%
18%
10%
28%
9%
Family works
in tourism
20%
23%
19%
43%
15%
Has your
family
received
benefits from
tourism
41%
51%
38%
70%
35%
Want more
tourism
development
91%
89%
92%
100%
89%
The survey results demonstrate that a substantial number of Quetzaltecos report
that they, themselves, work in the tourism industry. It is also apparent from the survey
results that Mayas and respondents who live in zones of tourism concentration (Zones
One and Three) tend to work in tourism in higher percentages than other respondents.
Quetzaltecos also report in even higher percentages that they have family members
working in tourism. Again, more Mayas tend to have family members working in
tourism than Ladinos. Also, there is a significant correlation between the zone that the
respondents live in and having family members who work in tourism. Those who live in
tourism centers have significantly more family members working in the tourism industry
than respondents from other zones.
Next, respondents were asked if they thought that their families had received
benefits from tourism. In this case, there was a significant correlation between those who
38
thought that their family had benefited from tourism and location by zone. In other
words, a significant number of those who live in tourism centers thought that their
families had received benefits from tourism. Furthermore, ethnicity also proved to be a
telling factor. More Mayas felt that their family had benefited from tourism than
Ladinos.
These figures demonstrate a perceived benefit from tourism (both economic and
otherwise) within the city. A significant percentage of Quetzaltecos work in the tourism
industry, but even larger percentages believe that their family has received benefits from
the tourism industry. In other words, a significant portion of the population believes that
although their family members may not directly work in the tourism industry, their family
benefits from the circulation of tourism dollars that are brought to the community through
tourism. As the survey results also demonstrate, a higher percentage of those who live in
zones of tourism concentration or those who are Maya have stated that they believe their
families have received benefits from tourism.
This perceived benefit has created a good deal of local support for further tourism
development in the area. When asked if they would like to see more tourism
development in Quetzaltenango, 100% of those in Zones One and Three and 87% of
Quetzaltecos in all other zones responded in the affirmative. The vast majority of
Quetzaltecos would then like to see more tourism development. This suggests that many
Quetzaltecos have positive opinions about tourism in its current forms. It also may
suggest that Quetzaltecos are hopeful that with more tourism development, they,
themselves, may benefit. Furthermore, Quetzaltecos’ answers to this question do not
have an “ethnic” component. Both Mayas and Ladinos are overwhelmingly in favor of
tourism development.
The next set of questions was designed to measure the respondents’ level of
exposure to Mayan-themed tourism events and the extent to which respondents would
like to see more Mayan-themed tourism events.
39
Table 4
Exposure to Mayan Themed Tourism and Reactions
All
Respondents
(N=220)
Maya
(N=65)
Ladino
(N=153)
Zones
1&3
(N=40)
Other
Zones
(N=180)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Have participated in
tourism activities
involving Mayan culture
30%
42%
25%
45%
26%
Would like to see more
tourism activities
involving Mayan culture
73%
92%
64%
90%
69%
In the administration of this survey, we explained that “participation” in tourism
activities with Mayan culture included participation as either tourists or as tourism
organizers and/or presenters. A higher percentage of Mayas had participated in tourism
events with Mayan culture either as tourists or tourism organizers and/or presenters. A
higher percentage of those who live in tourism centers also reported that they have
participated in tourism activities with Mayan culture.
When asked if they would like to see more tourism development with activities
that feature Mayan culture, location and ethnicity were once again important factors. 73%
of all Quetzaltecos were interested in further developing the “Mayan” component of
tourism. This percentage jumps to 90% in zones of tourism concentration where there is
a significant correlation between interest in tourist activity and living in tourism centers.
When the respondents’ ethnicity is taken into consideration, it is evident that the majority
of all respondents are in favor of seeing more tourism activities with Mayan culture. Yet,
Mayas and Ladino responses differ on the subject. Mayan responses strongly support the
40
further development of Mayan-based tourism activities, whereas Ladino responses
support this development, but to a lesser extent.
Ethnicity and proximity to tourism centers also proved to be a factor in
determining how Quetzaltecos feel about the importance of Mayan culture.
Table 5
Respondents: Importance of Mayan Culture
Importance for
Guatemalans
Importance for Foreigners
Very
Important
# (%)
Important
# (%)
Not
Important
# (%)
Very
Important
# (%)
Important
# (%)
Not
Important
# (%)
Mayans
40 (62)
20 (31)
5 (7)
43 (66)
13 (20)
8 (14)
Ladinos
57 (37)
63 (41)
33 (22)
70 (46)
63 (41)
19 (13)
Zones 1-3
26 (65)
12 (30)
2 (5)
28 (70)
8 (20)
4 (10)
Other Zones
72 (40)
71 (40)
36 (20)
86 (49)
68 (38)
23 (13)
Total
195 (45)
166 (38)
76 (17)
227 (52)
152 (35)
54 (12)
In all of Quetzaltenango, the vast majority of respondents reported that Mayan
culture is either very important or important for Guatemalans. However, Mayas report
that Mayan culture is generally more important to Guatemalans. While Ladinos report
that this is true to a markedly lesser extent. Furthermore, those who live in tourism
41
centers report that Mayan culture is important for Guatemalans in remarkably higher
percentages than those who live in other areas of the city.
To start to understand how tourism influences Quetzaltecos’ valuation of Mayan
culture, I asked respondents how important they thought Mayan culture is for foreigners.
Most Quetzalteco interactions with foreigners are in a tourism setting. Therefore, I
believe that it is reasonable to assume that Quetzaltecos’ experiences with tourism
influence how they decide the extent to which Mayan culture is important to foreigners.
As these figures indicate, the majority of Quetzaltecos think that Mayan culture is either
very important or important to foreigners. Quetzaltecos who live in zones of tourism
concentration or who are Mayan report a higher perceived foreign valuation of Mayan
culture. This suggests that those who have had increased exposure to tourism have
experienced foreign interest in Mayan culture. This observation may, in turn, influence
Quetzaltecos to have a higher valuation of Mayan culture themselves.
The remaining questions in this survey were designed to measure the extent to
which respondents believe that Mayan tourism events can help develop Mayan culture
and have improved general and personal Quetzalteco’s valuations of Mayan culture.
Table 6
Tourism and Opinions of Mayan Culture
All
Respondents
(N=220)
Maya
(N=65)
Ladino
(N=153)
Zones
1&3
(N=40)
Other
Zones
(N=180)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Can these tourism activities
improve the opinions of
Guatemalans about Mayan
culture
63%
72%
59%
85%
58%
Have Mayan tourism events
improve your opinion of Mayan
culture
54%
68%
48%
72%
50%
42
As the table demonstrates, Quetzaltecos report that tourism can improve
Guatemalans’ opinions of Mayan culture. Mayas report, in higher percentages, that
tourism can better the opinions of Guatemalans about Mayan culture than Ladinos.
Furthermore, there is a significant correlation between the respondent’s proximity to
tourism centers and the sentiment that tourism can improve Guatemalans’ opinions of
Mayan culture. In other words, those who live in tourism centers feel that tourism can
improve Guatemalans’ opinions of Mayan culture in significantly higher numbers than
those who live in other zones of the city.
Finally, when Quetzaltecos’ opinions of Mayan culture were personalized,
ethnicity and proximity to tourism centers were once again important factors. The
majority of Quetzaltecos report that in general, tourism has improved their opinions of
Mayan culture. When broken down into categories, a slight majority of Ladinos say that
tourism has not improved their opinions of Mayan culture. However, a large majority of
Mayas report that tourism has improved their personal opinions of Mayan culture. Also,
those who live in tourism centers report that tourism has improved their opinions of
Mayan culture in markedly higher percentages than those who live in other zones of the
city.
Certainly, some of these questions are simplistic or open to different
interpretations. Through trial and error in survey design, I found that the more direct the
question, the better the chance that the question would be answered. Despite a little room
for interpretation, it is evident that the promotion of tourism has influenced Quetzaltecos’
views on ethnicity. Not only do Quetzaltecos have a positive attitude toward tourism,
they realize the vital importance of Mayan culture within tourism development programs.
Furthermore, the promotion of Mayan culture in tourism activities has significantly
improved Quetzaltecos’ opinions of Mayan culture. Although this survey does not
contain a controlled variable that measures respondents’ valuation of Mayan culture
before they were exposed to tourism, it is important to note that the respondents,
43
themselves, reported that their valuations of Mayan culture have improved as a result of
their exposure to tourism. This increased valuation of Mayan culture also seems to be
intensified with further exposure to tourism activities. In the majority of statistics, a
significant number of respondents in tourism centers have a reportedly higher regard for
the importance of Mayan culture in tourism development and an increased valuation of
Mayan culture as an important element of national culture in general.
Finally, in many cases, ethnicity proved to be an important factor in determining
Quetzaltecos’ opinions of Mayan culture and tourism. In general, Mayas have more
exposure to tourism, they believe that they receive more benefits from tourism; they think
that foreign tourists have high valuations of Mayan culture, and they would like to see
more Mayan culture in tourism activities. Furthermore, Mayas think that Guatemalans
have a higher valuation of Mayan culture, they themselves have a high valuation of
Mayan culture, and they report that tourism has helped to improve their valuation of
Mayan culture. In all of these areas, it is evident that Ladinos are less enthusiastic about
Mayan culture, tourism development, and the power of tourism to improve Guatemalan
opinions of Mayan culture.
However, it is important to note that ethnicity did not significantly correlate with
responses to any of the questions on this survey. Thus, to get a better sense of how
Quetzalteco responses to this survey grouped together, I performed a second kind of
analysis to see what issues, besides ethnicity, accounted for respondents’ support of
Mayan culture and Mayan-centered tourism.
Two-Step Cluster Analysis
In order to further examine the relationship between tourism and the power to
improve Mayas hierarchical social and economic positioning in Quetzaltenango, I
performed a “two-step cluster analysis,” selecting for a .05 level of statistical significance
using SPSS 14.0 software. A Two-Step Cluster analysis is a procedure that is designed to
44
reveal natural groupings, or clusters, within datasets that may not otherwise be apparent.
This cluster analysis separated survey respondents into three groups.
Figure 1
Percentage Clustered Groups
26%
Group 1: Maya
Supportive/Tourism Connection
39%
Group 2: Low Maya
Support/Low Tourism
Connection
Group 3: Maya Supportive/Low
Tourism Connection
35%
The most significant factors that determine Quetzaltecos’ opinions of tourism are
listed from top (as most important) to bottom (as least important) in the following
groupings:
Group 1: 26% “Mayan Supportive/Tourism Connection”
Their family has benefited from tourism
They work in tourism
Their family works in tourism
They have participated in Mayan tourism events
Tourism has improved their opinion of Mayan culture
45
They would like to see more tourism development featuring Mayan culture
They are predominantly Mayan
They tend to live close to tourism centers
Group 2: 35% “Low Mayan Support/Low Tourism
Connection”
They think that tourism does not help improve Guatemalans’ opinion of Mayan
culture
Tourism has not improved their opinions of Mayan culture
They would not like to see more tourism development featuring Mayan culture
They do not think that tourism helps develop Mayan culture
They report that Mayan culture is not as important for Guatemalans
They would not like to see more Mayan tourism development
They do not think that Mayan culture is as important to foreigners
They do not work in tourism
They are predominately Ladino
They have not participated in Mayan tourism events
Group 3: 39% “Mayan Supportive/Low Tourism
Connection”
They think that tourism can help improve Guatemalans’ opinions of Mayan
culture
Their families have not benefited from tourism
Their families do not work in tourism
They do think that tourism can help the development of Mayan culture
They do not work in tourism
Tourism has improved their opinions of Mayan culture
46
Group One, the “Tourism Connected/Mayan Supportive” group, has had a
significant amount of exposure to tourism. The most influential factor that characterizes
this group is that their family benefits from tourism. They also tend to work in tourism,
their family works in tourism, and they have participated in Mayan –themed tourism
events. Furthermore, this exposure to tourism has improved their opinions of Mayan
culture and they would like to see more tourism activities with Mayan culture. Finally,
the majority of respondents in this group are Mayan and they live close to tourism
centers.
The characteristics of Group Two, the “Low Mayan Support/Low Tourism
Connection” group, are significantly less positive about Mayan culture and tourism
development. They do not think that tourism can help improve people’s opinions of
Mayan culture. They do not want to see more tourism development. They do not think
that Mayan culture is important to Guatemalans or foreigners, and they have not had that
much exposure to tourism themselves. Also, it is important to note that the majority of
respondents in this category are Ladino.
Group Three, the “Mayan Supportive/Low Tourism Connection” group, also has
positive valuations of tourism. Interestingly, in this group, ethnicity is not a significant
factor. They have not had a lot of exposure to tourism nor do they think that their family
has received direct benefits from tourism. But, the most significant factor that defines
this group is that they think that tourism can help improve Guatemalans opinions of
Mayan culture.
The results of this cluster analysis demonstrate many interesting and complex
relationships between respondents’ work patterns, ethnicity, proximity to tourism centers,
participation in tourism events and valuations of Mayan culture. For example, the
Tourism Connected/Mayan Supportive group and the Mayan Supportive/Low Tourism
Connection group both generally are very positive and supportive of Mayan –themed
tourism. However, the characteristics of the respondents in these groups differ in
47
predominant ethnic characteristics, work relations to tourism, and whether or not they
believe their family has benefited from tourism. What is remarkable about these groups,
which represent 65% of the respondents in this survey, is that despite these differences
both groups are highly supportive of Mayan-themed tourism.
This cluster analysis also identifies similarities between the Low Mayan
Support/Low Tourism Connection group and the Mayan Supportive/Low Tourism
Connection group. Both groups report that they do not work in tourism, nor do they
believe that they receive benefits from tourism. Despite these similarities, one group is
supportive of Mayan-themed tourism while the other is not. The only other remarkable
difference between these two groups is that the Low Mayan Support/Low Tourism
Connection group is predominantly Ladino, while the Mayan Supportive/Low Tourism
Connection group has no predominant ethnicity associated to their group. Again,
ethnicity is a significant factor that differentiates Quetzalteco’s valuations of Mayan tourism but it is only one of a complex relationship of factors that begins to explain the
connection between Quetzaltecos and tourism.
Many conclusions can be drawn from the survey’s results. One of the most
obvious is that Quetzaltecos have positive opinions about tourism. Also, many
Quetzaltecos believe that they receive direct benefits from tourism and the vast majority
of Quetzaltecos would like to see more tourism development. Additionally, the majority
of Quetzaltecos report a high personal and national value of Mayan culture, and most
respondents indicate that they think that tourism helps to improve Guatemalans’
valuation of Mayan culture. Finally, in the majority of cases those who have had greater
exposure to tourism have reported even more positive opinions about tourism and Mayan
culture in general.
Survey cross-tabulation and cluster analysis has also proven that particular
portions of the population differ significantly on Mayan cultural and tourism issues. The
closer the respondents are to tourism centers, the more positive they tend to be about
48
Mayan-themed tourism. How the ethnic background of Quetzaltecos influences their
view of Mayan culture and tourism is less clear. In general Quetzaltenango’s Maya are
positive about tourism. This is true for Ladinos to a lesser extent.
The cluster analysis further supports these general trends. It also demonstrates
that Quetzalteco’s valuation of tourism cannot be measured by the ethnicity of the
respondent, alone. The position of tourism, and its affects on Quetzalteco society, is
significantly more complicated. Rather, a combination of work patterns, proximity to
tourism centers and the respondent’s ethnic characteristics help to define the respondents’
orientation toward Mayan culture and tourism.
Quetzalteco Reactions to Specific Tourism Events
The survey statistics are compelling and point to a general increased valuation of
Mayan culture through tourism. Yet, they lack a specificity based in actual tourism
events and scenarios. To remedy this, I created a video focus group project which
brought video clips of six events, chosen for their specific themes, to a wide spectrum of
groups in Quetzaltenango. One factor in choosing these groups was, of course,
willingness and availability to participate in this project. However, I did offer each group
a donation for their organization based upon the participation of each respondent. With
help from kind friends, I recruited nine enthusiastic groups.
The survey results isolate the ethnicity of the respondents as a factor that
contributes to the power of tourism to alter ethnic identities and advance the cause of
indigenous movements. However, the results also suggest the role that the ethnicity of
the respondents plays needs further clarification. In Quetzaltenango, tourism events are
predominantly viewed by Mayas, Ladinos, and foreigners. Therefore, to help clarify the
role of ethnicity, I organized groups that reflect these characteristics.
Each of these groups was shown five minute video clips of six different tourism
events. These events were chosen for their ability to encapsulate particular issues in
49
Quetzaltenango tourism activities. The first theme was Mayan religion. Through
informal conversations and formal interviews, I had found that Mayan religion is a
particularly controversial issue with some groups of Quetzaltecos. I had also found that
tourists in Quetzaltenango have an interest in attending and learning about Mayan
religious practices. Therefore, I filmed and edited a five minute video clip of a Mayan
religious ceremony performed for foreign tourists, mostly missionaries, at ILM (the
Mayan-founded and run Spanish language school). In this video, a Mayan priest with his
wife as an assistant build a fire and burn multi-colored candles, sugar, rum, pine cones,
and other objects to communicate with and give thanks to Mayan ancestors.
The second video clip is five minutes of a Mayan beauty pageant called Umial
Tinimit. The video clip depicts the crowning ceremony which was presented in
Quetzaltenango’s newly remodeled Municipal Theatre. I chose this event because it
featured wide Mayan community attendance and corporate support. It also possessed a
particularly staged and polished quality. In interviews and informal conversations with
Mayas, Ladinos, and foreign tourists, I have found that the commercialization of Mayan
culture tends to be a source of controversy. The combination of Mayan community and
corporate support in this beauty pageant encapsulated the tensions that arise through the
attempts to both commercialize and define Mayan culture in staged events.
The third video clip follows a similar pattern in that it is a video of a Ladina
beauty pageant held in the Municipal Theatre. I chose this event because it deals directly
with the issue of Ladino participation in Mayan-themed tourism events. In this event,
Ladina beauty contestants start the Senorita Quetzaltenango beauty contest with a Mayan
folkloric dance. As the contest begins, a Mayan dance troupe is joined on stage by the
Ladina beauty contestants, dressed in the “traditional” indigenous clothing of the region
they represent. Eventually the Mayan dance troupe exits the stage leaving the Ladinas to
finish the dance.
50
The next clip is a five minute video of Xocomil. This is a water park that is
popular with Guatemalan tourists with an ancient Mayan theme. In the first scenes, I
showed the central concession area, which is a replica of Tikal’s Jaguar Temple. I also
included views of the park’s replica Mayan ruins, ball courts, temples, and artifacts. I
chose Xocomil as a representation of a highly commercialized version of Mayan culture.
Then, building on the ancient Maya theme replicated at Xocomil, the fifth video
clip is a five minute tour of the original structures in Tikal. Tikal is the world renowned
“jewel” of Guatemala’s Mayan ruins and my video displays the most famous temples and
sites. It is also one of the most popular tourist sites in all of Guatemala and represents
“classic” Mayan culture.
Finally, the sixth clip is of weaving activities at TelaMaya. This video starts with
a Mayan woman and an American woman weaving. The video then captures a wide
range of “traditional” weaving products such as huipiles5 and blankets, as well as several
newly designed products such as backpacks and hackysacks6. I chose this clip to tackle
the issue of foreign participation in Mayan-themed tourism events as well as to explore
respondents’ opinions on the development of new Mayan-themed souvenirs.
The goal of this video project was to provide specific examples of Quetzaltenango
tourism events which were chosen to ascertain respondents’ opinions on a number of key
issues. The first issue dealt with definitions of Mayan culture. I asked respondents if the
activities were, or were not, examples of Mayan culture. Next I explored respondents’
opinions on the ability of non-Mayans to participate in Mayan events. I asked whether
the participation of non-Mayans in tourism events made the events any less Mayan.
5 Huipiles are hand-woven and colorful blouses that are traditionally worn by Mayan
women.
6 A hackysac is a small woven bag with beads inside. It is used in a game where
participants attempt to keep the hackysac in the air by using their feet or other parts of the body.
In Quetzaltenango hackysacs are used almost exclusively by younger foreign tourists.
51
Then, I dealt with themes of economic gain versus ethnic preservation and/or promotion.
In each case, I asked the respondents if they thought the activities helped preserve or even
helped develop Mayan culture, or were done solely as a means to make money. Finally, I
asked the groups of respondents if and why, or why not, the particular activities increased
both Guatemalan and their personal valuation of Mayan culture.
A Sample of Ladino Reactions to Mayan-Themed Tourism
There were four groups of Ladinos who participated in this project with the
following characteristics:
Table 7
Characteristics of Ladino Focus Groups
Group Affiliation
Number of
Participants
Ethnicity
Ages
Genders
Evangelical Teachers
5
Ladina
Early 20's
Female
Evangelical Church Leaders
5
Ladino
1 midsixties
4 Male
3 midforties
1 Female
1 teenager
Catholic Church Leaders
5
Ladino
Late 40's
to Early
50's
4 Male
1 Female
Sayaché Language School
Teachers in Training
11
Ladino
9 midtwenties
2 Males
2 midforties
9 Females
52
Among these four groups of Ladinos there were some common patterns to their
responses. All agreed that there were some people who organized Mayan based tourism
activities just for the money. For example, the Evangelical leaders stated that the
crowning ceremony in the Umial Tinimit, the Mayan beauty contest, is held solely for the
political and financial interests of the people and corporations that finance the event. In
fact, they stated that the ceremony only creates rivalries and competitions between Mayas
and described the ceremony as “ugly.” The Catholic leaders similarly described the
Mayan ceremony at ILM as a staged event to make money off of tourists. In their view, a
real Mayan priest would not charge money for his services. Similarly, the teachers in
training at Sayaché agreed that tourism often exploits Mayan culture for financial gain.
One young man from the Catholic Church Leaders group said that Tikal is important to
Guatemalans’ identity, but that it is used by the government to attract international tourist
dollars to fill their own pockets.
These Ladino groups also agreed that some Guatemalans organize Mayan-themed
tourism events for the genuine preservation and development of Mayan culture. For
example, the Evangelical teachers said that the weaving classes in TelaMaya provide a
good source of income for rural Mayan women and help preserve and promote Mayan
culture through the continuation of weaving traditions. They also agreed that the
promotion of tourism can help change Ladinos’ negative views of Mayan culture. For
example, the Evangelical group stated that groups like TelaMaya have helped to increase
North American interest in Mayan textiles and thus has supported and promoted the
continuation of Mayan culture. As a result of North American interest in Mayan
weavings, these Evangelicals have also become more interested in weavings themselves.
Finally, the Ladino groups, together, expressed two general opinions which set
them apart from the other groups. They agreed that Ladino participation in Mayanthemed activities should be limited. For example, the Evangelical teachers said that the
“traditional dance” in the Senorita Quetzaltenango contest, the Ladina beauty pageant,
53
was not an example of Mayan culture simply because Ladinas did not really know
enough about Mayan culture to make it meaningful. According to the teachers, the
clothes that the Ladinas wore were Maya, but the Ladinas, themselves, were just going
through the motions and really knew nothing substantial about Mayan culture.
Furthermore, the Ladino groups had a restricted vision of what they thought qualified as
Mayan culture. In general, their view of Mayan culture was static. They rejected the
ability of Mayan culture to change over time. For example, the teachers in training at
Sayaché thought that some of the products at TelaMaya were “more Mayan than others.”
They agreed that some of the huiplies were Mayan, but they said that the backpacks and
hackysacks were new products that were just developed to sell to tourists. Therefore,
they really were not Mayan.
General patterns suggest that these Ladino groups agree that the ability for Mayas
to reap economic gains from Mayan-themed tourism events is a positive development.
For example, these groups are supportive of Mayan efforts to sell what they consider to
be “traditional” Mayan weavings. The ability to financially benefit from Mayan culture
does not necessarily make the events less Mayan. However, these Ladino groups are
highly critical of Ladino attempts to make money from Mayan-themed tourism events.
Their comments imply that these situations demonstrate an exploitation of Mayan culture.
What does make events less Mayan, according to these groups, is when tourism crosses
the line of what they believe constitutes traditional Mayan culture. For example,
televised and corporate-sponsored beauty pageants and hackysacks represent a corruption
of what they believe is traditional Mayan culture. Therefore, these forms of tourism are
not really Mayan.
Certainly, within these groups there were also some differences of opinion. The
Ladina Evangelical school teachers had a genuine interest in learning more about Mayan
culture so they could teach it to their students. They thought that the presentation of
Mayan culture in tourism events was “important for the preservation of Guatemalan
54
patrimony.” For example, they did not support the continuation of Mayan religious
ceremonies as a spiritual experience. However, as a “cultural experience” they thought
that it would be important for their students to be exposed to Mayan ceremonies like
those at ILM because “it is a part of Guatemalan culture.” They also thought that
misusing Mayan culture for financial gain was a travesty. For example, they thought that
Xocomil misused Mayan culture in designing the park around replicas of classic Mayan
structures in order to attract foreign tourists as well as locals. Ultimately, the Ladinos
thought that Mayas would be offended that replicas of their classic temples where being
used in such a “disrespectful” manner.
The Evangelical leaders fostered some particularly critical views of the promotion
and presentation of Mayan religious ceremonies in tourism events and in general society.
They did not want to see any more Mayan ceremonies. They said that Mayan religious
ceremonies, such as the ceremony at ILM, are used to do harm, as well as good, and that
the harm that could be done was contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. They said that
Jesus knows the only truth and that Mayan religion was something of the past that needs
to be left behind so that Guatemala, as a nation, can move forward. On the other hand,
they loved Mayan textiles and Tikal and thought that the preservation of these types of
Mayan tourism activities was important to support Guatemala’s ethnic heritage.
The group of Ladino Catholic leaders was generally more accepting of Mayan
religious ceremonies in tourism events as well as in larger society. They said that the
Catholic Church encourages Mayan ceremonies outside their churches as a means to
attract more Mayans to enter the Catholic Church. In general they wanted to see more
Mayan ethnic development through tourism events. For example, in contrast to
Evangelical leaders, the Catholic leaders were in favor of the promotion of Mayan
ceremonies like those at ILM. They did not necessarily agree with the religious
messages, but they thought that school children should be exposed to these types of
ceremonies so that they would know more about Guatemalan history and heritage.
55
Finally, the teachers in training from Sayaché seemed to have little experience
with Mayan-themed activities. Most respondents had never seen a Mayan religious
ceremony or knew much about Mayan weavings. All of the teachers were enthusiastic
about the prospect of one day going to Tikal, since none of them had ever been there.
However, even with this lack of exposure to Mayan culture, they were restrictive about
what they believed Mayan culture to be. For example, the vast majority of these
respondents had enjoyed Xocomil numerous times but all agreed that Xocomil was only
decorated with Mayan themes to get people through the gates and to make money. In
fact, some thought that it was a sacrilege to see volleyball players in bikinis playing in a
Mayan ball court. The teachers in training also said that if a Ladino or foreigner wove an
object at an organization like TelaMaya, then that object was not Mayan because it did
not come from Mayan hands.
A Sample of Mayan Reactions to Mayan-Themed Tourism
There were three groups of Mayas who participated in this video project with the
following characteristics:
56
Table 8
Characteristics of Maya Focus Groups
Group Affiliation
Number of
Participants
Ethnicity
Ages
Genders
Teachers at ILM
3
Maya
1 mid-twenties
Male
2 mid-forties
President of La Liga Maya*
1
Maya
1mid-fifties
Male
Mam Mayas from San Martin
Sacatepequez
6
Maya
2 mid-fifties
2 Male
2 mid-forties
4 Female
1mid-thirties
1 teenager
* La Liga Maya, or The Mayan League, is a Mayan run NGO based in Quetzaltenango with the
goals of improving Mayan educational opportunities, living conditions, and conceptualizations of
Mayan identity.
Of these three groups, there were, once again, some general patterns in their
responses. All agreed that there are some people who organize Mayan-themed tourism
activities only for the money. Both The Mayan League and ILM were critical of the
INGUAT-sponsored, National Folkloric Ballet. The President of The Mayan League said
that the ballet troupe entirely consists of Ladinos who go abroad to represent Mayas and
make a lot of money for themselves, rather than for the larger Mayan communities. He
summed the ballet up as “a corruption of the sentiment of the dance.” ILM also said that
the ballet was all Ladino and that, although it is beautiful, Mayas do not receive any
benefit from it. In this respect, Mayas seem to agree with the Ladino groups. Both imply
that when Ladinos exclusively profit from Mayan-themed tourism, this constitutes a form
of exploitation.
However, all three Mayan groups agreed that if at least a portion of tourism
profits are shared with Mayas, then these events can genuinely support the preservation
and development of Mayan culture. For example, the San Martin Mam group said that
57
they wished there were more events like the Umial Tinimit beauty contest. They said that
in the countryside, they participate in activities like this and that each year, they become
larger events. However, they said that, “in the city, they are losing their traditions” and
that an increased promotion of such events would make more money for Mayas and help
to support the continuation of their traditions. The President of The Mayan League, on
the other hand, argued that Umial Tinimit and all the events need to be viewed,
“cosmically.” He explained that events can be viewed cosmically, “if the event has
soul…and can be felt by both the tourists and presenters internally.” He said that tourism
events can express a “common humanism, unity, and commonality” if there is a spiritual
exchange between the presenters and the tourists, not monetary. In this case, the events
can certainly help with the preservation and development of Mayan culture.
These groups of Mayas set themselves apart from the Ladino groups in that all
had a more fluid concept of Mayan culture and were more willing to allow for change
and development over time. For example, when the San Martin Mam group commented
on the weavings at TelaMaya, they said that all of the weavings, both the huipiles and the
backpacks, were examples of Mayan culture. The women weavers said that even when
they change colors to attract tourists and develop new products, “all is Maya.” They said
that there are many Mayan models and designs and that the designs have always changed
over the years. These same women were also proud that newly constructed temples at
Xocomil were based on Mayan themes. They said that it represents the importance of
Mayan culture to the rest of Guatemala.
Finally, these Mayan groups agreed that tourism can help Ladinos value Mayan
culture and they would like to see more Ladinos participate in Mayan-themed tourism
events. For example, the President of The Mayan League said that it was fine for
Ladinos to perform “Mayan” dances in the Senorita Quetzaltenango contest. He said
that, “not only Mayas can express themselves because it is not only Mayas that live here.
Some Ladinos have a more profound cosmic understanding than some Mayas in that they
58
understand the deeper meanings and nature of the event.” The San Martin Mam group
was also in favor of Ladinos dancing in Senorita Quetzaltenango. They admitted that the
Ladino contestants did not do the “traditional” dance well, but they said that Ladino
participation helped to preserve the dance and that it was important for all Quetzaltecos to
see Ladinos celebrating Mayan culture.
There were a few issues in which the Mayan groups were not always in
agreement. ILM was perhaps the most critical and restrictive of what constituted Mayan
culture. Although they did agree that Ladino participation in Mayan culture could help
preserve and develop Mayan culture, they were especially critical of how colonial
domination had broken their link with the past. For example, they thought that
colonialism broke Mayan connection with Tikal. They said that, “now people do not feel
the importance of Tikal because they do not have the same relationship with the culture.
They now have a terrible mix.” Furthermore, they did not think that Umial Tinimit or
Senorita Quetzaltenango were representations of Maya culture because they had been
influenced by colonial models of beauty pageants. ILM was also critical of Ladinos
using Mayas only when it serves their purpose – such as to make money from tourists.
They said that tourism activities like Tikal, Umial Tinimit, and Senorita Quetzaltenango
do not financially benefit Mayan communities. They said that these tourism events are
just ways for Ladinos and the government to make money from Mayas.
The President of The Mayan League, on the other hand, focused upon the
importance of the spirit of the event. The president repeatedly told me that one needs to
know who is conducting the event and why to understand how they relate to the
presentation. He thought that if presentations of Mayan culture create unity and a deeper
human and spiritual understanding, then it is valuable. However, if they not do this, then
they are just a presentation to make money. He was also critical of hierarchical
relationships in tourism which were established through colonialism and still continue
59
today. For example, he thought that Xocomil was just another example of rich Ladinos
trying to make money from Mayan culture.
Finally, the San Martin Mam group was the most open and least critical of the
three Mayan groups. They were only disappointed in the Mayan religious ceremony
from ILM because it was not done with all the right instruments and in the right place.
Otherwise, they felt that the Ladino and foreign participation in Mayan ethnic activities
would help to preserve and develop Mayan culture for future generations of
Guatemaltecos.
A Sample of Mixed Mayan and Ladino Reactions to
Mayan-Themed Tourism
One mixed group of Mayas and Ladinos participated in this video project with the
following characteristics:
Table 9
Characteristics of Maya and Ladino Mixed Group
Group Affiliation
Number of
Participants
Ethnicity
Ages
Genders
Business Students from San Carlos
University
5
2 Ladina
2 late thirties
2 Male
3 Maya
3 late twenties
3
Female
Many of the responses and opinions of this group match those of the Ladino and
Mayan groups. They all agreed that there are some people who present Mayan culture in
tourism events simply for the money, such as the national government. For example,
they also brought up the INGUAT National Folkloric Ballet as an example of Ladinos
60
misusing Mayan culture for their own benefit. They were also critical of the Guatemalan
government’s interests in Tikal. They said that, “the government is not interested in
investing in the people. They have their own interests and take all the money.”
However, they did agree that some groups who are involved in tourism are
genuinely invested in the organization of Mayan ethnic activities for the preservation and
development of the culture. For example, they said that the continuation of Mayan
religious ceremonies like the one at ILM was important because these types of
ceremonies are what people around the world use to identify Guatemala. They also said
that as a result of the proliferation of these types of ceremonies, they have seen
Guatemalan youth taking more interest in their Mayan heritage.
They agreed that tourism can help Ladinos value Mayan culture and they thought
that it was particularly important for Ladinos to participate in Mayan ethnic activities to
help bring unity to the country. For example, when they were discussing Senorita
Quetzaltenango, they said that, “it is important for Ladinos to participate to learn more
about Guatemalan culture.” They said that as a result of increased Ladino participation in
Mayan-themed tourism activities, they have also seen more Ladinos taking Mayan
languages in the university and they thought that this increased ability to communicate
was breaking down barriers between Mayan and Ladino groups.
Furthermore, like the Mayan groups, they were not restrictive of the ability of
Mayan culture to change and develop over time. For example, they thought that Xocomil
was a representation of Mayan culture. They were not concerned that the temples were
replicas from Tikal. They thought that it made the park look beautiful and that it was
important for Guatemala to have more representation of Mayan culture in public spaces.
Furthermore, they thought that all of TelaMaya’s products were Mayan because they
argued that the activity of weaving, rather than simply the final product, helps to preserve
and develop Mayan culture.
61
A Sample of Foreign Tourist Reactions to Mayan-Themed
Tourism
The final group that participated in this project consisted of foreigners with the
following characteristics:
Table 10
Characteristics of Foreign Group
Group Affiliation
Number of
Participants
Ethnicity
Ages
Genders
Language School Students
at Sayaché
5
North Americans
of predominately
European
heritage
3 midtwenties
2 Male
1 mid-thirties
3 Female
1 mid-fifties
There were a number of similarities with the previous groups in their responses
these foreign tourists. All agreed that there are individuals who organize Mayan-themed
activities only for the money. For example, one of the female students had a strong
reaction against Xocomil. She thought that the Mayan-themed surroundings were a
“token sign at best” of Mayan culture because they were too commercial and probably
only enriched a few Ladinos. However, on this subject, as with some others, there was a
split opinion. One of the male students stated that he would rather see the water park
feature a Mayan-theme rather than Mickey Mouse. In fact, he thought that the gesture
was a sort of sign of respect for the importance of Mayan culture in Guatemala.
All of these foreign tourists did agree that some tourism events do, in fact, help to
preserve and develop Mayan culture. They all agreed that the weaving classes and
62
weaving products of TelaMaya were important for the preservation of Mayan culture.
They said TelaMaya introduces these activities and products to a wider audience and
helps to support the continuation of traditional Mayan practices. However, once again
there was a split opinion as to whether or not weaving activities, in particular, help to
develop Mayan culture. Some thought that since the activity was done mostly to attract
tourists, weaving classes and products only helped to preserve the culture, and did not
represent a mode to further develop Mayan cultural traditions. Others felt that since
Mayan women are teaching others and developing new products that TelaMaya was
developing Mayan culture through new sources of financial support and new weaving
techniques and products.
However, they all agreed that Ladinos can participate in Mayan culture and that it
is important to teach Mayan culture to others to help it survive and grow. For example,
although they criticized Senorita Quetzaltenango for not being as Mayan as Umial
Tinimit because it was done by Ladinas, they did say that Ladino participation in Mayanthemed activities was a move in the right direction. One of the women said that, “if you
want to preserve and develop a culture you have to teach people about it.” They
generally agreed that tourism was helping teach both foreign tourists and Ladinos about
Mayan culture and this was helping to breakdown traditional social stereotypes.
Comparing the responses of these nine groups produces interesting conclusions.
Whether or not a particular activity is an example of Mayan culture elicits a range of
responses. The Mayan, mixed Ladino and Mayan, and foreign tourist groups all had a
more inclusive and open vision of Mayan culture than the Ladino groups. Certainly,
there were slight differences of opinion, but these groups seemed to be willing to allow a
wider range of tourist activities to qualify as examples of Mayan culture. Ladinos, on the
other hand, had a more restrictive and static view of Mayan culture, whereas the Mayan
groups were generally much more inclusive and open to change over time.
63
All groups agreed that tourism activities helped in the preservation and
development of Mayan culture. This finding supports the survey results and is significant
in that it corroborates a general high level of support for tourism in Quetzaltenango. Yet,
the ways that the groups differ is just as significant. The Ladino groups had a restrictive
definition of what constituted traditional Mayan culture and who could participate in
Mayan culture. Essentially, they considered Mayan cultural practices to be anything that
involved Mayas, exclusively, and continued what they considered to be practices from
the pre-Colonial period. Any tourism product or event that fell short of this standard
constituted a money making scheme. The Mayan groups, on the other hand, were
significantly more inclusive of a wide range of participants and more contemporary
tourism events. The mixed Mayan and Ladino group seemed to support these sentiments
as well. However, within the foreign tourist group, there was a marked lack of
consensus. Some foreigners thought that tourism events, which displayed postcolonization characteristics such as Xocomil, represented a “bastardization” of Mayan
culture.
Conclusions
The goal of this chapter was to answer one basic and important question: Does
tourism promotion influence Quetzaltecos’ views on Mayan culture? This question
constitutes a common theme within the tourism literature. For example, Crystal (1989)
and Adams (1990a) demonstrate that the sacred funeral ceremonies of the Toraja have
been increasingly directed to meet the needs of tourists. This has provoked community
resentment of what locals see as the exploitation of their ethnic identity in the name of
tourism profit. On the other hand, Zorn (2004) has demonstrated that the tourism
industry, and the economic opportunities that tourism has created, has inspired a
renaissance in Taquile weaving practices, which has increased a sense of local ethnic
pride.
64
In this chapter I continue the exploration of this basic and important question and
find that Quetzaltecos generally have a positive reaction to tourism promotion.
Furthermore, they state that tourism promotion has helped improve their valuation of
Mayan culture. This, alone, is a significant finding. It suggests that in some way or other
tourism activities in Quetzaltenango have challenged long held stereotypes of Mayas.
However, this is only one small portion of the story. I also argue that tourism is
dynamically altering ethnic identities and economic relationships in Quetzaltenango as
well as furthering the causes of indigenous movements. How and why tourism is able to
produce this effect in Quetzaltenango is an important, and much more complicated,
question that begs answering. In the next chapter I examine the history of internal
organizational alliances, capital accumulation, and the foundation of social development
programs within the context of Guatemala’s Civil War. I will also begin to analyze how
internal organizational goals, conflicts, and actions are used to obtain and maintain the
power to realize organizational goals and to affect change on larger structures within
Quetzalteco society.
65
CHAPTER TWO
INTERNAL RELATIONS: QUETZALTECO TOURISM
ORGANIZATIONS, PRO-MAYAN POLITICS, ALLEGATIONS OF
CORRUPTION, AND POWER
As the survey and focus groups demonstrates, the cultural stakes of tourism are
high for Mayas and non-Mayas, alike. Mayas, in particular, see tourism as a rich ground
for both promoting Maya culture and constructively involving Ladinos and foreigners in
Mayan community development projects and Mayan cultural activities. Nonetheless, if
the promise is there, its fulfillment is nowhere near certain. As a reaction to the region’s
history during the Civil War and violence against Mayas, the vast majority of
Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations promote pro-Mayan political agendas. Yet, in
some cases, this pro-Mayan stance is in name only, or it may not be the primary goal of
the organization. In other cases, organizations may actively promote pro-Maya political
agendas, but they may not have the access to sources of power that will allow them to
achieve their goals.
In the next two chapters, I examine the ways tourism operators ally with proMayan political activists, struggle to control capital, and seek authority to direct tourism
development. The efforts made in these areas shape internal and external alliances in
Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. They are central to how power is attained,
maintained or lost and organizational goals are achieved. Ultimately, if and how specific
organizations are successful in this ever-changing system, influences the extent to which
they attain their goals, challenge long held stereotypes of Mayas, and provide new
economic resources for local Mayan communities.
The purpose of this chapter is twofold: to describe the foundation and the
historical development of seven tourism organizations. The foundation of the
66
Quetzaltenango tourism industry is largely framed by alliances based on political
activism that reflect the increase in national and international interest in civil society and
the growth of world, and Guatemalan, indigenous movements. In this chapter I first
examine the foundation of each of the seven tourism organizations, in which I
differentiate the founders’ goals and organizational characteristics. I then establish the
relationship between their goals with those of civil society and Guatemalan indigenous
movements. Ultimately, I will demonstrate how many of Quetzaltenango’s tourism
organizations were founded specifically to challenge Mayan subordination as a part of
civil society and indigenous movements.
In Quetzaltenango, most challenges to existing leadership are based on allegations
of corruption. Although most organizations’ foundation stories are not controversial,
once capital began to flow in, serious conflicts developed that challenged the stability of
established alliances. In each of the seven organizations I studied, I found internal
conflict driven by allegations of corruption. Therefore, in this chapter, I also argue that
the power to control conflict over financial resources and direct, or misdirect, allegations
of corruption determines Quetzalteco tourism organizations’ power to grow and realize
their organizational goals as well as to effect change in social and economic hierarchies.
Civil Society and Quetzaltenango Tourism
Within the past few decades, there has been renewed interest in the concept of
civil society and its use for promoting social change outside of traditional government
structures (Alvarez et al. 1998: 16; see also Cohen and Arato 1992; Walzer 1992). The
concept is a legacy of classic Greek political thought and can be translated into English as
“political association” (Colas 1997: 31-32). In the nineteenth century, when the Roman
Catholic Church spoke of civil society, it meant the state, as opposed to the church.
However, when Marx used the term, it referred to the economic base of society as
opposed to the state (Colas 1997: 29-31). Today, efforts to define the term continue to
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vary. Besides the now common references of civil society as “society against the state,”
a “voluntaristic association,” and a “bourgeois public sphere,” civil society has also been
characterized as a “democracy” that limits governmental power with public
accountability (Molutisi and Holm 1990; from Comaroff and Comaroff 1999: 2).
Throughout these contemporary uses, most definitions include the characteristics
that Arato has suggested:
It [civil society] expressed the new dualist, radical,
reformist, or revolutionary strategies of transformation of
dictatorship, observed first in Eastern Europe and later in Latin
America, for which it provided a new theoretical understanding.
These strategies were based on the autonomous organization of
society and the reconstruction of social ties outside the
authoritarian state and the conceptualization of a public separate
from every form of official, state, or party-controlled
communication (Arato 1995: 19; from Alvarez et al. 1998: 16-17).
Central to a conceptualization of civil society is the alliance of citizens with social
ties that are independent of state control. Saskia Sassen has stated that this type of social
alliance “contains its own forms of empowerment and options for citizen action” (Sassen
1999: xix). These new options for citizen action and empowerment have introduced new
kinds of relationships between the state and society. Many analysts have looked at the
role of civil society, in its relationship to the state, as an essential ingredient in both
democratization and the health of established democracies (Foley and Edwards 1996: 38).
These new relationships have created a wide array of possible public spheres for
exercising democracy and citizenship as well as for reshaping social interests (Alvarez et
al. 1998: 1-2).
This is certainly the case with some of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations.
Some Quetzaltenango tourism organizations can also be interpreted as functioning as the
“institutional embodiments” of civil society (Garland 1999). They “assist individuals and
communities to compete in markets” (Fischer 1997) and they provide welfare to
marginalized groups. The organizations have also created complex relationships and
alliances by mobilizing around the specific social needs and the values of pro-Mayan
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political activism to create change. One of the most influential social movements for
Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry has been the emergence of the Pan-Mayan movement.
Civil Society, Indigenous Movements, and Quetzalteco
Tourism
As an extension of civil society activism, in Guatemala and in other parts of the
world, indigenous movements are becoming increasingly important social, political, and
economic factors. Many Guatemalan indigenous organizations have used the publicity of
Rigoberta Menchu’s Nobel Peace Prize to draw international attention to Mayan social
issues. Furthermore, these indigenous organizations have gained new international
strength through the growth of civil society and NGOs due to “structural readjustments”
in nation-states (Langer and Munoz 2003: xiv). As the bureaucratic core of many Latin
American nation states is shrinking, many civil society organizations are beginning to
offer services and support to underprivileged populations that were once offered by the
state. This growth of world, and Guatemalan, indigenous movements has profoundly
helped to shape the development of tourism in Quetzaltenango.
Quetzil Castañeda’s book, In the Museum of Mayan Culture, demonstrates how
scholarly works on Chichén Itzá orchestrate “both knowledge of the Maya and the
production of this knowledge; it is an apparatus through which Maya culture is invented
and continually reinvented in text” (Castañeda 1996: 98). Similarly, scholarly works on
indigenous activism have significantly influenced the foundation and development of
Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. The founders of many Quetzalteco tourism
organizations have used text on Mayan indigenous activism to invent and reinvent
conceptualizations of Mayan culture. The marketing of pro-Mayan political activism has
helped recruit economic and volunteer support from international tourists. In some cases,
this support has helped advanced the agendas of pro-Mayan politics.
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The influence of indigenous movements can easily be seen in many of the
characteristics of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations. For example, the Pan-Mayan
movement developed as a reaction to La Violencia and the Civil War (Grandin 2000;
Warren 1998). At the same time, tourism also developed. Certainly, it is easier to
develop a national tourism industry when a country is no longer in a violent Civil War,
but parallels between Pan-Mayan activism and most Quetzalteco tourism organizations
do not end with their chronological synchronicity. In most circumstances, pro-Mayan
political agendas form the unifying basis for the alliances that led to the foundation of
tourism in Quetzaltenango.
Kay Warren states that the goal of Pan-Mayan activism in Guatemala is,
…to incorporate new generations of Maya professionals,
elementary school teachers, councils of elders, and working adults
into their discursive community. The decision to stress “cultural”
issues—language, education, religion, community leadership, and
ecologically sensitive “development” strategies—reflects the PanMayan analysis of cultural difference, Guatemalan racism, and
state violence…Beyond their successes with Maya schools and
centers for research and cultural programming, Pan-Mayanism has
had a wider, though much more difficult to measure, effect on
Guatemalan society…Pan-Mayanism has promulgated new
languages of personalize identity politics, understand inequality,
and organize across communities (Warren 1998).
These goals of Pan-Mayan activism mirror the goals of the vast majority of
Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations. Many tourism organizations described in this
dissertation were founded specifically to incorporate new generations of Maya
professionals into a “discursive community,” stressing the importance of same “’cultural’
issues” described by Warren above. These organizations even assert a strong
commitment to the development and support of pro-Mayan political activism, to bring a
higher profile to Mayan identity issues as well as help to rebuild Mayan communities
after the thirty-six year Civil War. Furthermore, as illustrated in my survey of
Quetzaltecos, tourism organizations have been successfully produced measurable effects
on Guatemalan society. The promotion of tourism in Quetzaltenango has improved
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Quetzaltecos’ opinions of Mayan culture. To understand how these organizations
influence societal views, I will first analyze the specific goals of each organization.
Then, I will examine the major factors that influence these organizations’ abilities to meet
its goals.
The Foundation of Tourism in Quetzaltenango
Contemporary forms of tourism in Quetzaltenango began in the late 1970’s in the
midst of Guatemala’s Civil War. During this period, groups of Quetzaltecos began to
emulate the successes of Spanish language schools in more established tourist
destinations such as the Guatemalan towns of Antigua and Panajachel. These Spanish
language schools allowed university-trained Quetzaltecos to apply their academic
credentials to an educational career that often proved more lucrative than their traditional
employment options.
According to Pablo, one of the original Spanish language school teachers in
Quetzaltenango, there were three main Spanish language schools in Quetzaltenango
operating between 1977 and 1982. In these years, business was good, increasing
numbers of tourists were visiting the area, and the schools continued to grow. Then “La
Violencia” started. In 1982, the most violent period of the Civil War broke out and
language school students and tourists, in general, stopped visiting Quetzaltenango. Pablo
said that most of the original students who came to Quetzaltenango for language training
were sent by North American universities and he had heard that during La Violencia
North American universities stopped sending students to the area because they were
afraid for their safety. Pablo also said that some universities warned their students not to
go to Quetzaltenango on their own, because their money would only benefit the corrupt
Guatemalan regime. This drastic reduction in students was disastrous to the language
school industry of the area. Although some teachers were able to organize private
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lessons with the few tourists who came to Quetzaltenango, most of the language schools
closed.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when most of the violence in the region had
dissipated, the language school industry was reinvigorated in Quetzaltenango. Both new
and old schools opened their doors to the return of tourists in the region. Pablo said that
these schools were slightly different from their late 1970s and early 1980s predecessors.
As a result of La Violencia, and as an extension of the organization of civil society and
indigenous movements, the new Spanish schools had a much more pro-Mayan sociopolitical stance. Many of the schools that were founded or re-opened in the post-La
Violencia era used their schools to educate foreigners about the recent violence against
Mayas as well as the Spanish language. Furthermore, many of the schools created social
development programs as a way to help heal Mayan communities in the countryside.
Today, Spanish language schools are the most popular foreign tourist attraction in
Quetzaltenango. Currently there are over forty Spanish language schools in the city. As
a result of La Violencia, it is almost impossible to find a language school that does not
promote, at least in theory, some sort of pro-Mayan social development project. Most of
these projects are geared toward rural development and many concentrate specifically on
Mayan communities, since they were some of the most devastated areas during the Civil
War.
The language schools have found that tourists are particularly interested in
Mayan-based political activism. This has become a great marketing tool to attract
students. For example, the vast majority of Spanish language schools have Mayan-based
names, whether or not there are any Mayas working there. To attract further tourist
interest, most of the schools offer a wide range of cultural activities with Mayan themes.
These activities often present foreign tourists their first opportunity to encounter “Mayan
culture,” as well as the lens by which they interpret these encounters later in their trip.
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Despite the almost uniform focus on social development projects and Mayan
culture, Quetzaltenango’s Spanish language schools have a wide range of goals and
characteristics. Several schools are nonprofit, while others are not. Several schools
actually have Mayas on their staff, while many do not. Several schools directly support
the development projects they advertise relationships with, while others do not. In order
to understand how contemporary language schools use the concept of civil society and
pro-Mayan political activism, it is important to understand why a particular school was
founded, what their goals are, how they manage and manipulate their particular
characteristics to try and reach their goals, and how they have developed and changed
over the years.
The Founding of Three Language Schools
Instituto Linguistico Maya
Instituto Linguistico Maya (ILM) was founded in 1992. As with many of the
language schools in Quetzaltenango, the idea to start a new school was born at Casa
K’iche’ – a for-profit school and one of the first and largest schools in Quetzaltenango.
According to the three remaining ILM founders, an American named Gus, who was a
former student of Casa K’iche’, was in charge of the marketing for Casa K’iche’. He
soon became tired of their business practices. Gus found that many Casa K’iche’
students often complained about the schools’ exploitation of their teachers, which turned
out to be true. The teachers, themselves, acknowledged that they were not treated or paid
well. Gus then decided to convince some of the indigenous teachers to start their own
school and promised to help them with the promotion. The first teacher he spoke with
was Germaine, Gus’s former language teacher and longtime friend.
Originally, Germaine was not enthusiastic about the idea. Since the end of the
1980s, violence in Guatemala had died down and in the early 1990s, language schools in
Quetzaltenango began to open in large numbers. Germaine could not imagine opening
73
one more language school like all of the others. However, through further conversations
about the idea, Gus convinced Germaine that he had the connections to start an original
school – a school with all Mayan instructors.
Germaine easily convinced more teachers to leave Casa K’iche’. In weekly
meetings about their new school, the group decided it should be a cooperative of all
indigenous language teachers – six men and six women – with equality between each
member of the alliance. They also decided that in order to qualify as a teacher, members
would have to have at least three years of college educational experience.
This plan presented a problem for the group. They had six indigenous men in the
group who qualified, but there was only one indigenous woman in Casa K’iche’. At this
point in time, relatively soon after the most violent period of the Civil War, there were
few Mayan women in the university and the group had problems finding qualified
members. Thus, they had to bend the rules a bit and they recruited women who had
Mayan ancestry (close relations), but who did not necessarily self-identify as Maya.
In 1993, the Instituto Linguistico Maya (ILM) was then founded by twelve
original members.7 They chose this name because they did not want the school to be just
a Spanish school. They decided that they would take advantage of their Mayan heritage
and offer to teach Mayan languages as well. They also wanted people to think of the
organization as something more then just a school; it was an institute, or center, where
people could come to exchange ideas and learn about a more diverse range of subjects.
They wanted to have lectures about how Mayan spirituality, weaving techniques, Mayan
medicinal practices, and local history, related to themes in Pan-Mayan activism.
7 “Instituto Linguistico Maya” is not the actual name of the school. I have changed that
name to protect the anonymity of the organization and its members. However, the name Instituto
Linguistico Maya is very close to the organization’s actual name and ILM expresses the same
values that influenced that actual naming of the organization.
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Furthermore, the founding members of ILM decided that their vision of the school
would encompass two principles: 1) the first would be the aforementioned school for
intellectual exchange and instruction and 2) the second component of the school would
be that they would use profits from the school to benefit Mayan communities through
social development programs. Thus, in 1995 ILM started a university scholarship
program for Mayan women. “The University Scholarship for Indigenous Women”
program was created to use language student fees to support Mayan women in
universities through a full tuition scholarship. It would cover all educational expenses as
well as room and board in Quetzaltenango.
Sayaché
Sayaché was also started by former teachers of Casa K’iche,’ who trained
together in Casa K’iche’s grammar class during the latter half of 1991. The mixed group
of Maya and Ladino language teachers became good friends with a group of students
from California and some of the students began to pressure their teachers to start their
own school. The teachers were receptive to the idea. They were unsatisfied because they
could not get full time employment at Casa K’iche’. If they were lucky enough to have a
student, they could continue with this student for as long as the student was at the school.
However, many of the students only came to study for a week or two. This meant that
the teachers would often be waiting for a number of weeks, without pay, for new students
to sign up at the school. According to Sayaché’s founders, the foreign students that they
had met were not satisfied with the structure of Casa K’iche’ either. As with many
language schools, the foreign students developed close relationships with their instructors
and they convinced the teachers that they would be better off leaving Casa K’iche’ to
start their own school.
Sayaché was also conceived as a part of the expansion of civil society. The
school was founded as a cooperative with a particular interest in challenging the
75
subordination of Mayan populations. The founders realized that a focus on indigenous
movements was popular with students as well as with foreign aid organizations. They
decided that they would use this popularity to help others in the community and to have
more control over their work schedules.
With the organizational help of the students from California, the teachers left
Casa K’iche’ after three months.8 In 1991, the teachers recruited a Californian from San
Francisco to be their first coordinator. Soon afterwards, in October of 1991, they began
the first of their community development programs by giving three scholarships to young
Mayan students from rural areas.
Later in January of 1992, they rented out a space and opened the doors of Sayaché
to Spanish language school students. The first winter and spring were hard and they were
lucky to have more than two students going at one time. The teachers were making less
then twenty dollars a month and they were not sure if they would get by. Then, in late
spring of 1992, Sayaché used local connections to get a small business loan of around
$350. This gave them the money they needed to survive until the summer of 1992, when
the school became “a great success.”
Iztapa
Iztapa was started as a language school in 1992 by a group of four Ladinos and a
Canadian. Once again, the school was founded by two language school teachers who
were working at Casa K’iche’. These two men – one an engineer and the other a social
worker – became friends with a Canadian student. This Canadian student convinced the
teachers that they should start their own language school that would take some of the
profits from teaching Spanish and invest them in rural Mayan community development.
8 I never did get a straight answer as to how many teachers left, but I know the number
was four or greater.
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The two Spanish teachers and the Canadian student recruited two female lawyers
as partners in the school and they began two organizations. The first organization was an
alliance of people who were interested in supporting community development projects.
The second association is the Spanish language school. The idea was that they would use
the money that they gained through teaching Spanish to support the first organization’s
social development projects.
The school opened its doors in June of 1992 and soon organized a cooperative of
15 teachers who all had an equal share and voice in the daily operations of the school.
They named the school Iztapa9, which in K’iche’ means “Land of the People.” One of
the owners told me that they chose this name because in Guatemala the majority of land
is owned by a small minority of people. The school’s view is that the land belongs to the
people who work it. The founders wanted the social programs of the school and the
school’s political stance to reflect this sentiment.
Quetzalteco Trekking Companies
The development of the Quetzalteco trekking industry is a direct result of the
language school phenomenon. Most trekking companies were founded in the mid to late
1990s and onward as a way to benefit from language school students’ free time. Spanish
language schools in Quetzaltenango almost always offer their students five hours of oneon-one instruction, five days a week. This instruction will usually take place from 8am to
1pm or from 2pm to 7pm – with exceptions for individual tourist’s particular needs. This
means that language school students have to fill at least half of their weekday and all of
their weekends with other activities. As a result, since the early to mid 1990s,
9 Iztapa is not the actual name of the school. However, “Land of the People” is how the
actual name of the school would be translated into English from K’iche’.
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Quetzaltenango has seen a rise in tourist-centered cafés, restaurants, and nightclubs. A
further result of this structure is the creation of the trekking company phenomenon.
Trekking companies offer a wide range of activities in the Quetzaltenango area as
well as in other tourist destinations in Guatemala. Most companies offer the option to
climb volcanoes, hike through the Western Highlands, or take tours of predominately
Mayan towns and tourist destinations. These companies are attempting to attract the
same pool of tourists as the schools. Trekking companies have also found that the
tourists seem to be interested in Mayas and community development. Therefore, to
attract tourists and/or help Mayan communities, many of the trekking companies have
Mayan-based names, offer access to a wide range of Mayan cultural activities, and
advertise their involvement in indigenous social movements and indigenous community
development.
Jaguartrekkers
The founding of Jaguartrekkers was preceded by Education for Street Kids (ESK),
which is an organization that was created in 1991 to help educate homeless street kids
and child workers in the streets of Quetzaltenango. ESK was started by two indigenous
social workers in Quetzaltenango. They founded a school for underprivileged, mostly
indigenous, children as well as a dormitory for homeless and abused children close to the
center of town. For the first few years, they were able to take advantage of international
interest in the expansion of civil society and social movements and received foreign grant
money. However, as the programs grew, they found that they were not receiving as much
money as they needed to run their programs.
In 1995, the two Quetzalteco social workers met another social worker from the
United Kingdom who was also working with street kids in the area. Together, they came
up with the idea for Jaguartrekkers. Jaguartrekkers was conceived of as an organization
that would take advantage of the popularity of Mayan culture and social development
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issues to use foreign volunteers who would then guide foreign tourists on treks through
the Guatemalan Highlands. They would use the money that they made from the treks to
support ESK programs. Jaguartrekkers began collecting donated trekking gear, such as
tents, sleeping bags, and cooking equipment, as well as recruiting foreign volunteers to
lead treks. As the popularity of Quetzalteco language schools continued to grow,
Jaguartrekkers began to attract students who were interested in supporting local
indigenous social development programs as well as experiencing a bit of Mayan culture
and adventure in the Guatemalan countryside.
Hyper Tours
Hyper Tours was founded by a Belgian, named Hans, who had already had
extensive experience living and working in Latin America. Hans worked in Colombia for
a children’s aid organization that was sponsored by the European Union. He said that he
enjoyed his nine years of work for the organization, but that Columbia’s Civil War made
life too difficult for him. After a short stint back home working for a large corporation,
Hans again returned to Latin America to seek a more interesting career.
Once he returned to Central America, Hans traveled widely. Eventually, he
arrived in Quetzaltenango and was offered a job by the owner of Bar Tecun, the most
popular tourist bar in the city center. It is named after the famous Mayan warrior chief
who was defeated by Spanish conquistador, Alvarado. Apparently the owner had liver
cancer and could not work but, according to Hans, he refused to hire anyone other than a
foreigner to manage the bar. However, the owner died within a year and a half, Bar
Tecun was sold to a Dutch couple, and Hans was again set adrift.
Hans was then offered the managerial position at Almalfi’s, an Italian restaurant
popular with tourists, because, once again, the owner wanted a foreigner to manage the
place. Hans said that he had a good time managing the restaurant and he made a decent
salary. He earned Q5000 a month, which is about four times the average salary in
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Quetzaltenango, and 1% of the take of the restaurant. He did this for two years but
decided that he wanted to go into business for himself.
During his four years in Quetzaltenango, Hans had seen the rapid growth of
tourism in the city. He had also come to know a lot of tourists and felt that, as a
foreigner, he would be more successful than locals in understanding foreign tourists’
needs. There were already two trekking companies in the area and he thought that he
could run a better, “more professional,” organization. He started Hyper Tours in 1997.
Hans claims that he founded Hyper Tours with only $200 of investment money.
This is a source of local controversy among Quetzaltenango’s other tourist industry
professionals. With this claim of a modest beginning, Hans established an initial
investment equal to those of other Guatemalans. In other words, this allows Hans to
claim that he is successful because he works hard and is “professional,” not because he
had copious amounts of foreign start-up money. In an almost uniform fashion, the
owners of competing trekking companies say that they could never compete with Hyper
Tours because they would never have the investment money to buy all of the equipment
which gives Hyper Tours, in their eyes, an unfair advantage.
In any case, Hans began by offering the same types of tours as the other trekking
companies, he advertised trips up volcanoes, treks to Lake Atitlan, and treks to Todos
Santos. However, he was one of the first tour operators to offer a wide range of one-day
tours of rural towns and local attractions. These new options, combined with business
management experience and the ability to amass a large fleet of vehicles, made his
trekking company instantly successful.
Q’anjob’al Tours
Q’anjob’al Tours was founded by Javier, a Q’anjob’al Maya, as a family business
in late 2003. Javier had been working at Hyper Tours for two and a half years in
administration. He learned a good deal about tourism in the area and how to run a
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trekking company from Hans. However, Javier felt that he was being overworked
without sufficient remuneration. He also said that there were occasions when he had
been forced to spend money from his own pocket to pay for food and transportation for
some tours, for which he was never reimbursed. Thus, Javier decided that he would be
better off as the owner of his own business.
Originally, Javier wanted to name his company Xela Tours.10 However, when he
went down to register the name of the company with the government, he noticed a
language school with the name Q’anjob’al. After his experience with Hyper Tours, he
knew that his trekking company would be more successful if it took advantage of the
popularity of Mayan-themed organizations, so he named the company after the language
that he and his family speak, Q’anjob’al.
Javier is the figurehead and manager of Q’anjob’al Tours but his older sons and
daughters play a large role in the corporation as guides and administrators in the office.
They offer a wide range of tourist activities that are based off of the model which Javier
learned while working at Hyper Tours; they have treks up volcanoes, treks from
Quetzaltenango to Lake Atitlan, another trek from Nebaj to Todos Santos in the
Cuchumatan Mountains, and a variety of one-day trips.
Women’s Weaving Cooperatives
Women’s weaving cooperatives interactions’ with tourists are also influenced by
the language school phenomenon. In Quetzaltenango, there are a handful of women’s
weaving cooperatives, whose members often go to language schools to give weaving
demonstrations. The idea behind the demonstrations is to try to sell weavings directly to
the tourists, entice students to search out the cooperative’s storefront, and to recruit
10 Quetzaltenango is also known as “Xela” by its inhabitants. Xela is the remnant of the
town original K’iche’ name.
81
students for weaving classes. Most weaving cooperatives are run exclusively by Mayan
women, some local and some from other regions of the country. Like many of the tourist
activities in Quetzaltenango, weaving cooperatives attract tourists who are interested in
Mayan culture and indigenous social development programs. Many weaving
cooperatives have been able to take advantage of the expansion of civil society and new
interests in indigenous movements. By drawing on the violence that has been directed
towards indigenous women in the region, these women have often been successful in
organizing international support for their weaving activities.
TelaMaya
TelaMaya was formed with the help of a Dutch NGO who, in 1988, began to
organize different groups of women weavers in the Guatemalan departments of Solola,
Sacatepequez, Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, and Quiche. The NGO recruited the
women based on their ability to weave and their need for income. The Dutch NGO then
trained the women on how to better price their products and to run a business selling the
products to tourists.
As part of this effort, the Dutch NGO founded the TelaMaya studio in
Quetzaltenango in 1995. TelaMaya rented a large building in Zona 3, an area far from
the center of town. With the help of the NGO, TelaMaya began to recruit Mayan women
weavers who had been severely affected by the Civil War in order to give them a means
to support their families. TelaMaya originally recruited over 500 women from the five
departments. Each department wove products that were in some way typical of their
region and these products were then bought by the cooperative and sold in a storefront to
tourists. Soon after the founding of TelaMaya, they also began to offer weaving
demonstrations to tourists in cafés near the central park and in Spanish language schools.
They found that many of the tourists were interested in Mayan weaving techniques, so
TeleMaya began to offer weaving classes to tourists in their store front. They also found
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that many tourists were interested in hearing the often tragic personal histories of the
indigenous women involved in the cooperative. Therefore, the women started to tell their
personal stories of tragedy during their demonstrations and classes. They also included
aspects of their personal history in their marketing information for language schools,
explaining that tourists who purchased their weavings were helping support indigenous
social development through the expansion of their business.
Each of these organizations had more or less the same foundational story. The
organizations were founded by alliances of people who shared similar pro-Mayan
political views and goals. Furthermore, the three language schools, Jaguartrekkers, and
TelaMaya received foreign aid as an extension of international civil society activism. In
all of these cases, tourism organizations were able to take advantage of their pro-Mayan
political stances and civil society activism to attract the aid of likeminded international
individuals and organizations.
Capital, Foreign Support, and Allegations of Corruption
Many Quetzaltecos created local alliances and founded tourism organizations
with the goals of promoting pro-Mayan activism and building civil society. With these
mutual goals as a rallying point, many organizations experienced an initial period of
success. However, as Alvarez, Dagnino and Escobar have argued, “civil society is not
one homogeneous happy family or ‘global village’ but is also mined with undemocratic
power relations…” (Alvarez et al. 1998: 17). Latin America, in particular, presents a
complicated situation due to its complex and hierarchical relationships with funding
agencies. Tourism in Quetzaltenango reveals a further complication when new
businesses – both for-profit and non-profit – fulfill important civil roles. In many cases,
the pressures of fulfilling this dual mandate have caused severe internal organizational
conflict.
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Guatemala has a long history of reliance on foreign aid. Tourism is not
different. Often, competition for limited resources has led to conflict. As Edward
Fischer suggests, “the Guatemalan case may appear to be a textbook study in the
structure of political economic dependency that evolved from the colonial encounter…”
(Fischer 2001: 70). Guatemala has continually been in a weak bargaining position on
world markets due to its reliance on a relatively small number of export products
(McCreery 1994). Most of these exports have been extremely labor intensive, requiring
large tracts of land or a large, cheap, and efficient workforce (Fischer 2001: 71). Tourism
has the potential to allow Mayas to reshape negative cultural stereotypes of the past.
Also, the promotion of tourism can increase civil society’s integration into the nation’s
economic, cultural, and community development process. However, these new
opportunities come with competition to control new markets, to define Guatemalan
identity, and to secure and maintain domestic, national, and international sources of
funding.
The department of Quetzaltenango has always been an economically-poor region
in a particularly poor country. Therefore, there is an especially intense rivalry for
economic capital. Economic resources have been so limited in Quetzaltenango in the
past that both for-profit and non-profit organizations look to take any and every
advantage that they can from a potential economic opportunity. Competition to control
capital in Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry has led to allegations of corruption inside
many organizations.
Allegations of corruption are not particularly unique to Quetzaltenango. The
types of corruption that are experienced in Quetzaltenango are symptomatic of larger
political economic struggles. In recent decades, Latin America has gone through a period
of liberal economic reforms that have reduced the roles of government regulations and
structures. However, a failure to achieve the goal of healthy open-market economies, due
to high-level corruption scandals in places like Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, or
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Argentina, has left most observers “disillusioned” (Tulchin and Espach 2000). The
effects of this disillusionment spread far and wide. Potential international investors are
often unwilling to risk investing in areas with political and economic instability.
Furthermore, international funding agencies such as the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have declared the elimination of
corruption as a top priority and conditional prerequisite for receiving certain
developmental funds (Tulchin and Espach 2000).
As Daniel Smith’s recent work in Nigeria insightfully demonstrates, ordinary
people have daily experiences confronting and participating in corruption, “in their
efforts to forge better lives for themselves and their families…” (Smith 2006: 13). Smith
suggests that the prevalence of corruption in Nigeria has created a “culture of corruption,”
or a “culture against corruption,” which infiltrates the dynamics of private and public
Nigerian relations. Smith draws from Giorgio Blundo and Jean-Pierre Olivier de
Sardan’s (2001) seven typologies of corruption to map forms of corruption on the
Nigerian scene. The seventh form of corruption, “misappropriation,” essentially
represents the expropriation of public material for unauthorized private use. Smith goes
on to describe how his position as an employee of an international aid agency was
impacted by misappropriation (Smith 2006: 88-99). In this case, Smith was advised by
his expatriate predecessors that the misappropriation of international donor funds was
rampant in the Nigerian NGO community. These tales caused Smith to suspect that
misappropriation may be taking place within his organization. In order to prevent
misappropriation, Smith expended an extreme amount of effort establishing an
“obsessive” system of checks and balances to ensure that the money intended for his
programs were not being misused (Smith 2006: 92-95). Smith never did find evidence of
misappropriation. However, tales of “the culture of corruption” caused Smith to expend
a great deal of effort in preventing an imagined misappropriation when his energy would
have been more useful elsewhere.
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These themes of “imagined” misappropriation were also rampant within
Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations. For many organizations, the pressure to earn
enough money to take care of everyday business expenses and to support activism in civil
society became a source of internal conflict. I was never able to gather definitive
evidence that the misappropriation of funds ever took place in any of Quetzaltenango’s
tourism organizations. However, time and time again I encountered tales of “imagined”
misappropriation within the organizations themselves. Whether or not the
misappropriation of funds was prevalent, the assumption of corruption produced internal
strife and conflict within tourism organizations. How the organizations dealt with this
internal conflict, in many ways, helped determine the organizations’ power to meet their
goals and to affect larger structural changes and challenges to Mayan social and
economic subordination.
Allegations of Corruption
Despite the rarely contested nature of the foundational stories of these tourism
organizations, the historical development of the organizations presents a much different
story. At first encounter, each of these organizations seemed to present a harmonious
alliance. Some of the organizational characteristics have changed over time; some people
had left while others joined the organization as newer members, and all parties involved,
both past and present, seemed content. Yet, as I looked further into the historical
development of the organizations, most harbored major conflicts between the founding
members and in many cases, these conflicts led to allegations of corruption, the rupture of
alliances, and struggles to obtain foreign capital support. How the organizations
managed allegations of corruption and foreign capital support were the key factors which
determine their power to grow and meet their mission statements.
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Instituto Linguistico Maya
ILM appears quite different today then it did in 1992. One major difference is
that out of the twelve founding members of the cooperative, only three remain.
Originally, this was presented as a simple product of life changes over time. According
to the three remaining members, their friends and partners had moved away, moved on to
better jobs, had children, or simply became tired of teaching Spanish. All departures
were easily explainable and non-controversial.
Later in my research, however, I encountered some of the founding members of
ILM working as Spanish teachers in competing institutions and they revealed completely
different versions of the ILM story. According to a departed founder, ILM had great
success after a difficult period in the first six months. Their North American connection
had established relationships with numerous universities and college students, upper level
academics, and religious students which gave ILM a constant supply of Spanish students.
Furthermore, through these students’ contacts, they were able to obtain numerous
international grants and donations for their school and programs. Most weeks they had
between twenty to thirty students at the school who came to learn either Spanish or one of
the nine other indigenous languages they taught.
For the first five years, this period of prosperity continued. The school was
making a large profit, there were many Mayan women in the university scholarship
program, they had started to give out scholarships to grade school age Mayans, and the
twelve founders got along splendidly. The founders created a rotational responsibility
system where every six months, the teacher’s jobs within the school would change. For
example, if you were in charge of the marketing cycle, you would be in charge of projects
or conferences six months later.
This rotational system created a sense of camaraderie and equality between the
teachers and allowed the school a sustained period of initial growth. One of the original
founders said that he could not believe that he was getting paid to be part of the school.
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He said that, “all twelve founders were indigenous, they were having great success, they
all got along, and they treated each other like family.” This did not last, however. When
the school started to have a significant influx of money, the internal personal
relationships changed. A few of the members lobbied to permanently keep their positions
after the six months were up. For example, Germaine assumed the role of school director
and refused to cycle out of the position. This changed the power relationships within the
group.
Through connections with international students, ILM started to receive both
monetary donations and computers from churches in the United States. The money and
computers were earmarked for rural, mainly indigenous, schools. According to some of
the founding members who left the organization, the computers and money were
misappropriated by other founding members. This started a controversy between the
teachers that continued as more money was donated. Some of the founding members
wrote to the foreign donors to alert them to the potentially corrupt situation. In the letter,
they expressed a suspicion that the computers were being used in the private homes of
some of the teachers when they should have gone directly to the schools. As a result of
these and further misappropriation allegations, much of the donations and foreign support
dried up. Eventually, nine of the founding members of ILM left the organization when
the other three members refused to relinquish the school leadership roles and control of
the finances in the cooperative.
Today, in many ways, ILM is a shell of its former self. Although the school has
remained a functioning cooperative with a rotational teaching schedule and occasional
sharing of some of the administrative responsibilities, the three remaining foundational
members maintain managerial control. During the summer of 2004, ILM taught as many
as fifteen students at one time. This seemed to be close to the maximum number of
students that the school could handle. During these periods of higher activity, a list of
cooperative-affiliated teachers is used on a rotational schedule to recruit the extra
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teachers needed to accommodate student demand. With this many students, the school
had a lively feel. Students would socialize amongst themselves, both in and outside of
class, and there was large participation in the school’s weekly extra curricular activities
and development programs.
However, these periods of energy and abundance were rare. After the passing of
the summer of 2004, the school was lucky to have more than three students. The three
remaining founding members would teach students in the morning. In the afternoon, the
students would go their separate ways. In fact, there were long periods of time between
February and April of 2005 when ILM had no students at all. Often I would make the
long walk out to the school from my house to do a survey with some of the students or to
visit with some of the teachers and I would find the doors to the building chained and
locked with a thick layer of dust on the patio. Even in May and June, when business in
other schools was at its high point, ILM was not receiving any new students, nor did it
sound like there were any big groups on the horizon.
Despite these periods of seemingly little activity, ILM was not entirely moribund.
ILM still manages to take advantage of the fact that they are the only all-Mayan run
language school in the city through continued, although reduced, international support.
Furthermore, although they do not actively recruit new students on the streets of
Quetzaltenango, once the students are in the door, the teachers are outgoing and
charismatic. This has helped to establish meaningful relationships with the students and
has often translated into increased student participation in the school’s social
development programs in the form of volunteering and donations.
In fact, many of ILM’s development programs are still running behind the scenes.
Rather than concentrating on recruiting more students, ILM seems to have changed its
objectives. Throughout the years, ILM has established a solid system of foreign financial
support for its development programs. Through constant donations from former students,
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ILM has been able to support their programs, although on a slightly smaller scale, for
women university students and for indigenous children’s education.
Sayaché
The story of the development of Sayaché is similar to ILM. Once again, after a
hard initial six months, the school opened the summer season with great success. The
school grew rapidly, and soon became one of the largest schools in the city. They used
their success to expand their scholarship program and started a new project to build
stoves and latrines for indigenous communities in the countryside. However, once again,
as the school expanded and more money began to pass through it, personal conflicts
arose. Conflicts over control of the finances of the school caused some of the founding
members of the cooperative to leave. For a time in the early to mid-1990s, only three of
the original founding members remained. Then in the mid-to late 1990s, two more
people joined the school, giving it five official cooperative members.
Although today the school still claims to be a cooperative in its marketing and
informational materials, it functions more like a privately owned school. As the school
continued to expand from the early 1990s to the present, Sayaché has had to continually
hire more teachers to accommodate the influx of students. Sayaché has also hired a
foreign coordinator. The task of the coordinator has been to serve as a mediator between
the students and the school, as well as to help in the organization of finances,
administration, and technical support of the school’s development programs.
The growth in the 1990s led to increased specialization. From June through
August or December to January – peak times of the Spanish language school season –
Sayaché could enroll as many as fifty students or more. This means that they have at
least twenty-five to thirty teachers working for the school who are not members of the
cooperative. Furthermore, all but two members of the cooperative have stopped teaching
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and have specialized in administration or project management. All members of the
cooperative earn significantly more money than the teachers they have hired.
This has created a great amount of internal conflict and mistrust. The more I got
to know non-cooperative teachers, cooperative members, and the North American
directors and project administrators, the more I became privy to a wide range of
complaints, conjecture, and allegations of corruption directed at the school’s leadership.
Certainly some of these conflicts were caused by personality clashes in a large
organization. However, the vast majority of conflicts were due to alleged corruption.
Many of the non-owner teachers at Sayaché were frustrated with the inconsistencies of
teacher pay-scales. They also claimed that the five owners were misappropriating school
funds. Frequently, over a beer in a local bar or while watching soccer at the local
stadium, non-cooperative teachers at Sayaché would complain to me that the owners
were taking more than their fair share of the schools profits and donations for their own
personal interests. Common rumors were that Oswaldo’s new house was being paid for
by money that was earmarked for the stoves project. Or that the money Herbert used to
pay for his girls’ private schooling was misappropriated funds from the orphanage.
Whether or not these allegations were true, I cannot say. However, the amount of energy
and angst that centered around these allegations of misappropriation significantly
detracted from the ambiance of the school from the students’ perspective. These
allegations have also caused many headaches for the foreign coordinators as they tried to
dispel the rumors and maintain the peace between the teachers.
Despite the conflicts and allegations of corruption, the school has continued to
expand, thrive, and receive foreign support. Sayaché changed their leadership structure,
which allowed the remaining leaders to control and direct capital as they see fit. The
foreign coordinator has served as arbitrator for most internal conflicts. Furthermore,
despite internal conflict, and allegations of corruption, Sayaché is able to contract with
teachers from an ever growing pool of new local teaching professionals.
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In contrast to ILM retraction, Sayaché’s leaders have disregarded allegations of
corruption and internal conflict with continual expansion both in its student base and the
focus of their social development programs. For example, in 2002, Sayaché started a
program for medical students from the United States. As part of this program, the
medical students attend a special seminar about local medical practices and Mayan
culture. They are taught a specific Spanish medical vocabulary by their instructors.
Then, after the first week’s instruction, they volunteer in clinics in both rural and urban
environments.
Sayaché’s latest project is a “Community Work and Social Development
Program” which started in 2003. This program is designed to give interested students a
deeper, social-activist twist to their language school experience. The students are
instructed in the socio-political conflicts of the area and they are encouraged to take a
more active role in the administration of the school’s social development programs. Both
of these new programs have helped in recruiting new students to the school and have
increased the school’s support of social development programs in predominately Mayan
communities.
With the continual creation of new social development projects, many teachers,
and even some of the cooperative members, complained that there are too many
development programs and that their efforts are being spread too thin. Yet, as the school
continues to attract more and more students, they continue to dream up future projects
and social development programs. As a result, the school has attained notoriety for the
quality, if not the quantity, of their social development programs. This has helped to
maintain and even increase the level of international support for the school’s programs,
which has in turn led to the continual expansion of the school and has afforded Sayaché
the power to continue to achieve its goals.
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Iztapa
In many ways, the Iztapa language school’s history is similar to the other
language schools. Iztapa had a strong period of initial growth in the mid-1990s. As more
money began to flow through the organization, they expanded their social development
programs. They began to work in eight different areas of community development –
ranging from an organic coffee project, to artisan support, to alternative centers for
justice. In each of the eight areas, the school claims to provide organizational and
financial support as well as a line of communication to recruit student volunteers for each
of the organizations.
Like the other language schools, once the school became successful and more
money flowed through the organization, internal conflicts arose. Again, two of the
cooperative members accused the other leaders of misappropriating funds and they both
left the school in protest. They were soon followed by two more members who also
departed in protest. This left the two remaining directors who still run the school today.
Both of the directors have since stopped teaching and are involved strictly in
administration. This has allowed the two directors the opportunity to specialize their job
activities. They have been able to maintain some, although not all, of their foreign
support. Furthermore, the organization of the school was officially changed to a private
business and the school has recruited a pool of twenty Spanish teachers who are managed
by the directors in a rotation according to student demand.
The roles of the teachers and administrators of the school, at this point, seem to be
transparent and relatively well-defined. The teachers continue to work on a rotational
schedule and are all paid equally. This rigid structure has reduced past conflicts. The
change in status from a non-profit cooperative to a private for-profit corporation has
allowed the administrators of Iztapa to extract funds from the school’s activities as profit.
Allegations of corruption are no longer valid as profit taking is seen as a legitimate
function of this for-profit organization.
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Although Iztapa has not significantly expanded in recent years, it has ensured the
continuation of a mid-sized school which averages between five and eight students per
week, but can accommodate as many as forty students at any one time. With a steady
flow of students, Iztapa has had the power to continue its mission to offer quality Spanish
instruction.
TelaMaya
The historical development of TelaMaya has many similarities with the
development of other Quetzalteco tourism organizations. The cooperative started with
foreign financial and technical assistance, the cooperative experienced initial success. As
a result of their initial success, they recruited more women weavers from the five
departments and began to further increase production. The enlargement of the
cooperative led to a need for more permanent leadership roles so, with the financial and
technical support of the Dutch NGO, TelaMaya hired a team of full-time local
administrators.
As the money continued to stream in from both the Dutch NGO and sales to
tourists, new conflicts began to arise within the organization. According to one of the
original founders and current Vice-President of the organization, the administrators began
to abuse their power by taking exorbitant salaries while at the same time working less
diligently. These same administrators were writing checks from cooperative funds for
what were, apparently, personal expenses. In fact, some of the remaining members of
TelaMaya believe that the administrators misappropriated the money to build large
houses for themselves.
After seven years, the Dutch NGO became suspicious of some of TelaMaya’s
administrative decisions and implemented an investigation of the group’s finances. The
investigation concluded that the administrators of TelaMaya had taken unjustifiably high
salaries and spent the business’s money on non-business expenditures. Frustrated with
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what they saw as corruption, the Dutch NGO withdrew their support from TelaMaya and
the cooperative experienced a fundamental change. Without Dutch financial support,
they could not afford to maintain their storefront and class room space. Many of the
administrators left as a result of the conflict and controversy. The control of the
cooperative passed into new hands. These new administrators relocated the cooperative
to a smaller space close to the Central Park and began to rebuild the organization.
Much like its all-Mayan language school counter part, ILM, TelaMaya seems to
be a shell of its former self. Once the Dutch NGO withdrew its support, TelaMaya was
never able to find new foreign financers. Without this foreign support, TelaMaya has
moved from to a cramped space with much less room for classes and product sales. Due
to the smaller storefront and class area, they have not sold as many products and they
have had to cut back on production. At one time, the cooperative took weavings from
over four hundred women in five departments of Guatemala. Now, they support only a
handful of women in each department. Finally, and perhaps most tragically, past
conflicts and allegations of corruption have led to internal suspicions and a general
mistrust between the women who remain as administrators. In fact, internal relations
have gotten so challenging that two of the three remaining administrators have covertly
broken away from TelaMaya to start their own cooperative.
Capital, Competition, and Conflict in Quetzaltenango
Q’anjob’al Tours
In general, the trekking companies present a different version of contested
development. While they may not have as many conflicts over corruption, there are still
contestations between organizations over sources of capital, management, and access to
clients. For instance, Q’anjob’al Tours struggles daily with its lack of capital. To begin
with, while I was doing the majority of my research Q’anjob’al Tours had only existed
for the last year and a half. Thus, there really has not been that much time for accruing
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capital. Q’anjob’al Tours is a family-owned business which is run by the father of the
family. This does not preclude conflicts but the issues they do have stem more from
normal family discord than business-related tension. Finally, Q’anjob’al Tours has not
been through a period of initial success. Javier is still struggling to build his business,
and to this point it is not certain that Q’anjob’al Tours will be in business in the long run.
Thus, Q’anjob’al Tours remains as it was at its foundation. It has a patriarchal
structure with little organizational, although maybe some familial, conflict. Also,
Javier’s company remains small. Business is sporadic at best, which makes it hard for
him to plan for the future. Sometimes, even during busier tourist seasons, Javier will not
have a client for two to three weeks. Then at other times, he will have two to three events
planned with groups on the same day. This means that he struggles to get the logistics of
the events organized.
Furthermore, he has not been able to amass the capital to buy his own vehicles.
He has not made enough profit to invest in his company, nor has he been able to amass
significant foreign support. Hence, significant portions of his profits go to the renting of
vehicles for transportation. Javier has also not been able to invest in a webpage. He is
missing out on some of the larger group tours which usually make reservations from
abroad through the Internet.
Javier relies exclusively on foot-traffic and an occasional visit to recruit trekkers
at language schools. He is a charismatic figure which makes him an effective recruiter on
a one on one basis. If Javier is able to get a potential client in the door he is often able to
explain that his is an all Mayan family run business. Foreign tourists’ interest in Mayan
culture and pro-Mayan political activism, combined with his personal charm and
exuberance, often allows Javier to recruit new business. Although Javier remains
positive about the future most days, he still is not sure that his business will make it. To
date, his objective continues to be the maintenance and expansion of his business as a
means to support his large Mayan family.
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Jaguartrekkers
Unlike Q’anjob’al Tours, Jaguartrekkers is in a constant state of change which
gives it both advantages over Q’anjob’al Tours and creates its own development
difficulties. Although the original directors of its development arm (ESK) have remained
the same and Jaguartrekkers’ basic treks have not changed much over the years,
Jaguartrekkers experiences continual staff turnover. The organization asks volunteers to
commit two months of their time. Some only stay on for the minimum two months and
others end up staying for four, five or six months. However, two to three times a month,
Jaguartrekkers has a special dinner to say goodbye to volunteers returning home. In the
meantime, they are continually welcoming new volunteers and training them to help lead
the treks and run the organization.
This continual change gives Jaguartrekkers an interesting dynamic. All the
volunteers seem well meaning and none are making a living at the organization. Yet, as
with many volunteer organizations, it is often hard to motivate volunteers to work at
some of the more mundane tasks such as washing and preparing the trekking equipment
or visiting language schools to recruit students for future treks. Furthermore, the
volunteers know that they will be returning soon to their home countries. In one instance,
this led to a corruption allegation. Within the last two years, a former director allegedly
misappropriated money from the organization as he headed out of the country. However,
everyone who was volunteering at Jaguartrekkers during that time, cycled out within a
few months and the situation was never fully corroborated. The controversy was soon
forgotten within the organization.
There are also some positive aspects to this continual turnover. With each new
group of volunteers, comes fresh energy and new perspectives on how they should
organize their treks and recruit more trekkers. Furthermore, the position of director is
constantly being passed from one person to another. Although, in some cases this might
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mean that there is little follow-through on projects, it also means that there is little burnout within the leadership of the organization.
As a result of constant change, Jaguartrekkers has not experienced the same level
of historical internal contestation as in the school or weaving organizations. Certainly
there have been some internal personality conflicts and differences of opinion. Plus,
there is the occasional lack of work ethic or even allegations of corruption. However,
usually if there is a conflict between staff that is too hard to bear, one just leaves the
organization for greener pastures. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, none of the
volunteers make money from Jaguartrekkers. Their livelihoods and the well-being of
their families do not depend on Jaguartrekkers. With the absence of these pressures,
there is relatively little struggle for power within the organization.
With this relatively low level of internal conflict and continued international
support in the form of foreign donation and free international labor, Jaguartrekkers
continues to grow. Today, they offer the lowest prices in town. They rely on volunteers
and they retain relatively low overhead. All of the equipment that they use has been
donated from former clients and they always take public transportation where available.
This means that they do not have to rent vehicles which would cut into the profits of their
programs. Thus, by the summer of 2005, Jaguartrekkers was thriving. In fact, they had
so many treks booked, they needed to make arrangements with Javier at Q’anjob’al Tours
to take some of their business.
Furthermore, Jaguartrekkers has built a positive reputation with tourists based on
the laid back style of their treks and the effectiveness of their social development
programs. Jaguartrekkers often gets repeat clients and word of mouth recommendations
from former clients who often help to recruit future trekkers and volunteers both within
Quetzaltenango and abroad. Jaguartrekkers is also staffed by a group of young,
energetic, fairly well educated, and “hip” guides. Combined with the fact that they often
speak a number of European languages, this makes it incredibly easy for the
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Jaguartrekkers’ staff to establish relationships with language school students – many of
whom are the same age and have similar interests. Finally, Jaguartrekkers is also well
known by the language schools. As most language schools have a social development
aspect, themselves, they seem to be more apt to recommend that their students go with
Jaguartrekkers.
Despite the successes of Jaguartrekkers, their objectives have remained the same.
They have found a formula that works, and due to the constant departure of their senior
leaders, they do not have the ability to drastically change either their treks, or their social
development programs. Their objectives to date remain the organization and
administration of treks through the Guatemalan countryside as a means to support their
social development activism in civil society.
Hyper Tours
The historical development of Hyper Tours is largely dominated by its European
founder, Hans. From all community accounts, Hans is a hard worker, organized, and
runs a professional service. Hans has also been credited with the development of a wide
range of tour options. Hans was the first to buy a fleet of vans and to take people for one
day trips to local villages to experience aspects of “indigenous culture.” Within the last
two years, he also opened a sister business in Huehuetenango11 offering similar services
to the Huehuetenango tourism market. Through marketing Hyper Tours on the Internet,
and with booking large foreign tour groups for multi-day tour agendas, Hans has also
been a pioneer in selling tours throughout Guatemala. Furthermore, he has continually
taken a leadership role in local committees and has served as an example of success
which many other trekking operators have tried to emulate.
11 Huehuetenango is a town at the base of the Cuchumatan Mountian Range about a
forty minute drive north of Quetzaltenango. Huehuetenango has traditionally had less
international tourism development than Quetzaltenango.
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However, Hans, even by his own account, is not well liked in Quetzaltenango.
Many of the people that Hans has worked with on committees have stated that he has a
“bitter” personality and they feel that Hans is often condescending to local employees
and tour operators. Apparently, Hans is also difficult to work for. Many of Hans’s
former employees have claimed that they were misused and poorly paid. For example,
Javier, the current owner of Q’anjob’al Tours, worked for Hans as a chief administrator
and occasional tour guide for two and a half years. During this time, Javier claims that he
did not receive a raise, was not repaid for out-of-pocket expenses, and was generally
over-worked and under-appreciated. Thus, Javier left Hyper Tours to start his own
company. This same pattern has repeated itself a number of times and, as Hans proudly
admits, he has ended up training the majority of the owners of other Quetzalteco trekking
companies who are now his main competitors.
Although the Huehuetenango branch of Hyper Tours has had trouble getting off
the ground due to slow tourist traffic in the area, the Quetzaltenango Hyper Tours is by
far the largest, most profitable trekking company in the city. Hans’ business has grown
rapidly and he has used the profits to amass a huge stockpile of equipment. Today Hyper
Tours has a fleet of vans and smaller four-wheel drive vehicles. They have high quality
trekking and camping gear and they even rent it or sometimes loan it to other local
trekking companies. Furthermore, Hyper Tours has put together a effective webpage that
earns them, according to Hans, around 70% of their current business.
This rapid growth and investment in equipment has served Hyper Tours well.
They are touted by foreign guide books and many local tourism industry leaders as the
most “professional” tour organization in town. This has allowed Hyper Tours to raise
their prices a bit and attract a slightly wealthier and more mature clientele. Hyper Tours
is strategically well located just off the central park which this gives them great exposure
to foot-traffic. Furthermore, the aforementioned webpage has attracted the business of
large, wealthy groups of travelers from abroad.
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In the past Hyper Tours offered the same package of volcano and Guatemalan
Highland treks as other trekking organizations and today the objectives have remained
the same. Hyper Tours is still a for-profit organization geared toward the expansion of
profits and market share. However, the focus of Hyper Tours has changed. With new
growth Hans, hired a Dutch protégé early in 2004 to help manage new accounts and assist
with the administration of the office’s everyday activities. This has allowed Hans to
recruit new business and create new products. Hans seems to have turned away from the
multi-day treks, due to new competition from other trekking companies. In order to
differentiate himself from the pack, Hans has taken advantage of his fleet of vehicles and
specialized equipment through the development of a wide range of new tours. Now that
Hans can support the large-scale transportation of tourists to a wide variety of sites and
activities, he concentrates on a variety of one-day tours to local villages, religious sites,
markets, plantations, hot springs, and other newly developed sites. Through this change
in focus, Hyper Tours continues to grow and to define new directions for Quetzalteco’s
tourism development.
Conclusions
The task of this chapter has been two-fold: to examine the foundation and to
analyze the historical development of seven of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations.
The prevalence and importance of pro-Mayan political activism in Quetzalteco tourism is
obvious. The vast majority of the organizations were founded as extensions of civil
society and indigenous movements. All but two organizations began as social
development programs, with the fundamental goal of aiding the development of Mayan
communities.
Once these organizations began to actively pursue their goals, internal
organizational structures proved to be volatile. The vast majority of Quetzalteco tourism
organizations were founded to further their pro-Mayan political goals in civil society. As
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with many areas in the world where there is a serious need for social development
programs and civil society activism, access to crucial economic resources is limited. In
many of these organizations, the demands of earning profits as a business have proven
difficult to balance with the ideals of building civil society. Essentially, it takes a lot of
money to pay tourism organization cooperative members and employees a reasonable
living wage and to direct substantial sums of money into communities rather than back
into the business, itself.
In many cases, the distribution of profits from tourism organizations has created
extreme internal conflict and allegations of corruption. To some organization members,
the controlling or redistributing of tourism profits for any cause that does not directly
benefit Mayan communities represents a betrayal of the organization’s principal goal to
promote pro-Mayan political agendas. To these organizational members, this represents
a misappropriation of funds and qualifies as corruption. Whether or not there is actually
corruption within these organizations, the mere accusation of corruption hampers the
organization’s ability to meet their ultimate goals. Internal conflict limits organizational
effectiveness and makes it difficult for the organization to earn money as a business and
advance the ideals of civil society.
Q’anjob’al Tours, Jaguartrekkers, and Hyper Tours are exceptions to this rule
essentially because they do not experience the pressure of fulfilling a dual mandate.
Q’anjob’al Tours is a family-run organization. They have yet to make a serious profit
and all the money that passes through the business is used to cover only the most basic
functions of the business and to support Javier’s family. If Q’anjob’al Tours does make a
profit in the future, they may experience the same dilemmas as the other organizations.
Jaguartrekkers and Hyper Tours only have the pressure of fulfilling half of the
mandate that other organizations deal with. All of Jaguartrekkers employees are foreign
volunteers. Therefore, they do not have to worry about earning enough money to pay
employees. On the other side of the coin, Hyper Tours, although they do experience
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occasional internal conflict, Hyper Tours does not support any social development
programs. Hans is upfront with his employees. They know how much money they will
be making and it is understood that Hans will be taking the rest of the profit. Often,
Hans’ employees become frustrated with this situation and they leave for better
opportunities. Hans, however, does not need to confront accusations of misappropriated
funds and corruption.
The management and manipulation of these organizational internal alliances play
a large role in determining an organization’s ability to meet its goals. On the one hand,
organizational concentration on pro-Mayan activism and building civil society are
beneficial to the organizations. The focus of pro-Mayan activism attracts likeminded
people to found the organizations in the first place. This concentration on pro-Mayan
activism also helps to attract likeminded tourists, which translates into increased
business.
On the other hand, this focus creates internal pressure to fulfill a dual mandate.
The ability to balance this dual mandate is a theme that is continued in the next chapter.
Certainly the management of internal alliances and conflicts is an important factor that
helps determine an organization’s ability to meet its goals. Yet, it is not the only factor.
There are many players in Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. How organizations
manage their external relations with local, national, and international organizations also
helps determine an organization’s ability to meet its goals. Again, an organization’s
commitment to pro-Mayan politics and building civil society proves to be an influential
factor in establishing and maintaining external alliances.
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CHAPTER THREE
EXTERNAL LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL
ALLIANCES IN QUETZALTECO TOURISM
This chapter continues the examination of organizational cooperation,
competition and conflict. In this chapter I analyze the importance of establishing and
maintaining external alliances with other local, national, and international tourism
organizations. External alliances are also affected by competition for limited resources
and, as with internal organizational dynamics, this competition can lead to conflict and
allegations of corruption. A commitment to pro-Mayan activism and building civil
society also plays an important role in an organization’s ability to establish external
relationships with other local, national, and international tourism industry-related
organizations. While a commitment to building civil society may create added pressures
and conflict on internal alliances, it also helps reduce conflict and establish enduring
external alliances with other tourism organizations.
The ability to establish key external relationships with other tourism organizations
can provide access to key economic and material resources that greatly affect an
organization’s ability to meet its goals. As Crotts, Buhalis and March demonstrate,
alliances between tourism organizations are crucial business strategies which have the
potential to create mutual benefit for all organizations involved (Crotts et al. 2000).
Within tourism literature, there is a growing body of work that addresses the importance
of inter-organizational alliance building to combine forces and provide access to vital
material and economic resources. For example, David Telfer examines the benefits of
inter-organization alliance building in the “Tastes of Niagara” project (Telfer 2000). In
this project, the region’s food producers, processors, distributors, hotels, wineries,
restaurants and chefs formed an alliance to promote the use of local agricultural products
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in the local tourism industry. This alliance employed the marketing efforts of regional
organizations to produce a newsletter, offer wine and food tasting, and to promote a wide
range of public and special events. As a result, the group raised the profile of regional
cuisine, expanded consumption of local agricultural products, and increased profits for
the allied organizations (Telfer 2000: 82).
However, many tourism organizational alliances also experience interorganizational conflict if one organization exercises power over another to secure
exclusive control over tourism profits or limited resources (Crotts et al. 2000). For
example, Buhalis examines conflicts between hoteliers and tour operators in the
Mediterranean (Buhalis 2000). In this study, smaller hotel operators create alliances with
larger tour operators to book international tourists in their hotels. However, it is the
larger tour operators who serve as the tourist distribution chain for the smaller hotel
owners, and the larger tour operators use their access to tourists to increase their
profitability by offering inexpensively priced vacation packages. This cuts into the
profits of the smaller hotel and is a source of continual conflict between the two allied
groups (Buhalis 2000).
In Quetzaltenango, local, national, and international alliances greatly affect an
organization’s ability to meet their goals as they compete for access to limited resources.
The ability to establish external alliances can help tourism organization leaders cope with
the practical economic and material concerns. In Quetzaltenango, inter-organizational
alliances allow organizations to share material resources such as backpacks, tents,
educational materials, and vehicles. Inter-organizational alliances also have the potential
to provide access to state and international economic resources. However, business
alliances with other local, national, and international tourism organizations tend to create
a cycle of competition between allied organizations for limited resources, which can lead
to conflict, allegations of corruption, and the disbandment of alliances.
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In Quetzaltenango, inter-organizational alliances that share a common
commitment to pro-Mayan politics and building civil society endure where
straightforward business alliances fail. Local tourism organizations with a commitment
to pro-Mayan activism are forming alliances with other organizations that are creating a
new kind of political activism in Quetzaltenango. Theorists that champion the benefits of
civil society describe how a commitment to building civil society can create a new kind
of local empowerment that can establish new ties and accomplish new goals outside of
traditional structures (see Alvarez et al. 1998: 16-17; Foley and Edwards 1996; Sassen
1999: xix). The local alliances that are being established through tourism and a
commitment to building civil society in Quetzaltenango are providing a new public
sphere which operates outside the state and helps to empower pro-Mayan political
agendas.
For reasons I will examine, local organizational commitment to pro-Mayan
politics and building civil society restricts the ability of these organizations to establish
alliances with other national-level tourism organizations. However, in local and
international alliances, a commitment to pro-Mayan political activism provides additional
moral resources that transcend competition and also solidify mutual bonds which
maintain enduring external alliances. As a result, tourism in Quetzaltenango is changing
power structures and is dynamically altering conceptualizations of Mayan ethnic identity
while improving local Mayan economic circumstances.
Local Relationships and Power in Quetzaltenango Tourism
One of the most important factors that determine the success of a tourism
organization to reach its goals is the power to establish alliances and mutually beneficial
relationships with other local tourism organizations. As two organizations work together,
they reap the benefits of their power to amass capital, expand their respective businesses,
and reach their ultimate goals. In Quetzaltenango, a mutual commitment to pro-Mayan
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political agendas and building civil society helps solidify these types of alliances where
others, without this commitment, dissolve.
Pro-Mayan Political Activism and Inter-Organizational
Relationships
One major way to establish an inter-organizational alliance in Quetzaltenango is
to appeal to common pro-Mayan political agendas. Language schools are often some of
the most important figures in inter-organizational relationships. There are more language
schools than any other type of tourism organization in Quetzaltenango. Also, language
schools, by a wide margin, see more tourists pass through their doors than any other type
of tourism organization. If an inter-organizational relationship or alliance can be
established between one language school and another, or between a language school and
another type of tourism organization – such as a trekking company or weaving
cooperative – these types of relationships often prove mutually beneficial. Furthermore,
if the relationships are established through a mutual interest in building civil society, then
the alliance may also be long-lasting.
For example, Jaguartrekkers has formed beneficial alliances with a wide range of
local language schools. Among language school teachers and administrators,
Jaguartrekkers has gained a reputation for the strength of their social development
programs. Herbert, one of the original founders of Sayaché, stated that they prefer to
send their students on treks with Jaguartrekkers because the trekking organization
supports a local orphanage and an indigenous school outside of Quetzaltenango. Herbert
said that Jaguartrekkers’ social development programs and pro-Mayan political goals are
similar to those of Sayaché. Therefore, they are happy to promote Jaguartrekkers within
the school.
When language school students open the heavy wooden door and head up the
long and dark flight of stairs to the second level where Sayaché is housed, the first thing
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they see is the empty desk where the school’s secretary sits to create new students to the
school. The second thing that they see as they turn left to enter the common area of the
school is a two-by-three foot color poster advertising Jaguartrekkers. The poster has
short descriptions of the treks in English, and more lengthy English descriptions of how
the money from the treks is used to support a rural school for underprivileged Mayan
children and a home for impoverished street kids. In addition, they will see a fairly
recent set of pictures accompanying the poster, filled with young and healthy foreign
tourists at the top of mountain peaks, forging rivers, or laughing together while sitting
around campfires. Next to the poster on a smaller table, there are usually black and white
photocopied brochures that repeat the same information as the poster.
Along with this promotional material, one also finds instructions on how to ask a
language teacher about Jaguartrekkers. When a student asks a teacher about
Jaguartrekkers, he or she will inevitably say that Jaguartrekkers is a quality organization.
The teacher will also repeat the information about Jaguartrekkers’ social development
programs and explain that 100% of the proceeds from the treks go to supporting the
programs. Jaguartrekkers has done a good job getting their message out to Sayaché and
to most other language schools, for that matter. I have always heard Jaguartrekkers and
their social development programs mentioned in a positive light within Sayaché.
If a Sayaché endorsement is not enough, tourists always have the opportunity to
meet the Jaguartrekkers guides firsthand, each week. Usually on Tuesdays, or sometimes
Wednesdays, a team of two or three Jaguartrekkers guides visit the school. The guides
are aware of Sayaché’s schedule and they show up at the school at 10:30am sharp for the
start of the half hour break between intensive language classes. At the break, students
usually drink a cup of tea, mill around the kitchen, play ping-pong, or, depending on
whether it is the rainy season, they may go up to the rooftop terrace to relax in the sun.
This is when Jaguartrekkers make their entrance. The guides are usually in their twenties
and dressed in comfortable and casual clothing. If a student is new at the school, they
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may think that the guides are fellow students who they have not yet met. In fact, they
may well have been language school students at one point and decided to volunteer at
Jaguartrekkers to extend their stay in Quetzaltenango and to become contributing
members of pro-Mayan political activism.
Jaguartrekkers’ guides are usually adept at recruiting language school students in
these face-to-face encounters. Usually, they will join in on an English conversation
between students. They will mention that they are with Jaguartrekkers and they may
even hand out brochures. The guides will begin their marketing with a discussion of the
treks and the local countryside. This usually earns the guides capital amongst the
students. Most language school students have been in the country for only a short time
and they are eager to hear about what adventures lay beyond the boundaries of the city.
The guide usually tells a tale or two of their own expeditions. Then they explain how the
proceeds of the treks go to support their pro-Mayan social development programs. The
student has most likely just finished a two and a half hour conversation with their Spanish
teacher about the realities and injustices of Guatemalan life. If the student is interested at
all in their teachers’ lives, the social development programs are usually the deal closer.
Jaguartrekkers has this type of relationship with dozens of language schools
throughout the city. While the team of guides is talking to students at Sayaché, there are
also teams of guides at Iztapa, ILM, and many other schools. This type of interorganizational alliance between Jaguartrekkers and language schools creates benefits for
both organizations. Language schools use Jaguartrekkers to entertain the language school
students for the weekend. With more opportunities for recreation and entertainment
students may stay at the schools longer, or they may come back to Quetzaltenango to
study and trek the following year. For Jaguartrekkers, these inter-organizational
relationships give the organization exposure to their prime market and account for the
majority of their business and funds that they donate to social development programs.
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The establishment of inter-organizational alliances between direct competitors can
also prove beneficial for both organizations, especially if the alliance is based on a
mutual interest in building civil society. For example, Jaguartrekkers and Q’anjob’al
tours have recently established an alliance between their organizations. In the early
spring of 2005, Javier helped Jaguartrekkers on a trek up Guatemala’s largest volcano.
Due to a lack of experience and planning, one of the Jaguartrekkers’ guides got lost and
some of her clients were ill from altitude sickness. Just when she decided she needed
help, Javier crossed their path on the same volcano with his much smaller group. He
volunteered to guide the entire group while the Jaguartrekkers guide stayed with her sick
clients. This gesture established an alliance between Q’anjob’al Tours and
Jaguartrekkers, which may prove mutually beneficial.
In the summer of 2005, Jaguartrekkers already knew that they were going to have
more business than they could handle based on the treks they had booked through the
Internet, alone. Jaguartrekkers was impressed with Javier’s willingness to aid their
organization in a time of need. Also, they were aware that Javier was Mayan and
struggling to get his own trekking company started. Thus, Jaguartrekkers decided that an
alliance with Javier would help further their pro-Mayan organizational goals and it would
give them an outlet for their overflow business. This meant that Jaguartrekkers would
not have to turn away clients. They also made a deal with Javier whereby Q’anjob’al
Tours would share some of the trekking fees from the overflow business with
Jaguartrekkers. With this alliance, Jaguartrekkers could continue to grow as a business
and support their social development programs. Javier was pleased with this arrangement
because it meant that he would have a steady flow of treks in the summer. In addition,
Javier was familiar with the benefits that local Mayan communities received from
Jaguartrekkers’ social development programs and he was more than happy to see some of
the profits from the tours help local Mayas. From Javier’s perspective, the establishment
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of this alliance with an international tourism organization could be the make or break
difference for Q’anjob’al Tours.
Local Business Alliances and Tourism Guilds
In Quetzaltenango, there are a number of tourism guilds. There is the Association
of Guides, the Association of Restaurants, the “Zona Viva” or Lively Zone Association,
the Camera del Commercio (the equivalent of The Better Business Bureau), The
Association of Artisans, the Association of Hotels, and the Association of Arts and
Culture. All of these associations meet separately on a regular basis; they have elected
positions and official representatives, and all have their own agendas, goals, and internal
dynamics. The two largest and most influential organizations are The Association of
Spanish Schools in Quetzaltenango (ASSQ) and The Association of Tour and Travel
Agencies (ATTA).
In ASSQ and ATTA, tourism organizations form business alliances for the mutual
benefit of the associated organizations. One of the benefits of belonging to these
organizations is the sharing of capital in the form of books, teachers, and shared
marketing campaigns. It is also within these associations that larger scale tourism
development plans are created for Quetzaltenango. However, ASSQ and ATTA, as well
as most other guilds in Quetzaltenango, experience cycles of conflict and instability
based on struggles to control capital and authority.
ASSQ was founded in 1997 as an organization that works to “better the quality of
Spanish instruction and to guarantee tourists a high level of security.” ASSQ was
popular at its inception. The majority of the language schools were members of ASSQ
and the organization used this strength in numbers to lobby the Municipality of
Quetzaltenango to increase the police presence in areas with higher concentrations of
tourists. ASSQ also staged educational conferences for the benefit of its members in an
attempt to raise and standardize the level of Spanish instruction. Additionally, ASSQ
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was the organization that initiated and created the large scale Strategic Tourism Plan for
Quetzaltenango (2003). As an organization, they have tried to convince the current
Mayor and other representatives of the Municipality of Quetzaltenango to undertake
some of their large-scale projects.
All three of the language schools discussed in this dissertation were originally
members of ASSQ and each school reaped some benefits from membership. For
example, ASSQ singled out ILM as a model language school. The director of INGUAT
was in Quetzaltenango to assess the area’s potential for tourism development, and as part
of this tour, he sought out a language school. ASSQ chose ILM as their local
representive of a model language school and the director of INGUAT was impressed by
their operation. As a result, ILM gained local and national distinction. Sayaché and
Iztapa also enjoyed benefits as members of the organization. Representatives of each
school took advantage of the educational conferences about Spanish teaching methods,
and all three schools enjoyed the benefits of ASSQ advertisements as ASSQ sent
representatives to world tourism conferences and events to recruit language students to
come to Quetzaltenango.
This harmony was not long lived, however, and straightforward business rivalries
sometimes turned into ethnic rivalries. After the initial first few years of ASSQ, wide
ranging mistrust and conflict developed between the language schools. This initial
mistrust was a product of the INGUAT director’s visit. As a result of his experiences
with ASSQ and the language schools of Quetzaltenango, the INGUAT director suggested
that all the language schools uniformly raise their prices. His justification was that the
prices in Quetzaltenango were often less than half of the prices charges by language
schools in Costa Rica and Mexico. Thus, there was room for raising prices while still
remaining competitive. Plus, an increase in price would raise language teachers’ salaries
and earn additional capital to further support the schools’ social development projects.
ASSQ sponsored a series of meetings to raise the general level of language school prices.
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In the meetings, some schools argued that they would lose their competitive advantage in
relation to other local schools if they raised their prices. However, eventually all
affiliated organization agreed to raise their prices the following summer.
Yet, not all of the schools followed through with their promise the next summer.
Many of the schools saw this inaction as an attempt to undercut other schools. This
initiated widespread mistrust within the organization and eventually many of the
affiliated schools left ASSQ, accusing the leadership of egoism and corruption. Today,
of the over forty language schools in Quetzaltenango, only twelve are members of ASSQ.
ILM and Sayaché became frustrated with ASSQ because of several organizations’ selfinterest, and left the alliance. Of the three language schools discussed in this dissertation,
only Iztapa continues as a member of ASSQ.
This account of conflict and dissolution of a local alliance is a typical example of
business rivalries and the difficulties of cooperating in competitive markets. What makes
this case especially interesting is that participants in this conflict also came to see the
conflict in ethnic terms. According to the current leaders of ILM and Sayaché,
organizations that had a serious commitment to pro-Mayan political activism became
disillusioned with straight business alliances. Both ILM and Sayaché left the language
school guild because they felt that some of the other business owners did not share the
same commitment to building civil society. Without this common commitment, the
leaders of ILM and Sayaché felt that the local tourism guilds would be doomed to eternal
rivalry and conflict as they competed with each other. To this day, the leaders of ILM
and Sayaché have refused to join newly formed tourism guilds, and the newly formed
tourism guilds continue to demonstrate cycles of cooperation, competition, conflict and
dissolution.
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National Alliances and Instability
There are three main factors that constrain a local tourism organization’s ability to
form beneficial alliances with national-level tourism organizations. The first is a lack of
leadership on the national level. Continually changing tourism development agendas and
INGUAT directors have made it difficult for any Quetzalteco tourism organization, with
or without a commitment to pro-Mayan activism, to establish a beneficial relationship
with national level tourism organizations. The second factor is the restricted ability of
tourism organizations with a commitment to building civil society to participate in these
alliances. The third factor is the continued cycles of competition, conflict and dissolved
unions between organizations which do not have a shared moral or social agenda. Each
these three factors, individually and combined, have made the creation of alliances
between local tourism organizations and national-level organizations extremely difficult.
They have also rendered nearly every alliance that has been formed between local and
national organizations ineffectual.
Traditionally, there has been little national level support for any type of tourism in
Quetzaltenango. Tourism in Quetzaltenango began on its own and developed with local
initiative. However, as the popularity of language schools, trekking companies, and
weaving cooperatives began to grow in Quetzaltenango, larger national governmental
agencies started to take interest in Quetzalteco tourism. Unfortunately, a lack of stability
within INGUAT has made the establishment of meaningful alliances with Quetzalteco
tourism organizations difficult.
INGUAT states that its goal is “the promotion, development and growth of
tourism at both national and international levels” (INGUAT 2004). However, on a local
level many Quetzaltecos are critical of INGUAT’s lack of leadership and commitment to
supporting tourism growth in Quetzaltenango. Most point to the fact that INGUAT
receives large sums of money from local taxes on tourism-related activities, but
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Quetzaltenango never sees the money returned in investments that would benefit the
community, such as a viable airport, roads, and other infrastructure.
A further criticism of INGUAT on a local and national level is that the leadership
is always changing. Most leaders of the tourism industry in Quetzaltenango will readily
suggest that the directors of INGUAT have traditionally been political cronies of the
president. In the last thirty-two years, there have been thirty-four directors of INGUAT.
With each new director, comes a new research agenda and plan for Guatemalan tourism
development. For example, when I started to design this research project, INGUAT had
recently released a new tourism study which focused on Quetzaltenango as one of three
areas of intensive tourism promotion (INGUAT 2001). Quetzaltenango was chosen due
to its “multiple opportunities to encounter living indigenous cultures” (INGUAT 2001:
141). In this plan, INGUAT, along with JICA (the Japanese Agency for International
Cooperation) conducted a viability study for tourism expansion in Quetzaltenango that
proposed the creation and the implementation of a program that they called “Museo
Vivo” or “Living Museum”(INGUAT 2001: 8). Museo Vivo was to be a certification
program on the national and potentially international level, which would stimulate and
reinforce the identity of local populations and function to strengthen the integration of the
community into the tourism development project. If local Quetzaltecos were able to meet
the standards of the Museo Vivo program, which were never developed, they were to
receive both technical and financial benefits, as well as additional tourism support from
the national government (INGUAT 2001: 9).
With the release of this new plan, and a new source for potential national-level
support, Quetzaltecos began to inquire about the Museo Vivo program to see if their
tourism events would qualify for support. Just as the program got underway, a new
director of INGUAT was named and the entire tourism development plan was scrapped.
After many of these types of experiences, most local tourism promoters in
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Quetzaltenango are pessimistic about any INGUAT claim to support local tourism
development.
The second factor is a lack of participation in local tourism guilds by
organizations with a commitment to pro-Mayan politics. As an extension of the conflicts
that developed along ethnic lines in local tourism guilds, most tourism organizations with
a commitment to building civil society do not participate in larger national level alliances.
National level tourism organizations such as INGUAT and CAMTUR tend to deal with
Quetzalteco tourism on a guild by guild basis rather than on an organization by
organization basis. In turn, alliances between local-level tourism guilds and national
tourism organizations have little, if any, commitment to pro-Mayan activism. Also,
organizations with a commitment to pro-Mayan activism are restricted from access to
positions of leadership and authority in the local tourism industry community. They are
also denied access to vital economic and material resources offered by the state.
The third factor that limits the benefits of alliances between local and national
level tourism organizations is continual competition, conflict, and the dissolution of
alliances. These alliances are generally based solely on business interests. Local tourism
organizations and guilds create alliances with national-level organizations so that they
can access national-level economic and material resources. None of the organizations
involved in these alliances share a common commitment to pro-Mayan politics and
building civil society. Therefore, much like in business-motivated local alliances, this
lack of commitment to a common cause establishes unions that continue to experience
cyclical failure.
Both INGUAT and CAMTUR seem determined to create a solid tourism
committee in Quetzaltenango, and they have continued to promote a growing relationship
between national and local-level tourism organizations. An influx of national tourism
development dollars has the potential to significantly affect the direction and pace of
tourism development. However, local struggles to attain the authority to direct this
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development, and to control sources of national tourism development capital, have
threatened to derail two large scale nationally sponsored tourism development projects.
On March 15th of 2005, Ricky, President of ATTA (the Association of Trekking
and Tourist Agencies), and Freddy, INGUAT’s Quetzaltenango representative, organized
a meeting at Las Calas, a trendy local restaurant near the center of town which is known
for its gallery of original art work as well as for its courtyard filled with lilies. Ricky and
Freddy had invited all the leaders of tourism guilds to discuss the reestablishment of a
Quetzaltenango tourism committee that would unify the leaders of all of
Quetzaltenango’s tourism guilds into one entity. The meeting was scheduled to start at
3:30pm but at that time only a handful of tourism business owners and guild leaders had
assembled. Little by little, representatives of ASSQ, INGUAT, the association of Guides,
Restaurants, Zona Viva, The Municipality, CAMTUR, Camera del Commercio
(Equivalent of Chamber of Commerce), the Association of Artisans, and the Association
of Art and Culture all began to filter in.
Apparently, word of the meeting had spread and non-leader members of some of
the tourism guilds also decided to attend. As a result, there were more people at the
meeting than Ricky and Freddy had planned for, and by about 4:00pm, the room in the
back of Las Calas was filled to the brim. The leaders of Quetzaltenango tourism guilds
and other tourism guild members were all well dressed. The vast majority of tourism
leaders who were invited to participate in the meeting were male Ladinos. There were a
few women in the group, most had note pads and looked prepared to take notes in a
secretarial role. The only Mayan representative of any organization was Javier of
Q’anjob’al Tours. Many of the attendees seemed to know each other and they conversed
in groups of three to four. Waiters began to bring coffee and a small cookie to those who
managed to get seats at the table and people talked about the weather, how business had
been, and the local soccer team.
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At about 4:15pm Ricky brought the meeting to order. He first passed out what
looked like an agenda. At further inspection, it turned out to be a document discussing
ATTA’s mission and goals. Ricky briefly explained the history, plans, and values of
ATTA. He gave a brief explanation of the point of the meeting, which was essentially to
organize a local tourism committee. Ricky then introduced Freddy as the head of
INGUAT’s Quetzaltenango office. Freddy announced that INGUAT had Q500,000 (or
about $62,500) to donate to tourism development in Quetzaltenango. The stipulation that
INGUAT set for receiving this money was that the leaders of Quetzaltenango’s tourism
guilds all had to be equally represented in a unified and legalized tourism organization.
Local representatives were visibly excited by the announcement. Ricky then
explained how funds were going to be transferred directly to the committee and not to a
third party. He said, "We need to be really serious. The money and support from
INGUAT is there for our taking and we need to rely on ourselves to organize and make
this happen. If we can come together and cooperate equally we have the opportunity to
turn Quetzaltenango into ‘a world class tourism destination’.”
Then Ricky opened the floor to comments. The leader of the Arts and Culture
group advised that, "If we don't form the committee we will lose this great opportunity
that has been presented to us." Next, Sergio, the leader of the last INGUAT-sponsored
tourism committee that disbanded under rumors of his corruption, said, “This is going to
be different, a ‘true committee’." He stated that he liked the ideas and vision of ATTA
that were presented in the literature. He also said that, "everyone knows that Xela is
sleeping - we need to wake it up".
Once the speeches had finished, Ricky announced that the next meeting to vote
for board members of the new organization would be held on March 19th of 2005 at
“Puente del Asados,” a local restaurant owned by the president of the restaurant guild.
The meeting adjourned and the majority of the meeting attendees left Las Calas talking
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about potential uses for the INGUAT money. All seemed excited about the future of the
committee.
On March 19th of 2005, the presidents of each of the tourism guilds in
Quetzaltenango – all upper-class Ladinos – met at “El Puente” to organize what would be
known as the “Tourism Action Committee” (or TAC) and to elect guild presidents to
positions on the board of the TAC committee. The guild representatives were jovial; they
were all seated at a white linen-covered table in the back of the restaurant and coffee was
served.
Freddy started the meeting by making another speech about the importance of the
committee to Quetzaltenango and he explained how the money would be transferred from
INGUAT once the committee was formed and legally registered. Then the elections were
held. The first position was President of TAC. People were nominated, secret ballots
were written and placed in a hat, and Esteban, the President of the Arts and Culture guild,
was elected President of TAC by a fairly wide margin. The second election for VicePresident was then held, and originally, Ricky of ATTA won the position.
However, the election was decided by one vote and the question was asked
whether one could vote for themselves, or not. After a debate, it was decided that you
could not vote for yourself. It was determined that some did vote for themselves, so a
new vote was taken. In this vote Ricky was replaced by Sergio of ASSQ as VicePresident. Eventually, Ricky won the position of Third Vocal, which was the lowest
position on the board. He seemed to take this well at the time, but later this caused a
huge conflict.
In the following weeks, TAC met on a regular basis. They hired a lawyer to draw
up the by-laws of the organization and to help register TAC legally with the government.
Furthermore, they decided that they would use the Q500,000 to renovate “El Baul,”
which is a scenic lookout point on a mountain that overlooks Quetzaltenango’s Central
Park. Throughout the organization of the El Baul project, small conflicts would arise.
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The meetings in “El Puente” were cordial. Coffee was always served and people seemed
to enjoy each other’s company. However, individual people were highly critical of
others’ actions. After the meetings, while walking home in groups of three or four
members of the committee, concerns would be voiced.
The largest conflict for authority revolved around Ricky. For unexplained
reasons, Ricky had missed four meetings in a row and made no attempt to contact TAC
with an excuse or explanation. After Ricky missed his fourth meeting, Esteban used his
authority as president to announce that some action would have to be taken and he
ordered the secretary to write a letter to Ricky expressing the importance of his presence
at the meetings and that if he continued to be absent, they would have to elect another
representative from ATTA for the TAC position. Publicly, people justified Ricky’s
absence with the fact that he was busy opening a new wine and cheese bar. Privately,
however, people commented that Ricky was resentful about not being elected to the VicePresident position in TAC. Between the fourth and fifth week of Ricky’s absence, the
competition for the authority to direct Quetzalteco tourism development became even
more heated with the organization of a local CAMTUR committee.
Historically, CAMTUR has had little interaction with Quetzaltenango. They had
few locally-associated businesses and CAMTUR had previously made little effort to
change this. However, in April of 2005, CAMTUR invited Quetzaltenango’s tourism
businesses to La Pension Bonifaz (the largest hotel in the center of town) and they staged
their first official meeting in Quetzaltenango. The Director of CAMTUR, Maru
Acevedo, along with her secretary and assistant, handed out informational materials to a
small group of local businesses and they gave a general presentation about the goals and
projects of CAMTUR in an effort to entice local businesses to sign up as associate
members. They also announced that they were going to form a locally-based CAMTUR
commission and they scheduled the election for the commission for the following May
13th.
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By the time May 13th came around, word of the meeting with CAMTUR had
spread to a larger number of local tourism-related businesses. As the room filled at La
Pension Bonifaz, Maru and her assistants handed out copies of the same information they
had handed out at the previous meeting. They then began to talk about the process of the
election. Many of the local business representatives were at a CAMTUR meeting for the
first time and asked for another explanation of CAMTUR’s goals. Maru looked a little
nervous and ill-prepared to revisit the issues they had covered at the last meeting.
However, she and her assistants explained CAMTUR’s mission and projects, once again,
and most of the local business leaders were finally satisfied that they were in the loop.
Maru then made an expansive presentation about CAMTUR’s “Oasis” program
which would create rest areas and improve security on Guatemala’s roads. CAMTUR
was going to start on the Pan-Am highway from Guatemala City to La Mesilla at the
Mexican border. She said that so far, they had purchased the land and drawn up the plans
to create the areas in villages of Tecpan and Alaska, which were logical stopping points
on the way to Quetzaltenango. She said that the areas would have telephones,
restaurants, Internet access, artisan sales, auto mechanics, and most important of all, a
police force that would keep the roads secure12
Then, with the explanation of Oasis out of the way, Maru suggested they move to
the election of CAMTUR’s local committee representatives. The first election was for
president of CAMTUR’s local committee. Ricky of ATTA was the first to be nominated
for the position, and, as he was nominated, he suggested that they specify whether or not
someone could vote for themselves because he had had problems with elections in the
12 The stretch of the Pan-American Highway between Guatemala City and
Quetzaltenango has long been a security concern. Once of twice a month there are articles in the
paper about buses that were pulled over by bandits who robbed bus passengers, many of whom
are tourists, of all their money and goods. Furthermore, this stretch of road is occasionally closed
by locals who use road blockades to protest various actions of national or international concern.
Often these protests result in violence.
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past. They decided that you could not vote for yourself. They collected written ballots
from all meeting attendees and tabulated the results. This time Ricky won the election by
a wide margin.
On a national level, CAMTUR and INGUAT were essentially sister
organizations. CAMTUR occupied a floor of the INGUAT building in Guatemala City.
They shared employees. Also, in 2003, CAMTUR, with the support and interaction of
INGUAT, released Guatemala’s newest national tourism development plan (CAMTUR
2003). On the national level, it is sometimes difficult to see where CAMTUR starts and
INGUAT ends.
This was not the case in Quetzaltenango, however. At one time there were no
local tourism boards that tried to unite all of Quetzaltenango’s tourism guilds, now,
within a two month period two new boards had been formed. This created competition
for authority to control the direction of tourism development within the newly formed
organizations and competition for capital from INGUAT and CAMTUR. It also further
exacerbated personal and organizational conflicts and many organizations eventually had
to choose sides between the alliances.
Ricky did show up to TAC’s meeting after missing four weeks of meetings in a
row. However, this time, he arrived before the meeting began with information about
CAMTUR and their future projects. He handed the information to a group of TAC
representatives who were waiting for the doors of “El Puente” to open. He then said that
he had some business to attend to and could not make the meeting.
By the time the TAC meeting had started, Esteban had read over Ricky’s
information and he seemed visibly annoyed. Esteban started out the meeting with a
discussion about Ricky’s position in TAC. In Esteban’s view, Ricky’s lack of
participation meant that it would be impossible for Ricky to continue as a member of
TAC.
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While this conversation was going on, the secretary of ATTA arrived. Esteban
wanted to appoint her as the new TAC representative and the rest of the TAC committee
agreed on the basis that Ricky had not been to a meeting in five weeks. She, however,
was not prepared to accept the position and wanted to confer with her constituents in
ATTA to make sure that Ricky was willing to give up his position in the first place. She
also wanted to make sure that she would be the logical new TAC representative.
Two weeks after my final meeting with TAC, I met with Javier of Q’anjob’al
Tours in Antigua. Javier said that ATTA had decided to leave TAC due to hard feelings
and internal conflicts. This left the future of TAC in question. Part of INGUAT’s
mandate to create a local tourism commission stated that all relevant tourism guilds had
to be represented in local tourism boards in order to receive INGUAT support. Since
ATTA was one of the largest tourism guilds in Quetzaltenango, ATTA’s departure posed
a large problem for TAC. Javier also said that ATTA was concentrating all of its efforts
on supporting the new CAMTUR Quetzaltenango group. Ricky was president of the
organization and they thought that their interest would be better represented in a group
where they had more of a say in the control of the direction of the organization.
Although both CAMTUR and INGUAT share the same goals on a national level,
on a local level, the politics of Quetzaltenango created personal and organizational
conflict and set CAMTUR and INGUAT agendas at odds. Both of these projects had the
potential to further develop tourism in Quetzaltenango. This development could have
brought new tourism business to the area and it would have most likely helped to make
more money for all Quetzalteco tourism organizations. However, competition for limited
national resources and the authority to direct these resources eventually threatened to
destroy both alliances. Without the additional bond of pro-Mayan activism and a
commitment to building civil society, both projects seemed doomed to failure.
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International Alliances and Tourism in Quetzaltenango
The dynamics of international alliances function significantly differently than
their local and national counterparts. Where intra-Guatemalan alliances are typically
characterized by a competition for limited resources from other local or national tourism
organizations, international alliances side-step this dilemma by establishing personal
relationships with foreign tourists or organizations. One effective way to attract foreign
aid is through the promotion of pro-Mayan politics and social development programs.
Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry has traditionally had little international
influence from governmental, non-governmental13 or corporate organizations. There are
no internationally-based hotel chains, banks or other tourism services. Occasionally,
there are rumors within the tourism community that the Dutch, Japanese or other
governments are looking to donate money to help support tourism development.
However, there is usually little substance to support these rumors.
The rumors in the summer of 2005 were that the Japanese proposed to donate
$50,000 to Quetzaltenango’s development projects. This was the extent of the rumor.
There was no further information accompanying the rumor to explain why the amount
was $50,000, whether or not the Japanese had specific projects in mind, or what one
would have to do to access these funds. It was true that the Japanese government was
planning to give $6,500,000 to Quetzaltenango for water treatment and other
infrastructure projects (LaPrensaLibre 2005). If some of this money was to be used to
support tourism, this could have translated into the first real international governmental
13 TelaMaya is an exception to this general trend. The organizations was originally
conceived of, founded by, and supported with the money of a Dutch NGO. However, this
relationship was not long lasting due to allegations of corruption and competition for resources.
Today TelaMaya is in the same position as other Quetzalteco tourism organizations. TelaMaya
needs to rely on face-to-face encounters with international tourists to try and elicit sources of
international support.
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donation for that purpose. However, there was no real evidence that this donation would
ever materialize.
During my last week in Quetzaltenango, there was a new rumor that a
“Scandinavian country” wanted to donate $25,000,000 to INGUAT. This money was to
be used to build an international airport in Quetzaltenango. Whether or not this is true, it
is hard to say. I do know that TAC was scrambling to put together a presentation for an
airport project. However, no one was sure which country was interested, exactly how
much money they may actually have allocated for the project, or what a presentation for
an airport would contain. Again, no foreign money has actually materialized for such a
project.
Although there are no foreign hotel chains, there are a few international fast-food
chains in Quetzaltenango. McDonalds has been in Quetzaltenango for a decade and
Dominos has been there almost as long. Furthermore, within the last four years, Subway,
Burger King, and Taco Bell have arrived in Quetzaltenango. Yet, these chains do not
have a direct effect on tourism development in the city. I did not meet a single
international tourist who traveled from their country to Quetzaltenango in order to buy
the Guatemalan version of the McDonalds cheeseburger. However, it must be said that
many international tourists do frequent these establishments. Additionally, international
tourists and Guatemalans do sometimes come from the areas surrounding Quetzaltenango
to have a North American-style meal. This, in some ways, increases visits to the city.
Despite a lack of international institutional support, it is evident that relationships
with individual international partners, many of whom first came to Quetzaltenango as
tourists, play a substantial role in Quetzaltenango’s tourism development. The founding
of each tourism organization featured in this dissertation was facilitated by international
aid. Instead of receiving direct influence from internationally-based governmental
organizations, private corporations, or non-governmental agencies, much of the tourism
development in Quetzaltenango is heavily influenced by the ability of locally-based
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organizations’ ability to establish personal relationships with their international clientele
that go well beyond a producer-client relationship.
The most effective means to establish personal relationships with international
clientele is through the organizational promotion of pro-Mayan activism. Generally these
relationships begin with international tourists as customers. As guides, language
teachers, or weaving instructors local Guatemalans will first come to know the foreign
tourists through a basic tourism-related business relationship. However, the bonds of
these relationships are often strengthened as the guide, teacher, or weaving instructor
promotes Mayan cultural activism to intensify the relationship. If the local tourism
representatives can peak the interest of international tourists in pro-Mayan political
issues, this establishes a bond that can extend to financial, material or volunteer support
for the tourism organizations and their social development programs.
The vast majority of Quetzalteco tourism organizations market pro-Mayan activist
agendas to attract tourists and all of these organizations make a major effort to establish a
personal relationship with current or potential clients. At all three language schools,
Jaguartrekkers, and TelaMaya, tourists are confronted with a barrage of posted
information – usually in English – about the organizations’ social development programs
and how foreign tourists’ relationships with these programs can help benefit the Maya of
Quetzaltenango. The posted information is then always followed up by a conversation, in
English if possible, with a coordinator or director of the organization.
In this conversation, the coordinator will hand out further brochures and
informational materials describing the importance of their social development programs.
Finally, the director or coordinator will follow up the brochure with an oral description of
the programs and some anecdotal evidence about the program’s social benefits as a way
to entice the clients to give them their business.
If the international tourist then decides to give their business to the organization,
they will be given an in-depth orientation with additional written and oral information
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about the social development programs and how they benefit Mayan communities. The
guides, directors, teachers, and coordinators then continue to apply consistent daily
pressure on their clients to establish closer relationships with the tourism organization.
These relationships are often established at organization-sponsored activities such as the
traditional Friday dinner at a language schools that is used as a graduation ceremony for
departing students. Relationships can also easily be formed while hiking over mountains
and through small villages, and then camping under the stars. Personal relationships are
equally easy to create as students talk to the teachers about their lives as they run thread
through a back-strap loom or learn Spanish verbs. In all of these cases, there is a
strategic effort to both create personal contact with international clients to give them a
positive and personal tourist experience, and also to present the pro-Mayan activist
attributes of the school in a particular light that will entice international clientele to
increase their relationship with the organization through donations of both time and
money.
Quetzaltenango’s language schools, in particular, rely heavily on personal
contacts with their international students for support. At its most basic level, support is
established when the client chooses to partake in the tourism organizations’ activities.
All the tourism organizations discussed in this dissertation with social development
programs donate a portion of their clients’ patronage (in theory) to support their
programs. If the relationship is further developed, this may include the recruitment of
international representatives who are in charge of finding new students from abroad.
This may also include the support of a foreign coordinator, such as with Sayaché. In
addition, all three language schools rely on former international students for donations to
help support the school and some of their social development programs. All of these
types of international support provide vital organizational, technical, and financial aid to
the language schools.
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Quetzaltenango’s language schools are also supported by international
organizational donations. Former students often return to their country of origin and
attempt to raise money from church groups, educational institutions and corporations to
support language school social development programs. For example, Steve, a midtwenties language student from Providence, Rhode Island started his language training at
Sayaché on the same day that I did. Steve had studied Spanish as an undergraduate and
majored in Political Science. Since his graduation two years before, Steve had been
working in Providence as a carpenter. He was growing tired of manual labor, so that past
Fall, Steve applied to a number of prestigious Political Science graduate programs. In his
applications, he indicated that he was interested in specializing in Latin America.
Therefore, while he was waiting for news of his acceptance, he decided that he would
spend some quality time in Guatemala, becoming familiar with their political system and
brushing up on his Spanish.
On his first day of language instruction, Steve started his language instruction
with Julio, a long-time teacher at the school. Since Steve had already had a little Spanish
training, the two were able to dive right into more in-depth conversations. Julio asked
Steve to tell him about his life and why he came to Guatemala. Steve started to talk
about his family and his intellectual interests in Latin American politics. Julio then led
this conversation into a brief explanation of Guatemalan history, and Mayan socioeconomic subordination and exploitation. Steve had read a little bit about Guatemalan
ethnic relations in a few college courses and in guidebooks before he came to
Quetzaltenango and he became even more engrossed in the subject as the conversation
continued. Before the break had arrived, Julio had explained Sayaché’s pro-Mayan
activist stance to Steve and had convinced Steve to volunteer to help build a stove the
following day in Llanos-del-Pinal, a small Mayan town outside of Quetzaltenango.
The next day, Steve arrived in Llanos to help build stoves. He talked to the
Spanish teachers who had accompanied the group while they were helping build stoves.
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The teachers told Steve a little more about the community, the plight of the local Mayas,
and the community’s needs. Steve enjoyed his conversations with the teachers and with
the other students, and once a week for the next three weeks Steve accompanied the
group out to the town to help build more stoves.
After Steve had completed a month of language instruction, he had built on his
previous knowledge of the language to a point where he was beginning to feel
comfortable with the language. He was also growing a little tired of the language
school’s daily grind of five hours of one-on-one language instruction. Therefore, he
decided to take a break for a week. During his break, Steve took short trips with friends
to Mayan villages outside of town. He spent a lot of time at Internet cafés during the day
and hung out at the tourist bars at night.
A week without language instruction left Steve wanting more structure and
meaning to his day. Therefore, he decided to go back out to volunteer on the stoves
project again. While building stoves with the students and teachers, Steve began to talk
about his carpentry experience. One of the teachers mentioned the Sayaché-sponsored
daycare program for underprivileged Mayan children that needed help from a carpenter.
A fellow student overheard this conversation and they both decided that the next day they
would go out to the daycare and do some work for them.
While volunteering at the school, Steve and the other student noticed that the
children did not really have a safe or pleasant play area. When they came back to the
school later that afternoon, they drew up plans for a jungle-gym with slides, monkey bars,
tire swings, and towers. Later that night, over a few beers, they decided that they did not
have the money to finance the project, themselves. But, Steve’s father was a pastor at a
large church in Providence so Steve decided to ask his congregation to donate money to
build the playground. Two days later, Steve received word from his father that he had
secured more than $500 for the project.
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Steve’s fellow student returned to the United States within a few days, so he never
really got to see the project get off the ground. But, a week after visiting the daycare for
the first time, Steve was picking out wood, buying tools, and recruiting Sayaché students
to go out to Llanos to help build the playground. Nearly every afternoon for the next
month, you could find Steve in the dusty valley of Llanos, building the playground in the
shade of the Santa Maria volcano. I would often go out to the playground site to help
Steve with his project. We would have a beer and he would train me in the finer points of
carpentry. By the time a month was over, Steve, with a little help from foreigners like
me, had built a huge and impressive jungle gym for the local Mayan children.
Steve was not a typical student. Most tourists that come to Quetzaltenango do not
speak Spanish as well as Steve did when he arrived. Furthermore, most students do not
have the time, talent, and connections to build a playground. What is typical of this story,
however, is that the language teachers of Sayaché recognized Steve’s talents and
interests. The school was able to encourage Steve’s political science vocation to promote
pro-Mayan political activism. The school was then able to turn these interests into a
volunteer activity that increased the local stature of the school, while providing a benefit
to local Mayan communities.
The establishment of personal relationships is also important for Jaguartrekkers
and TelaMaya. First and foremost, the administration of Jaguartrekkers is 100%
dependent on international volunteers. They consistently invite foreign tourists to
dinners, parties, and other social occasions as a means to recruit not only future clients,
but volunteers as tour guides and administrators. All of Jaguartrekkers’ equipment is
donated by former clients. Without these relationships, the organization could not
support the treks or the social development programs. Jaguartrekkers also makes a
significant attempt to solicit donations from their clients. This may come in the form of
tips, which the guides split and use to buy food and beer while they are not trekking, or it
may come in the form of direct donations to support specific social development projects.
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Jaguartrekkers has built a good reputation over the years for the quality of their
social development programs, and this reputation is starting to pay off in unexpected
ways. From time to time, through word of mouth conversations with former clients,
unsolicited international institutions donate money to the organization’s programs. For
example, while I was visiting Jaguartrekkers’ school for disadvantaged children outside
of Quetzaltenango, a group of Mennonites from the United States arrived with a donation
of $5,000. They said that they had heard about Jaguartrekkers through a friend who had
been on a trek and they had extra money from another project in the area to donate to the
school.
Finally, as I have mentioned, most of Jaguartrekkers’ guides and administrators
are young, hip, and energetic. They often speak multiple languages and, as foreigners,
themselves, they are often willing and able to establish conversations with language
school students, most of whom have similar characteristics. Once these conversations are
begun, personal relationships are often formed. As the relationships develop,
Jaguartrekkers guides usually make an effort to convince the international tourists to
make donations of either time or money.
Although all of these tourism organizations seek to establish international support
through personal relationships, except for Hyper Tours, not all organizations are equally
successful. Some organizations and organizational leaders are more adept at establishing
and maintaining beneficial alliances, promoting social development programs,
accumulating capital and advancing the mission of their organization, while others are
not. Hyper Tours has no officially organized, social development program.
However,
Javier at Q’onjob’al Tours, for example, is a talented communicator and, when given the
opportunity, he can easily convince international tourists to use his services in order to
support his quite personable Mayan family. Jaguartrekkers’ guides are usually talented
communicators as well, and they take tactical advantage of their ability to speak multiple
languages to establish personal relationships with their international clients in order to
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recruit support for their goals. The directors of ILM are also particularly adept at
establishing close relationships with their clientele because they are rather personable
characters and passionate about their politics.
However, much of the ability of these tourism organizations to successfully
convert pro-Mayan activism into a benefit for their organization is limited by a number of
factors. The most basic limiting factor is the size of the organization and the number of
clients that pass through their doors. TelaMaya, ILM, and Q’anjob’al Tours can take
advantage of the fact that they are Mayan-run organizations. Usually, when Mayan
organizations promote this characteristic to tourists, the tourists are more apt to establish
international support relationships. However, Mayan-run organizations have less capital,
they are significantly smaller, and they see fewer tourists. They, therefore, have less
opportunity to take advantage of tourists’ burgeoning pro-Mayan activism.
Conclusion
In both this chapter and the previous one, the “ethnic” part of tourism has proved
to be important in the internal and external relationships and alliances of
Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations. Pro-Mayan activism was the major motivating
factor that instigated both the foundation of and the conflict felt by the vast majority of
these tourism organizations. Pro-Mayan activism also forms the unifying factor for many
inter-organizational alliances. For example, the alliance between Jaguartrekkers and
Sayaché has been established based on the two organizations’ mutual goals to provide
economic and structural support for impoverished Mayas. A second pro-Mayan activism
alliance has been established between Jaguartrekkers and Q’anjob’al Tours. The original
relationship was made possible through Javier’s original gesture of aid in a time of
Jaguartrekkers need. However, the alliance was solidified by the organizations’ mutual
interest in pro-Mayan activism. The establishment of both of these alliances creates
mutual benefit for the involved organizations. Without the shared goals of challenging
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Mayas’ social subordination and providing economic support for local Mayan
communities, these alliances may never have been established and the benefits of these
alliances may never have been realized.
Of course, not all organizational relationships in Quetzaltenango are as cordial
and cooperative. Both local and national alliances are often disrupted over struggles to
control capital and the authority to direct Quetzalteco tourism development. ASSQ
serves as an example in which a local alliance within a tourism guild could have
improved the ability of all language schools to accumulate capital. A few schools
neglected to raise their prices in the hopes of accumulating even more capital through the
attraction of a higher volume of students with their lower prices. Without the
commitment to pro-Maya politics and building civil society, this struggle to control
capital fractured the alliance and many schools left the guild.
This cycle of conflict to control capital and authority also spills into national-level
efforts to create alliances. For example, CAMTUR and INGUAT both had capital
funding for projects that have the potential to improve the infrastructure for the benefit of
all Quetzalteco tourism organizations. However, the struggle between Ricky and Esteban
for the authority to control this capital investment, which would set the agenda for future
Quetzalteco tourism development, threatened both projects.
International relationships established between tourism organizations and their
international clientele function quite differently. These alliances circumnavigate the
struggles to control capital and authority that are found between local players on
Quetzaltenango’s tourism scene. Those tourism organizations that successfully promote
their pro-Mayan activist agendas can create a bond with international tourists that go
beyond the producer-client relationship. These relationships often have the ability to
raise capital in the form of donations and volunteers that help these organizations gain the
power they need to achieve their goals. Ultimately, these types of alliances are the most
effective means to attain the organizations’ social and political ends.
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This examination of internal and external organizational alliance-building begins
to explain how local tourism organizations obtain and maintain power to realize their
goals. However, one major player in this analysis is still absent, the international tourist.
The tourism industry cannot exist without tourists. How these tourism organizations use
their internal and external alliances and relative positions of power to attract international
tourists, determines how these differing organizations’ activities do, or do not, challenge
negative stereotypes of Maya and provide new economic opportunities for Mayas in and
around Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
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CHAPTER FOUR
INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS AND THE QUETZALTENANGO
EXPERIENCE
International tourists, and the capital that they can provide, are the objects of
desire and the engines that runs the tourism industry. In the now classic work, Hosts and
Guests, Velene Smith says that although the motivations for individual travelers vary, “in
general, a tourist is a temporarily leisured person who voluntarily visits a place away
from home for the purpose of experiencing change” (Smith 1989a: 1). This is why the
vast majority of international tourists come to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. They have a
block of free time, maybe during a school break or between undergraduate and graduate
school, or perhaps they are retired and they are looking for a new and exciting
experience.
Morgan and Pritchard argue that the image expressed in tourism, “is one arena or
chora where experiences, identities and interactions are informed by the predominant
ideological constructions which shape those meanings and experiences” (Morgan and
Pritchard 1998: 13). Who creates the predominant ideological constructions of
Quetzaltenango’s Mayan identity and how do these constructions shape the experiences
of international tourists? How Mayas are presented to tourists not only provides a
glimpse of the tourist experience, it also helps to identify how local Quetzaltecos view
Mayas, themselves. Furthermore, do tourists’ interests, experiences, and activities
challenge long-held negative stereotypes of Mayas, or do they confirm them? How
international tourists react to pro-Mayan political agendas also helps to determine the
extent to which tourism in Quetzaltenango can challenge long-held stereotypes and
provide new economic resources for Quetzaltenango’s Mayan communities.
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Ethnicity and the “Exotic”: A Tourist Narrative
International, national, and local tourism marketers package Quetzaltenango as a
destination with access to “living indigenous cultures” (INGUAT 2001: 141). This
classifies Quetzaltenango as a destination for tourists who are looking for an “ethnic
tourism” experience. Smith makes an important distinction which sets ethnic and cultural
tourism apart from other popular types of tourism (1989a: 4-6). According to Smith,
ethnic tourism is “marketed to the public in terms of “quaint” customs of indigenous and
often exotic peoples” (ibid.). Cultural tourism then “includes the ‘picturesque’ or ‘local
color,’ a vestige of a vanishing life-style that lies within human memory with its ‘old
style’” (ibid.). In this sense, cultural tourism is a more general term which could
encompass North Americans’ or Europeans’ travels in Guatemala to see “local color” and
“vanishing lifestyles.” However, these same tourists could go to colonial Williamsburg
or to a castle in the Rhine Valley to view what could be perceived as local color or
vanishing lifestyles. What makes ethnic tourism distinct is that it is marketed as a chance
to view the customs of a different type of people. Not only are they “quaint” but they are
also “indigenous and exotic.” For the tourists, the mere experience of viewing Mayan
people constitutes the exciting change they are looking for.
In the eyes of the tourist, “ethnic” or “ethnicity” then “signifies something
interesting to see, promote,” and consume (Wood 1998: 230). For the Quetzaltenango
tourism industry, “the Maya” become an example of “exotic primitivism” (Desmond
1999: 5) for sale on the world tourism market. As Bruner has noted, brochures and
advertisements for North American and European tourists promoting areas like
Quetzaltenango often use terms like “tribal,” “primitive,” or “traditional” to help signify
the tour as something different and exotic (2005: 80). It is this differentiation, the
experience with the exotic “other,” which provides the tourists a change from everyday
life. This contributes to the area’s “special local character,” that attracts tourists to spend
their money and leisure time in this particular location (MacCannell 1999: 52).
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By using these types of exoticizing adjectives, tourism marketers claim the
authority to create an image of what Bruner calls the “tourist narrative.” He says that,
“when a new area is being developed for tourism, the local government and tourism
consultants strive to devise an appropriate storyline for the site, for without it a
destination may be difficult to sell.” In the tourist narrative, experiences with Mayas, and
other ethnic groups, are often portrayed as encounters with a “Golden age,” drawing from
nostalgia for days gone by (Bruner 2005: 4-5). From a marketing and development
perspective the tourist narrative successfully brands a product, and sells an experience
when it draws on familiar story lines or themes such as “Out of Africa, Wild Kingdom,
The African Queen, (or) National Geographic” (Bruner 2005: 22). From the potential
tourist’s perspective, the tourist narrative provides an authoritative visual and verbal
image of what their adventure with the exotic will be like.
Interactions and Borderzones
Generally, tourists come from wealthy countries with urban centers that allow
their citizens the ability to amass financial wealth and leisure time (Dennison 1989: 39).
In Quetzaltenango, financial wealth and security also contrasts the international tourist
with the average Quetzalteco they encounter on the street. According to my survey of
220 Quetzaltecos, covering all eleven zones of the city (see Appendix A), the average
citizen makes between Q1000 and Q2000 a month (or $120 to $240). This means that an
average Quetzalteco would have to work for about three months to earn enough money to
just buy a ticket to the United States, not to mention the money they would need to secure
for the visa and other expenses while they were on their vacation. This is why
Quetzalteco tourism organizations market to an exclusively international audience.
Quetzalteco tourism organizations are interested in tapping into much more lucrative
international sources of income.
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This great disparity in wealth and leisure between the average Quetzalteco and the
international tourist has caused many theorists to examine tourism as a form of
imperialism (see Bruner 2005; Nash 1989; Stanley 1998). An exotic tourist narrative
with tribal or primitive peoples, combined with increased economic power can produce
an increased sense of “social superiority” (Greenwood 1989: 184). Tourists gaze on the
ethnically exotic in a space that Bruner has termed the “borderzone, a point of
conjuncture…a distinct meeting place between the tourists…and the ‘natives’” (2005:
17). Inherent in this meeting space is a border, a separation between “us” and “them.” In
the borderzone, disparities of wealth and ideological conceptualizations of exotic and
primitive peoples allow foreign tourists to create the impression that their own traits “are
merely correct, while the corresponding qualities of others are ‘ethnic’” (MacCannell
1992: 121-122). In these borderzones, the “ethnic other” can be presented as “unspoiled
and undiscovered” or “happy primitives,” which replicates familiar themes of colonial
control (Bruner 2005: 192).
Power is expressed in the interactions between tourists and locals in the
borderzone. The tourist narrative fixes meaning, control, and creates a power of its own
(Bruner and Gorfain 2005: 172). The power to construct tourism marketing images
draws on the authority to select particular characteristics to represent “ethnicity.” Many
of these images have the potential to replicate the imperial domination of less powerful
groups. However, images presented in tourism can also increase a sense of ethnic pride
and establish new economic resources for local communities (see Hashimoto 1998;
Picard 1990; Smith 1989b). Many tourism organizations in Quetzaltenango proclaim a
commitment to pro-Mayan political agendas. Do the images presented in Quetzalteco
tourism events support or contradict these pro-Mayan political agendas?
This chapter begins by identifying predominant ideological constructions of
Mayas in popular international, national, and local tourism marketing images of
Guatemala and Quetzaltenango. Next a survey of one hundred international tourists
138
identifies who were attracted by the marketing images. Further analysis of the tourists’
characteristics, motivations, and activities while in Quetzaltenango provides insight into
both the effectiveness of specific marketing messages and the influence these tourist
narratives have in shaping the international tourist experience. Finally, examining the
tourist narrative and interactions in the borderzone through an ethnographic description
of a day in the life of an international tourist will illuminate elements of the tourist
narrative that are reproduced and challenged through the international tourist experience.
Guatemala and the International Tourist Narrative:
Websites and Guidebooks
Based on my survey of one hundred international tourists (fifty students inside
language schools and fifty tourists from around the city), most of the tourists in
Quetzaltenango obtained their information about Guatemala from websites, guidebooks
and friends:14
14 Refer to Appendix C for an explanation of this survey’s methodology.
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Figure 2
Sources of Information
26%
40%
Internet
Educational Institutions
Guide Books
Friends
26%
8%
According to this survey, 66% of the respondents rely on the authority of either
the Internet or guidebooks for tourism information. The tourists, themselves, have
identified these media as the most popular sources of information on Guatemala. The
most interesting question for this dissertation is what representations of Guatemala,
Quetzaltenango, and Mayas do guidebooks and Internet sources construct. Based on
these percentages, I have conducted an analysis of popular Internet sites and guidebooks
to determine exactly how international marketers construct and sell Guatemala’s tourist
narrative.
The vast majority of the information about Guatemala seems to be focused on
Mayas. In order to test this hypothesis, I decided to count the frequency of the usage of
the words “Maya” or “Mayan,” “Indigenous” or “Indian,” and “Ladino” on the homepage
of a large number of Guatemalan tourist websites. I created a sample of sites, drawing
from two sources: suggested sites from popular guidebooks and a Google search. On
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January 31st 2006, I searched Google for “Guatemala Tourism” and received about
2,830,000 hits. Of these hits, I chose to examine the homepages of the first ten websites
(See Appendix B for a more detailed explanation of this process) to note the frequencies
of the terms Maya, Indigenous, and Ladino. According to my survey, I also found that
over 25% of tourists in Quetzaltenango got their travel information from guidebooks.
Therefore, I examined thirteen suggested websites from three popular Guatemala tour
guides, Lonely Planet: Guatemala (Nobel 2004: 10), Moon Handbooks: Guatemala
(Bernhardson 2001: 79), and Cadogan: Guatemala (Norton 1997: 6) (See Appendix B for
a more detailed explanation of this process). The following pie chart demonstrates the
combined results from the websites.
In all twenty-three websites, there was not a single usage of the term “Ladino,”
whereas “Maya” or “Mayan” were found 142 times and “Indian” or “Indigenous” were
found seven times. Given that all websites were chosen for their general information on
Guatemala and Guatemalan tourism events, one may expect to find that Guatemala’s
major ethnic groups would be proportionally represented with approximately 45% of the
descriptions focusing on Ladinos and the remaining 55% focusing on Mayas. However,
this is not even close to the case. Internet marketing and descriptions of Guatemala
tourism events are extremely Maya-centric. In fact, in the descriptions of Guatemala on
these websites, there is not one mention of the existence of Ladinos in Guatemala.
A more detailed examination of the website texts confirms an intense concern
with the “otherness” of the Maya. One of the first ideological constructions that Internet
authors use to attract potential tourists to Guatemala is that a trip to Guatemala is an
experience of change from the everyday lives of North Americans or Europeans.
Statements like these, for example, are fairly typical:
An in-depth Guatemala tour with highly personal guided
exploration of the dramatic scenery and culturally rich highlands of
central Guatemala. Volcanic peaks, colorful farmlands of rich dark
soil, crater lakes, early colonial architecture and mystical Mayan
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ruins accent a land of ancient and contemporary Maya life (Trip
Advisor 2006).
When you list its assets, Guatemala seems to be one of the
best travel destinations in Central America: the stunning Maya
ruins at Tikal, the well-preserved colonial city of Antigua, a
vibrant indigenous culture, active volcanoes, highland lakes, exotic
wildlife (Yahoo 2006).
With descriptions like these, it is instantly apparent that a trip to Guatemala will
represent a departure from the usual. Not only will you cross an international border, but
you will enter a different kind of place. If you travel to Guatemala, your leisure time will
be spent with “rich,” “dramatic,” “impressive,” “stunning,” and “exotic” experiences.
Furthermore, Guatemala presents something more than just natural beauty; it is also the
home to the Maya. Internet descriptions of Mayas quickly establish a tourist’s encounter
with Mayas as an experience with alterity. Mayas are separated and distinguished from
other ethnic groups. For example,
Guatemala is the most authentic country of the Americas,
where the traditional life of its indigenous people remains so
visible and accessible. Fifty-five percent of the population is
Amerindian belonging to 23 distinct groups, each with its own
language, craft specialty, rituals, beliefs, traditions and, of course,
indigenous markets (Wildland Adventures Inc. 2006).
Not only are Mayas different, they are also “traditional.” They are a separate
“other” who can be experienced through their distinct language, crafts, rituals etc.
Descriptions of “traditional” Mayas also usually include themes of Mayas as “primitive,”
or “exotic” with direct links to a “Golden age” of former Mayan glory.
The World of the Maya has many faces: some of them as
ancient as those found carved in towering temples, others as
modern as those of the people who live in Guatemala today. These
are the descendants of a mighty Maya people whose customs and
traditions are still part of the fabric of Guatemalan life (Guatemala
Unlimited 2006).
Three different traditions come together in today's
Guatemala: a pre-Columbian world of the Maya, a Spanish
colonial heritage, a modern, forward-looking society. This
diversity is central to the country's great appeal as a tourist
destination (Quetzalnet 2006).
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Most descriptions of Mayas try to create a direct link to a “pre-Columbian,” “ancient”
Mayan past. The tourist is then presented with the opportunity to experience something
ancient, “secret,” or “hidden” from daily life.
Internet descriptions of Quetzaltenango, itself, are usually brief in these websites.
But, they usually include similar themes. For example,
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala's second largest city, is 128
miles northwest of Guatemala City. Situated in a large valley
surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, this highland city
maintains the traditions of its Mayan-Quiche cultural heritage
together with its colonial past and dynamic modern life
(Guatemala Unlimited 2006).
Quetzaltenango is usually mentioned as the center of K’iche’ culture and linked with a
pre-Columbian and colonial past. It is also typical that a website will mention the
abundance of Spanish schools in the city. For example,
One of the top draws to Quetzaltenango, or "Xela," as the
Guatemalans call it, is the wide range of top-quality Spanish
schools. There are dozens to choose from and many are quite good.
This gives the town a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel. On any
Friday, walk into a bar and see the groups of international students
and their Guatemaltecan teachers celebrating the end of the school
week (Yahoo 2006).
However, most information on Quetzaltenango is not comprehensive and if
tourists want to get a more in-depth image of Quetzaltenango as a tourist destination, they
need to either refer to guidebooks or do Internet searches for local, Quetzaltenango-based
websites and tourist information.
International Guidebooks and Guatemala’s Tourist
Narrative
International guidebooks serve a significantly different function than websites.
Casañeda suggests that guidebooks are a combination of two forms of knowledge. They
present the “goings,” “doings,” “seeings,” and “sayings” as summarized knowledge of a
tourist destination. Guidebooks also serve as a map that “charts out the possibilities of
future travel/tours” and provide a structure for the travel experience (Casañeda 1996: 4).
143
In this way, as opposed to websites, guidebooks generally provide a much more
comprehensive description of the tourist site. They can also be used as a marketing tool
for specific businesses and activities within the site. Tourists use the information in
guidebooks for recommendations of places to visit and to frame what will become their
own tourist narrative before they arrive at their destination. Unlike websites, tourists also
use their guidebooks while at the actual tourist site to provide information that will help
frame their experiences when they are there.
As a continuation of my Maya-centric hypothesis, I decided to examine the
frequencies of the terms “Maya” or “Mayan,” “Indigenous” or “Indian,” and “Ladino” in
guidebooks. I used the popular and general guidebooks: Lonely Planet: Guatemala
(Nobel 2004), Moon Handbooks: Guatemala (Bernhardson 2001), and Cadogan:
Guatemala (Norton 1997). In these guidebooks, I limited my analysis to the most basic
introductions to Guatemala and the sections on Quetzaltenango (see Appendix B for a
more detailed description of this process).
An analysis of these three guidebooks produced the following results:
Table 11
Use of Terminology in Guidebooks
Maya
Indigenous
Ladino
Cadogan
(N=63 pages)
116
58
10
Moon
(N=56 pages)
99
31
17
Lonely Planet
(N=68 pages)
201
40
5
Total
416
129
32
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Guidebooks do acknowledge the existence of Guatemala’s Ladino populations.
However, the frequency that guidebooks use the term “Ladino” is still nowhere near
representative of Guatemala’s demographic characteristics. Based on these statistics, it is
easy to conclude that Mayas and indigenous culture are the overwhelming focus of
international tourism marketers and guidebook authors.
Many of the descriptions of Mayas in Guatemalan tourism guidebooks mirror the
same themes that are found in Guatemalan tourism websites. Guatemala is still a
stunning location that represents a significant change from daily life of the average
international tourist.
The Guatemala landscape is astonishingly diverse.
Separated from the steamy flatlands of the Pacific coast by a spiky
backbone of volcanoes, the Maya highlands offer some of the most
beautiful scenery (Eltringham et al. 2001: 316).
Mayas are still exotic, traditional, and from a long past golden age.
About half of the Guatemalan people are descended
directly from the ancient Maya whose sophisticated civilization
flourished here for more than a thousand years. Millions of
indigena (indigenous) Guatemalans dress, speak, work, and
worship much as their ancestors did… In today’s Guatemala you
can witness the living Maya culture, complete with ceremonial
sacrifices, elaborate timekeeping rituals, and the cultivation of
sacred crops (Mahler 1999: 2-3).
Compared to websites, the information available to tourists in guidebooks is more
comprehensive. Many of these guidebooks provide a fairly impressive section on
Guatemala’s history. For example, the Moon Handbooks: Guatemala (Bernhardson
2001: 19-34) offers a section on Guatemalan history that covers “Prehistory,” “Ancient
Civilizations and Architecture,” “Maya Mathematics and Calendrics,” “The Maya
Timeline,” “The Rise and Fall of the Classic Maya,” “Maya Architecture and Art,”
“Postclassic Maya Society,” “Colonial Guatemala,” and “Republican Guatemala.” Many
guidebooks also have lengthy descriptions of Guatemalan cultural traditions. For
example, in the “People and Culture” section of Cadogan: Guatemala (Norton 1997: 43-
145
58) tourists find fairly in-depth sections on “The Maya Universe,” “Central American
Literature: An Introduction,” “ Music,” and “A Traveler’s Guide to Maya Textiles.”
The authors of these types of descriptions provide tourist narratives that will
entice tourists to visit specific tourist destinations. They also provide a commentary to
frame the tourists’ experiences once they arrive at the destination. Yet, they are still
limited to a Maya-centric vision of Guatemala. Mayas and Mayan culture play the
central role in Guatemala’s tourist narrative. In guidebooks they still are described as
“exotic,” or “traditional” – a group in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the modern
world.
Guidebooks do mention the existence of Ladinos but usually only in negative
terms. For example Cadogan Guatemala states that, “there are more sinister reasons for
abandoning traditional dress, namely discrimination by the country’s ladino culture”
(Norton 1997: 57). Or, in reference to Guatemala’s Independence from Spain, the Lonely
Planet: Guatemala says:
Only the European-born Spaniards had any real power, but
the crillos lorded it over the ladinos, who in turn exploited the
indigenous populations, who, as you read this still remain on the
bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder (Nobel 2004: 25).
These are harsh adjectives to describe an entire population.
Ultimately, both the website and guidebook descriptions of Guatemala and
Quetzaltenango create a consistent ideological construction of Guatemala’s social and
economic landscape. Mayas are exotic representations of a rich Golden age. They are
Guatemala’s main attraction, and encounters with Mayas form Guatemala’s tourist
narrative. Ladinos, on the other hand, are an afterthought at best. They are rarely
mentioned in tourism descriptions and when they are, they play the role of antagonist to
Guatemala’s quintessential Mayan protagonist.
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Guidebooks also tend to have comparatively larger sections on Quetzaltenango
than websites. But from a Mayan perspective, they tend to convey the same information
found on websites:
The primary tourist sights of Quetzaltenango can be taken
in over a couple of days. Beyond that, the city is a good
springboard for day trips to nearby villages and hot
springs…Guatemala’s second-largest city is more commonly
referred to locally as Xela (SHAY-lah), and abbreviated version
of its original indigena name, Xelajuj…(Mahler 1999: 189;
emphasis in original).
Quetzaltenango is rarely described as a wondrous tourist site, itself. However, the books
usually mention that Quetzaltenango is in the center of the Guatemalan Highlands and it
can be used as a staging ground for more adventurous excursions into nearby Mayan
villages. Quetzaltenango is also highlighted in guidebook descriptions because of its
abundance of language schools and pro-Mayan activism volunteer opportunities:
It has also become a major center for Spanish-language
learning, now rivaling Antigua in this respect. Some students
prefer the Spanish schools in Xela because the environment here
more closely approaches the total immersion ideal of language
study…The Quetzaltenango area has many nonprofit organizations
working on social projects with the local K’iche’ Maya people that
need volunteers…(Nobel 2004 140-144).
International authorities construct a tourist narrative of Quetzaltenango as a place that is
different from other locations in Guatemala. It is a center for learning Spanish and an
area where tourists can volunteer their time to help local Mayas. This theme will be
revisited and expanded upon in local marketing materials.
The National Marketing of Guatemalan Tourism: Websites
and Brochures
The two nationally-sponsored and predominately Ladino-controlled tourism
organizations that are directly involved in marketing Guatemala as a tourist destination
are: INGUAT and Mundo Maya. INGUAT is the largest of these organizations and its
national level marketing campaigns lack consistency. It seems that the appointment of
147
each new INGUAT director is followed with a new marketing campaign. With each new
marketing campaign, a banner with the new slogan is placed on the top of the INGUAT
building in Guatemala City.
In the summer of 2004, when I returned to Guatemala, the prominent marketing
slogan was “Guatemala: Espirutu Maya” or “Guatemala: Mayan Spirit.” Later, in
September 2004, INGUAT appointed a new director and the marketing slogan changed to
“Turismo: Un Compromiso de Todos.” This slogan seemed confusing at best. To a
native English speaker, this sounds like they are saying tourism is a “compromise for
everyone.” The most direct translation of compromiso is obligation (Oxford 1998: 171).
However, I would guess that INGUAT was going for something more along the lines of
pledge or commitment. In many ways, “compromise” is an accurate statement that
expresses the complexities of tourism promotion. Locals want more tourism income, but
then you have to deal with the baggage that comes with tourists – both good and bad. In
any case, this slogan was quickly abandoned for “Guatemala: Soul of the Earth,”
introduced on January 4, 2005.
Often, the tourism operators in Quetzaltenango could not keep up with
INGUAT’s new and changing titles to the Guatemalan tourist narrative. If they were
aware of the new campaigns, the slogans were frequently the subject to ridicule or
confusion. Tourism operators often criticized INGUAT for changing their message with
such regularity. They also struggled to understand the meaning of some of the slogans.
For example, in June 2005, I met with Javier of Q’anjob’al Tours at a café in Antigua. I
asked him if he knew that INGUAT’s new slogan was “Guatemala: Soul of the Earth.”
He asked me what it meant and I told him that I was hoping he had the answer. He
replied, “Well at least it is better than the last one.”
The constant changing of marketing campaigns can be confusing for tourists, as
well. For example, if you use the Lonely Planet: Guatemala (Nobel) 2004 edition to
search for Internet information on Guatemala, they suggest you refer to INGUAT’s site
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(www.mayaspirit.com.gt) which, as of January 31, 2006, no longer exists (Nobel 2004:
10). A further Google search on INGUAT sites also performed on January 31, 2006
revealed that there were three official sites: www.nuestraguatemala.com/ inguat.htm
(Nuestraguatemala 2006), www.inguat.com.gt (Inguat.com 2006), and
www.visitguatemala.com (Visitguatemala 2006). All are associated with different and
competing campaign slogans. The existence of competing contemporary INGUAT sites
provides evidence that, on a national level, Guatemala is still struggling to create a
consistent tourist narrative.
Mundo Maya also markets Guatemala as a tourist destination, although the scope
or focus of their marketing campaigns is slightly different. Guatemala’s representative of
Mundo Maya has her office in the INGUAT building in downtown Guatemala City, and
Mundo Maya in Guatemala is funded by INGUAT. However, Mundo Maya, as its name
implies, focuses exclusively on marketing Mayan tourism sites. Mundo Maya is also a
transnational organization with offices in Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and
the five southernmost states of Mexico. Although the scope of INGUAT and Mundo
Maya are slightly different, they do share the characteristic of competing contemporary
websites. The first site, www.mundomayaorganization.org (MundoMayaOrganization
2006), carries INGUAT’s latest slogan “Guatemala: Soul of the Earth,” while the second,
www.mayadiscovery.com (Mayadiscovery 2006), does not have a primary slogan. Once
again, it is evident that Guatemala is having difficulties finding a unified and consistent
tourist narrative.
Tourists most easily encounter marketing materials from these organizations
through websites or brochures that can be collected while in Guatemala. Among the
websites, the frequencies of the terms “Maya” or “Mayan,” “Indigenous” or “Indian,”
and “Ladino” are as follows:
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Table 12
Use of Terminology in National Level Websites
Maya
Indigenous
Ladino
Maya Discovery
8
1
0
Mundo Maya
14
0
0
Inguat.com
0
0
0
Nuestra Guatemala
6
0
0
Guatemala Soul
4
1
0
Total
32
2
0
Once again in all five websites there is not one single mention of Ladinos,
whereas there are thirty-two total references to Mayas. Of course, one would expect to
find a high frequency of the term “Maya” in the Mundo Maya websites. However, the
fact that Guatemala has two state supported websites dedicated exclusively to Maya
tourism is significant and deserves attention. We also see that one of the INGUAT sites
is varied in themes and message. In INGUAT. com (INGUAT.com 2006), there is not a
single usage of ethnic terminology. In fact, this website refers more to places rather than
people. However, with this one exception, we see that patterns of ethnic terminology
usage in nationally sponsored websites are similar to those of international websites.
Both international and national websites marketing Guatemalan tourism present a Mayacentric tourist narrative.
National tourism brochures are often hard to find. INGUAT has seven official
tourism offices in Guatemala. However, many of the offices, especially in
Quetzaltenango, have limited information and, hence, are rarely frequented by tourists.
For example, on August 11th of 2004, I visited the INGUAT office in Quetzaltenango for
the explicit purpose of picking up their informational brochures. When I arrived, the
150
English, Italian, German, and Spanish brochure sections were empty. They did, however
have three brochures in French, one from INGUAT and two from Mundo Maya. I
emptied their kiosk by taking the last of their three brochures and headed out the door.
INGUAT (INGUAT) and Mundo Maya (MundoMaya) each have a brochure that
advertises a wide selection of Guatemala’s tourism opportunities. In these two
brochures15 the frequencies of “Maya” or “Mayan,” “Indigenous” or “Indian,” and
“Ladino” are as follows:
Table 13
Frequency of Terminology in Brochures
Maya
Indigenous
Ladino
Mundo Maya
16
1
0
INGUAT
23
4
0
Total
39
5
0
Again, there is no mention of Ladinos in either of the two nationally-sponsored
and produced marketing brochures, whereas there is abundant usage of the term Maya.
In addition, some of the same ideological constructions that were found in the
international tourist narratives are continued in national-level websites and brochures.
For instance, ideological constructions of Mayan images follow similar themes:
Traditions, color, crafts and Maya relics are framed by the
natural landscapes of my country, where living culture is a
15 The INGUAT kiosk did not have any English brochures, so I translated a French
brochure into English for the purposes of this analysis. I have found that these brochures, be they
in English, French or Italian, present the exact same information in the respective languages.
151
testament to a Maya past, the pride of everyone in Guatemala and
Central America (NuestraGuatemala 2006).
Guatemala is one of five countries which form the Mayan
World, a civilization which has existed in this region for more then
2000 years from which remain important archaeological vestiges
and a large number of indigenous communities whose members
are direct descendants of the ancient Maya (MundoMaya).
In these examples, Mayas are still associated with a past golden age and any mention of
contemporary Mayas, if at all, is directly linked to ancient Mayas.
Local Marketing of Tourism
Marketing materials for the Quetzaltenango ethnic tourism organizations featured
in this dissertation present a more varied approach. In these tourist narratives, we find
that some organizations use the term Mayas to describe contemporary Guatemala without
the exoticism that we have seen in international and national examples. However, other
organizations separate Mayas as an “other,” a population that, when encountered,
represents a significant change from the ordinary tourist experience. Some organizations
use the term Maya with great frequency, while other organizations rarely use the term at
all. Again, in both cases, local marketers have omitted exoticizing adjectives to describe
Mayan populations. Both locally-based and internationally-run tourism organizations
present Quetzaltenango as a place of adventure. However, there is a drastic difference in
how local authorities present Mayan culture.
These seven Quetzalteco tourism organizations’ websites do not have extreme
differences in the frequency of ethnic terminology in comparison with international,
national and local authorities16.
16 In this section I decided to analyze only the websites of Quetzaltenango tourism
organizations because the brochures tend to express the exact same information word for word.
Furthermore, Q’anjob’al Tours was not included in this analysis because they do not market in
either website or brochure mediums.
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Table 14
Frequency of Terminology in Quetzalteco Organizations
Maya
Indigenous
Ladino
TelaMaya
3
0
0
ILM
23
2
0
Sayaché
0
0
0
Iztapa
15
0
0
Jaguartrekkers
0
0
0
Hyper Tours
0
0
0
Total
41
2
0
ILM, Iztapa, and TelaMaya use the term Maya, and ILM also uses the term,
“indigenous.” The remaining organizations, Hyper Tours, Sayaché, and Jaguartrekkers,
do not use any Mayan ethnic terminology on the homepage of their website.
Furthermore, none of these tourism organizations make a single mention of Ladinos on
their homepage. Some of the homepages present minimal textual descriptions.
Therefore, I examined the entirety of these organizations’ websites and yet, did not find a
single usage of the term Ladino. Again, according to local tourism marketing materials,
it is hard to find evidence of the existence of Ladinos in Guatemala.
In some cases, the content of the websites, or how these different groups use
Mayan ethnic terms, is similar to national and international marketing materials. For
example, Hyper Tours and Jaguartrekkers describe Guatemala as full of adventure. They
say that, “you must be in physical shape” because you are going to climb summits and
raft down river rapids. Since Jaguartrekkers and Hyper Tours are selling river rafting,
mountain climbing, and mountain biking trips, one would expect that these activities
153
would be described as adventurous. They also make the Guatemalan scenery, itself, a
source of adventure with “dense jungles” and “exotic birds.”
However, when it comes to specific usages of ethnic terminology, only Hyper
Tours follows national and international marketing patterns. Jaguartrekkers rarely uses
ethnic terminology in their marketing materials. In fact, in many areas where tourism
marketers would insert an ethnic term to increase the exotic allure of the activity,
Jaguartrekkers omits the usage of ethnic terminology. For example:
We reach the summit to cross into an open area strewn with
huge boulders and grassy patches just calling for us to take a nap.
After some snacking, relaxation and a doze in the sunshine, we
continue along the top of the plateau passing through several small
settlements where the local people make their living by growing
crops, herding sheep and making hand woven textiles
(Quetzaltrekkers 2006).
The terms, “Maya” and “indigenous,” certainly would have been inserted to describe the
“small settlements” or “local people” in the international and national tourism marketing.
Yet, Jaguartrekkers skips this opportunity to advertise the ethnic component of their
trekking adventure.
Hyper Tours, on the other hand, uses ethnic terminology freely in its website. For
example:
An area where nature and culture are protected, for
example caves with the biggest underground river in Latin
America, the Cahabón, a world class rafting river, a cloud forest
reserve and a group of indigenous people who still live as they did
hundreds of years ago (Adrenalina Tours 2006).
The majority of the inhabitants of San Martín are
indigenous with the typical believes of the Mam. For them the
Laguna Chicabal is sacred and miraculous - the mystic perception
that becomes even more convincing because of the shape and the
fog that shrouds the volcano. Thursday is market day and the most
interesting to visit the lagoon. Maya priests perform traditional
sacrificial ceremonies on the shore using candles, flowers and holy
crosses (Adrenalina Tours 2006).
In both of these quotes, nature and culture go hand in hand. Mayas are mysterious and
clouded, as are the areas they live in. Also, Mayas are timeless, “people who still live as
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they did hundreds of years ago.” At every opportunity, Mayas are presented as an exotic
and mystical “other,” that can only be observed in their rural natural setting.
Sayaché and Iztapa present a slightly modified version of ethnic terminology in
their websites. For example:
Please note that some indigenous people are mistrustful of
foreigners and very protective of their children due to child
kidnappings. Do not photograph indigenous people, especially
children, without permission (Popwuj 2006).
The trips are varied: visits to markets or festivals in nearby
towns, Mayan ruins, local hot springs in the jungle, or climbing a
volcano. Please feel free to inform us of your special interests
(Ulew Tinimit 2006).
Sayaché makes it clear that indigenous people should be approached with caution,
while Iztapa associates ancient Mayan architecture with “hot springs in the jungle” and
climbing volcanoes. However, Sayaché actually uses the terms, Maya or indigenous,
rarely and do not use them in an overtly exotic manner. It is true that there have, in fact,
been altercations between indigenous Guatemalans and tourists and it is reasonable to
caution tourists to be respectful. Iztapa does tend to overuse the term, Maya, by inserting
it fifteen times on their homepage. Because Iztapa usually has only one Maya, at the
most, on staff, the frequent use of the term Maya seems a bit exploitative. However,
most of Iztapa’s descriptions of Mayas are not overtly exotic and Mayas are portrayed as
contemporary Guatemalans rather than as relics of a past Golden age.
ILM and TelaMaya use ethnic terms to simply communicate information about
themselves, their projects, and motivations. For example:
As the large congregation of foreign anthropologists and
sociologists working in Guatemala know very well, the
maintenance of "traditional" indigenous dress by the Maya pueblos
sets Guatemala apart from most other developing countries, in
which indigenous groups have abandoned distinctive clothing as a
self-conscious manifestation of ethnic identification
(CentroMayadeIdiomas 2006).
Thus the role of an "aj qij," or Maya priest, is as
intrinsically connected with the physical body as with the workings
of the spiritual world, while the role of the curandero or
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comadron, the healer or midwife, is intimately bound up within the
reality of the Maya spiritual universe (CentroMayadeIdiomas
2006).
Although these passages do touch on potentially striking subjects, neither seems
to use ethnic terminology to associate Mayas with adventure or with a past golden age.
Rather, Mayas are described as contemporary Guatemalans. In many websites and
guidebooks, Maya religion and textiles are treated as mystical or exotic. In the passages
above, however, express a deeper knowledge of the subject matter. ILM uses the terms
“Maya” or “spirituality” in a reflexive and conscientious manner which mirrors the
complexities of Guatemalan identity politics. In both cases, the depth of Mayan cultural
knowledge is relatively significant and expresses characteristics and terminology that is
used in the everyday lives of actual Mayans.
Furthermore, there is one major characteristic, apart from the complex spectrum
of ethnic terminology, which is typical of many tourist narratives that are used to market
Quetzaltenango. Each website, with the exception of Hyper Tours, has a significant
section marketing material devoted to pro-Mayan activism, volunteer opportunities, and
community development programs. The form, function, and influence of these volunteer
opportunities and community development programs will be discussed in the final
chapter. However, the prevalence of this type of marketing message deserves mention.
For example, ILM devotes nearly half the content of its website to links such as,
“Learn about our Scholarship Program for Girls and Women.” It describes how ILM’s
“Señorita Becadas Program, now eight years old, was the first reflection of our
confidence in educated Maya women to effect positive change in rural Guatemala”
(CentroMayadeIdiomas 2006). Sayaché has large sections of their website devoted to
“Social Work and Community Development Programs” which describe a wide array of
volunteer opportunities that will allow their students to directly influence local
community development (PopWuj 2006). Half of Jaguartrekkers’ website is dedicated to
either describing volunteer opportunities as guides or explaining how their clients’ money
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is used to support rural education or the sheltering of homeless and disadvantaged
children (Quetzaltrekkers 2006). The prevalence of pro-Mayan activism in
Quetzaltenango tourism websites suggests that local Quetzaltenango tourism marketers
are trying to fill a certain niche. Simply put, there is overwhelming evidence that
Quetzaltenango marketing authorities are trying to build a tourist narrative that places
potential tourists in the center of development programs and pro-Mayan activist agendas
that are designed to help the Maya of Quetzaltenango and its surrounding areas.
The Quetzaltenango Tourist in Profile and Experience
International, national, and local marketers build a tourist narrative in an attempt
to entice tourists to spend their time and money in Guatemala and Quetzaltenango. Who,
exactly, has been enticed by this narrative, and do they characterize their experience in
terms of this narrative? Answering these questions helps reveal whether tourists and
tourism ultimately challenge negative stereotypes of Mayas and help to improve local
Mayan economic circumstances.
To answer these questions, I conducted a survey of a hundred international
tourists in Quetzaltenango. My hypothesis was that tourists who study in local language
schools may have different experiences than those who do not. Therefore, using quota
sampling, I surveyed fifty language school students, and fifty non-language school
tourists in popular tourist locations. Language school students tend to have home stays
with Quetzalteco families and this gives them firsthand experience with average
Guatemalan living conditions. Furthermore, while most tourism organizations support
social development programs, the language schools’ programs usually draw the most
tourist participation. I also thought that the opportunity to volunteer in social
development programs may affect language school students’ views about Mayan culture
and their general experiences in Quetzaltenango.
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In my survey of the international tourists (See Appendix C for a full description of
the survey process), 62% of them came from the United States or Canada, 30% from
Europe and a small percentage from Asia, Africa and Australia. Demographically
speaking, most of the international tourists in Quetzaltenango were relatively young, with
73% between the ages of 20-30 and 18% between the ages of 31-40. Also, 60% of the
international tourist respondents were female. Finally, the three most prevalent
professions in this survey were 35% students, 16% medical professionals, and 10%
teachers.
In this survey, I also ascertained tourists’ motivations for coming to
Quetzaltenango as well as the activities that they participated in while they were there.
The top three responses to this question were, to earn Spanish at 56%, travel/vacation at
18%, and to have a cultural experience at 11%. As might be expected, those who state
that they came to Quetzaltenango to learn Spanish, tended to be language school students,
while those who came to travel tended to be non-language school students. However,
among the responses to this question, there are two further correlations to note. There is
a moderate correlation between citizenship and tourists’ motivations for coming to
Quetzaltenango. This correlation suggests that North American tourists tend to come to
Guatemala primarily to study Spanish, whereas tourists from other areas come to
Guatemala for a wider variety of reasons. Furthermore, there is a substantial correlation
between citizenship and language school student status. Most language school students
tend to come from North America, while tourists not attending language schools tend to
be European.
Whether or not tourists come to Guatemala to learn Spanish, it is also evident that
most tourists plan on staying in Quetzaltenango for an extended period of time.17
17 In this survey I asked tourists both how long they had been in Quetzaltenango and
how long they planned to stay in Quetzaltenango. I also asked what types of tourist activities
they had participated in as well as what types of tourist activities they planned to participate in.
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Table 15
Length of Time Tourists Planned to Stay in Quetzaltenango
1-2 weeks
24
3-4 weeks
29
1-2 months
26
More then 2 months
18
Total
98
The majority of respondents report that they plan on staying in Quetzaltenango
from three weeks to two months or more. This also indicates that the average tourist has
the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities while they are in
Quetzaltenango.
Table 16
Types of Tourist Activities Planned
Adventure
43
Travel to Surrounding Villages
18
Mayan Cultural Activities
10
Cafés, Restaurants, Movies, Bars
6
Museums
4
Markets and Shopping
3
Churches
2
Dancing
1
Since many of the respondents were new arrivals to Quetzaltenango I have reported the activities
that tourists planed to do while in Quetzaltenango. In the interest on consistency this also
dictated that I report the length of time tourists plan to spend in Quetzaltenango.
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Given the overwhelming prevalence of marketing descriptions involving Mayan
cultural activities on international, national, and local levels it is surprising that such a
large percentage of international tourists planned to partake in “Adventure” activities
rather than in exclusively “Mayan Cultural Activities.” However, in descriptions of these
activities it becomes apparent that many of the “Adventure” activities do involve aspects
of Mayan culture, such as a hike across the Guatemalan Highlands. Furthermore, “Travel
to Surrounding Villages” generally indicates an interest in villages with a predominant
Mayan population.
Within these data, there is also a substantial correlation between respondents’
language school status and the types of activities they plan to experience in
Quetzaltenango. Language school respondents tend to plan travel to surrounding villages
and to partake in other Mayan cultural activities, while non-language school tourists tend
to plan adventure travel or to enjoy local cafés, restaurants, movies and bars. This
finding supports one of my hypotheses. It may be the language school students’ exposure
to the language schools’ pro-Mayan activism and social development programs that have
increased their interest in Mayan culture. However, there are no further correlations
between language school student status and the remaining responses in this survey.
When asked directly whether or not the tourist activities they have participated in
involved Mayan culture 61% responded affirmatively. Also, when asked how important
Mayan culture was in their travel plans, a large majority said that it was either very
important or important.
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Table 17
Importance of Mayan Culture in Travels
Very Important
26
Important
53
Not Very Important
20
Total
99
According to these results, international, national, and local tourism marketers
successfully communicated their tourist narrative. The vast majority, 80%, of
international tourists have said that Mayan cultural activities are either “Very Important,”
or “Important” in their travel plans, and 60% of international tourists reported that their
tourist experiences have involved Mayan culture.
Finally, when asked if any of their activities in Quetzaltenango have involved
volunteering, a large percentage, 46%, responded “Yes.” With such a large numbers of
tourists both interested in Mayan culture and volunteering in the Quetzaltenango area, the
potential for tourism to create real and lasting change in Guatemala’s social and
economic landscapes is tremendous. These statistics also suggest that the pro-Mayan
activism and social development images of local marketing authorities have effectively
communicated their ideological constructions of Mayas. A larger number of tourists
have accepted the idea that Mayan populations are both in need of and deserving of their
help.
My initial hypothesis was that language school students would be more strongly
influenced by their home stay experiences, their exposure to pro-Mayan activist rhetoric
in language schools and to increased access to volunteering opportunities than nonlanguage school students. It is true that language school students expressed a greater
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interest in experiencing Mayan cultural activities in their tourist agendas. However,
many of the planned activities of respondents from non-language school tourists also
included aspects of tourism. In fact, high percentages of all tourists reported that they
participated in activities with demonstrations of Mayan culture, that Mayan cultural
activities were important in their travel plans, and that they have been involved in
volunteering. Language school students’ demographic characteristics may differ from
those of non-language school tourists but most of their activities and interests do not.
These findings suggest that the Quetzaltenango tourist narrative transcends the language
school divide. Of course, whether or not international tourists’ interests and activities
actually challenge negative stereotypes of Mayas or help improve Mayan economic
circumstances through volunteering or other means is a completely different question.18
A Day in the Life of a Quetzalteco Tourist: Typical
Activities, Interactions, and Dilemmas
I have been a tourist/researcher in Quetzaltenango for a combined eighteen
months over the past seven years (2000-2007). I have studied Spanish at three different
language schools and visited countless others. I have trekked with three different
trekking companies and learned how to weave at a Mayan woman’s weaving cooperative
as well as visited many other cooperatives. I have also lived both with a Quetzalteco
family and in my own rented house with other tourists. Through these experiences, and
in conversations with countless fellow tourists, I have observed patterns and activities
that characterize the typical Quetzalteco tourist experience. In order to understand how a
typical day in Quetzaltenango’s tourist experience intersects/supports/betrays marketers’
narratives, it is important to understand the city through the tourists’ eyes.
18 It should be noted that significant efforts were made to perform a Two Step Cluster
Analysis on the Quetzaltenango tourist survey. However, the results were either insignificant or
inconclusive.
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Each Monday, a new and routine cycle begins as the tourist wakes up to a cold
Quetzaltenango morning. As part of the host family contract, the tourist’s language
school pays the family between $25 and $30 a week for hosting students. For this $25 to
$30, each student has their own room with their own lock and key, as well as three meals
a day, except on Sunday. Most host family boarding situations are similar. Tourists
usually have rooms off of a small central courtyard or in the back corner of the house at
the end of a hallway that seems to lead to a maze of other rooms. Early each morning,
the tourist finds their way into the dining room and watches as the entire host family
emerges from the same bedroom.
In my host family, there were a father and mother – Henry and Julia – and their
three children – Candy, Jesus, and Cindy. When I first arrived in January, 2000, I did not
realize that their house only contained two bedrooms and that my occupation of the
second bedroom meant that all five of my host family members slept in the same room,
on the same bed. Of course, I felt guilty about the arrangements. But, my level of
Spanish was so elementary that I could barely answer “Si” to accept a bowl of cornflakes
with bananas and warmed powdered milk for breakfast, much less engage in a diplomatic
conversation about the inequities of our sleeping arrangements.
This is when the inequality in income between Henry and Julia’s family and my
own, began to sink in. It was obvious that Henry and Julia did not have anything close to
the time or money to travel to the United States that I had to travel to Guatemala. It was
also obvious that due to my relatively wealthy circumstances, I would be treated
differently than other family members or even Guatemalan tenants. Although I would
spend the next three months learning about Guatemala’s ethnic and economic
inequalities, a conversation about my relative wealth and my host family’s relative
poverty would never be broached unless I instigated the conversation.
After breakfast, I would quickly get ready for school. Once ready, I would head
out the door for a fifteen to twenty minute walk to school. We lived at the bottom of a
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huge hill. As I gasped for breath in the thin air of Quetzaltenango’s altitude of a mile and
a half above sea-level, I would instantly feel warmth and fatigue rushing to all corners of
my body. Usually, toward the top of the hill, the smaller of two twin dogs would bark
and chase me across the street. As I reached the top, I would pass Quetzalteco students in
their uniforms heading to their classes.
Within five minutes, I was close to the center of town. Crossing this downtown
terrain involves memorizing stoplight patterns and dodging cars. It also involves walking
through Benito Juárez Park and rebuffing the young gang of shoe shiners who would
insistently offer me their services. Finally, once I got close to the school, I would dodge
my way through “La Democracia” market. Here, I would see other tourists heading
towards their various language schools. Inevitably, I would also witness the unloading of
large slabs of beef from un-refrigerated meat trucks into open-air market stalls. Stray
dogs would always gather around to fight for a wandering bone and I would cross to the
other side of the street, swearing off meat forever. Many local, national, and international
marketing materials describe Quetzaltenango as a place for adventure and an experience
with new or exotic cultures. However, there was no mention in these tourist narratives
that tourists would experience the adventure of dodging speeding cars, wild (and often
dangerous) dogs. Local tourist narratives may address economic inequalities as they
apply to Mayan social and economic subordination. However, even these tourist
narratives neglect to characterize the hardships that all Guatemalans experience on a daily
basis because these daily hardships may detract from the allure of the tourist narrative.
Once I quickly passed through the markets and arrived at the school on time, I
would usually find that my efforts at punctuality were in vain. After a few days of
Spanish classes, students start to realize that their teachers have been teaching
introductory Spanish for much too long and they would rather socialize with the other
teachers, and the occasional student, for as long as they possibly can in the mornings.
This also allows time for the students to socialize in English. Typically, if students have
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been at the schools for at least two weeks, they are already a veteran. This meant that the
student could circulate from one group to the next, exchanging stories about “The Lake”
or “Santa Maria” or Café Baviera with the ease of someone “in the know.” In this short
amount of time, the student could become an authority on Quetzaltenango and its
surrounding tourist destinations while weaving their own tourist narratives of Guatemala
for those who have not been there as long. Many of the people who exchange stories
with relative ease will soon be returning home or moving on to other tourist locations.
Within a few short weeks the student will look around and realize that they have
been in Quetzaltenango longer than most of the people that they know. If the student
decides to stay for a few months, the student will see generations of language students
come and go. The student will travel with them and through these experiences, the
student may form close relationships, in an ex-pat sort of way. Then, as they leave, they
will be replaced with new generations of students and tourists who will bask in the glow
of their local knowledge. Eighteen months of this is enough to make anyone jaded about
the tourist experience.
The next five hours of language school usually feature long conversations with
Spanish teachers. Whether the student is studying with one of the senior teachers or
younger temporary hires, the student will most likely have interesting conversations
about Guatemalan history and contemporary Guatemalan problems, immigration, United
States geo-political domination, the Civil War, and the plight of the Maya in Guatemalan
ethnic relations. All of the teachers are well informed about current events because they
generally have their students read newspapers out-loud as a learning activity. They also
usually have some university education, which is rare for most Guatemalans. Finally, the
conversation becomes animated and interesting because both the teacher and student
realize that if the conversation lulls, they will have to go back to doing grammatical
exercises.
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Every Quetzaltenango language school that I have encountered runs on the same
schedule. Classes start at 8:00 a.m. and students study for two and a half hours. At 10:30
a.m. students break for half an hour. This gives students and teachers another
opportunity to socialize or play ping-pong, which seems to be popular at most schools.
School administrators circulate information about potential pro-Mayan school sponsored
conferences, volunteer opportunities, or school-sponsored trips and celebrations on
Fridays. The break also allows students to make plans with fellow students for that
afternoon or evening.
Another important function of the break is an opportunity for local artisans to sell
their goods to language school students. Each day of the week, a different artisan shows
up at the school; perhaps Domingo from Momostenango will show his wool blankets or
Maria will come all of the way from Lake Atitlan to sell wall hangings and other
weavings. Each artisan has made arrangements with a number of schools to sell their
crafts on a particular day. They will visit the schools on a rotation. For example, if
Maria is at Sayaché on Tuesday, she will be at Iztapa on Wednesday. The schools
sponsor these artists because they connect the school to the Maya community and the
artists’ displays contribute to the “ethnic” narrative of the school. Furthermore, schools
get a lot of pressure from local artisans to host sales to language school students, and
allowing the artisans to sell in the school is the path of least resistance.
This situation presents a number of dilemmas that intersect, support, or betray
pro-Mayan constructions of the tourist narrative. Most tourists express interest in the
products. They are usually colorful, well made, and not too expensive for a tourist who
has the wealth to take a vacation in Quetzaltenango, in the first place. However, a tourist
cannot simply peruse the products like she was shopping at Wal-Mart. The artisans are
highly motivated sellers and sales to language school students, account for the vast
majority of their annual income. Thus, if the student shows any interest in a particular
item the student will soon have it in their hand and be negotiating a price with the artisan.
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The artisans are persuasive and give the impression that they will not take “No” for an
answer. If the student says that they are not interested, the artisans will explain that their
purchase will help support their poor Mayan families in the countryside. If the student
says they do not have the money right now, they say they can come back for it later. If
the student says they do not have space in their luggage, they pull out a smaller example
of the same item.
From the tourist perspective, the price of the item is usually relatively low – less
than $10. Often I have seen tourists buy items they do not really want so that they can
help the artisan out and save themselves the hassle of explaining, in Spanish, why they do
not want to buy their products. This generally happens to the newer language school
students who have not figured out the system yet. Once they are around for a while, they
realize that Maria will be back next Tuesday with essentially the same items. If the
student bought something last week, she will want to sell the student more. If the student
did not buy something, then she will tell the student that now is the time. If now is not
the time, she will be back next week when there will be new pressure to buy things from
Maria. As a result, most seasoned language school students try not to even look in the
direction of the artisan. A look implies interest, and interest implies a sale.
The complexity of this interaction presents many dilemmas that need to be
negotiated by the international tourist. Most likely the student has just been involved in a
two-hour conversation about Mayan social and economic inequalities with the language
teachers. Ten seconds after the conversation, the student is confronted with Mayas who
want to sell brightly colored, and I dare say, exotic weavings for sale. Students know that
the vendors make their living through sales to tourists. Plus, students’ conversations with
their teachers may influence them to use their relatively comfortable financial situation to
help the vendor’s personal cause. Yet, the student may not want to buy a weaving on that
day. The vendor may try to start a conversation about their familial situation and the
poverty of their surroundings. But, if the student chooses not to buy a weaving, their best
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move is to ignore the vendors. The student may feel guilty and the irony of their choice
may soon confront them as they pledge their sympathy and support to a pro-Mayan
activist agenda in the conversations with their teacher after the break.
At 1:00pm, classes end and the students head home, checking with school friends
to confirm their afternoon activities. Once the student get back home, they and the rest of
Quetzaltenango will enjoy a siesta. For Quetzaltecos, the length of the siesta varies from
one to three hours (usually closer to three) depending upon their job and commitments.
From a tourist perspective, the siesta is an opportunity to enjoy the rice, beans, tortillas,
and maybe the leftover chicken from the night before. It is also an opportunity to
demonstrate to their host family their new Spanish phrases that they learned in the
morning. If they are still in your first few weeks of Spanish classes, they will probably
want to keep these demonstrations to a minimum. Five hours of one-on-one language
instruction is fairly taxing, even for the most determined student, and they will probably
want to retreat back to their room for a nap.
Students may wake up at about 3:00 or 3:30pm, depending upon how loudly the
children around them are playing. The student will then socialize with their host family,
maybe play a video game on the original Nintendo or help the kids with their English
homework. Finally, at around 4:00pm, the student heads out on the town for their
afternoon/night’s adventure. Students most likely have two main options: the first is to
return to your language school where there will be a conference such as “The Mayan
Cosmovision,” or “The Civil War and Ethnic Relations in Guatemala,” or an opportunity
to volunteer in one of their programs. The programs could include a trip to a schoolsponsored daycare center in a rural Mayan village, where students will be asked to play
soccer or draw with the children. Or the school may be visiting another rural Mayan
village to build a latrine or wood-burning stove.
The student’s other option is to meet their friends for coffee, and then later a beer,
at a local café. If the student is a new tourist in Quetzaltenango, they will probably go to
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the conference or volunteer opportunity. This is the students chance to test their Spanish
or to give back to the community. It is also an opportunity to socialize with their fellow
students and make the friends who will eventually be their travel and café companions. If
the student has been a tourist in Quetzaltenango for a while, say two to three weeks, they
have probably seen the conference before and they have most likely built a number of
stoves already. So, they may opt for meeting your friends at a café.
Let us say the student opts for non-school sponsored tourist activities and decides
to meet their friends. They will probably go to Café Baviera, or if they really know the
Quetzaltenango cafés, they will meet their friends at La Luna. As international tourists,
they and their friends will order a fresh brewed Guatemalan coffee or a delicious cup of
hot chocolate, which is much better than the cheaper instant stuff they have been drinking
with their host family. Some of their friends may bring along their Spanish homework.
Whether or not they actually study, they will probably begin planning travel to Lake
Atitlan or Antigua for the weekend.
As you move from the café to Bar Tecun, on the Central Park, the conversations
become livelier. Students may be joined by those who decided to go to the conference or
volunteer opportunity. This is also the space where tourists’ complaints about
Quetzaltenango will emerge. Many of these complaints mirror the tourist narratives that
portray Guatemala as “adventurous” or even “primitive.” Fellow tourists will talk about
problems with bed-bugs and other students may look down and begin to notice that they
have a number of red bumps on their ankles and waist band. Tourists will also hear
complaints about the poor quality food, the dogs and trash in the street, and the roosters
and fireworks that seem to start earlier every morning.
As the tourists leave the bar at 11:00pm, they will pass groups of tourists heading
to the nightclubs. They will also see some younger Guatemalan college students heading
in the same direction. Once the tourists get four or five blocks off of the Central Park
they will find only themselves and the occasional dog on the street. The further they
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move away from the center of town, the louder the dogs sound. In your mind, they
conjure up images of a large pack just around the corner. Then they remember that one
of their fellow tourists heard that someone got eaten alive by dogs last week. This
induces them to hurry along until you get back home. Their host family has been asleep
for an hour or two now, and the tourist tries to make as little noise as possible as they
fumble with a complex series of locks. Finally, the tourist tip-toes past their host
family’s room to reach their bed, where they lie down, exhausted. They hope that they
really do not have bedbugs because they need their sleep in order to repeat the same
schedule, the next day.
Conclusions
Many of the daily activities that a typical tourist experiences in Quetzaltenango
are not mentioned in the websites and brochures. I did not find a section on bedbugs or
stray dogs in any of the guidebooks, brochures, or websites. This is not surprising. The
objective of marketing Guatemala to tourists is to highlight Guatemala’s attractive
characteristics. In Guatemala, in general, many of these tourist narratives involve
spectacular images of mountain summits, active volcanoes, jungles, and whitewater
rafting. The tourist’s average day in Quetzaltenango may not involve these activities.
But, it certainly is possible to climb mountain summits, visit volcanoes or to go rafting on
the weekends. How this affects Guatemala’s natural environment, is an interesting
question for another dissertation. What is at issue in this chapter is the extent to which
international, national, and local marketing authorities’ ideological constructions of
Mayas challenge long-held negative stereotypes of Mayas, and how these images affect
international tourists’ experiences and activities in Quetzaltenango.
International and national marketers of Guatemala craft exotic tourist narratives of
Mayas that describe the “vanishing lifestyles” of “primitive” people in an “adventurous”
land. However, six of the seven Quetzaltenango-based tourism organizations present
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tourist narratives of interactions with Mayas and Mayan ethnicity in a different light. In
most cases, Mayas are presented as contemporary and de-mystified Guatemalan citizens.
These local tourism organizations also devote a significant amount of attention to
promoting the importance and benefits of their pro-Mayan social development programs.
Marketing images of Quetzaltenango and Mayas are significant because
international, national, and local tourism marketers begin to establish the particular
images which separate tourists from those being toured. They help to establish and sell a
tourist narrative to perspective international clients. This difference in international,
national, and local marketing descriptions is representative of many of the conflicts that
revolve around tourism promotion in Quetzaltenango. How Mayas are presented is
dependent on who does the presenting. The extent to which these marketing images
challenge long-held negative stereotypes of Mayas depends on which groups have the
power to frame Mayan ethnicity as well as the tourists’ experience.
The survey suggests that these marketing images of Mayas and Quetzaltenango
do have the power to begin to shape tourist activities. The majority of tourists who come
to Quetzaltenango state that they plan to experience tourism events with Mayan themes.
They say that Mayan culture is either important or very important in their travel plans and
a large percentage of tourists do actually volunteer in social development programs.
Once they arrive in Quetzaltenango, the tourist experience is inevitably different from the
images the tourists were presented with in the international, national, and local marketing
materials. Among their planned activities, tourists have to deal with daily concerns such
as bedbugs, stray dogs, insistent crafts peddlers, and speeding cars.
A description of a day in the life of a tourist provides a glimpse of a tourist’s
pragmatic daily concerns and experiences in Quetzaltenango. Through this description, it
becomes apparent that, although the actual tourist experience is different than what is
described in marketing materials, themes from marketing tourist narratives do reemerge
and manifest themselves. The tourist narrative not only provides a selling piece and a
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framework for tourists to begin to understand their tourist experience, it establishes the
tourist as the protagonist in this experience. Over a few beers with other ex-pat
international tourists, complaints about daily life in Guatemala and plans for further
travel in the country replicate tourist narratives of adventure, disparities in wealth, and
encounters with a past golden age.
There is also evidence that international tourists internalize local tourist narratives
of pro-Maya politics, imperialism, geo-political domination, and disparities in wealth. At
a bar or club, an international tourist may critically rant to friends about encounters with
impoverished and pushy Mayan artisans. Yet, these are the same tourists who will wake
up the next day to play with the children in their host family. They will have a
meaningful conversation about United States’ geopolitical domination with their teachers
in the morning, and they may build a wood-burning stove in a Mayan community that
afternoon. Quetzaltenango’s pro-Mayan tourist narrative places the international tourist
as a protagonist supporting indigenous struggles against an authoritarian state. It also
may provide a sense of guilt within the tourist. The pro-Mayan tourist narrative directly
points out disparities in wealth between the international tourists and their Mayan
partners. Perhaps it is guilt over this disparity in wealth that attracts tourists to
Quetzaltenango in the first place. Perhaps it is this same guilt that also motivates tourists
to build wood burning stoves in the hot sun.
Marketing authorities shape ideological constructions that attract certain types of
tourists and begin to shape the local experiences and activities of international tourists.
However, the construction of the tourist narrative and the activities and experiences of the
tourists is only part of the story. It is the activities of tourism organizations, themselves,
and the direct influences they have on the local community, which determine the extent
to which tourism in Quetzaltenango directly challenges long-held negative stereotypes of
Mayas and helps to improve local Mayan economic circumstances.
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CHAPTER FIVE
REPRESENTING THE “MAYA”: QUETZALTECO
ORGANIZATIONS AND TOURISM ACTIVITIES
The last chapter examined how international, national, and local tourism
marketers use their power to create ideological constructions of Mayan ethnicity.
International and national tourism in Quetzaltenango marketing images present Mayas as
“exotic primitives” (Desmond 1999: 5) from a past “Golden age” (Bruner 2005: 4-5;
MacCannell 1999: 82). And yet, six out of seven local Quetzalteco tourism organizations
presented images that de-mystified Mayas as contemporary political actors and
contributors to Guatemalan society.
Tourists’ interests and experiences seem to embody this contradiction. The
survey of tourists demonstrated that many international tourists are interested in Mayan
culture and supporting Mayan communities. However, a description of a typical tourist’s
narrative demonstrates that some of the international tourists’ activities mimic the images
of exotification and subordination presented by international and national tourism
marketers. Then, at other times, often during the same day, international tourists
volunteer their time and labor for the benefit of Mayan communities. The tourists’
experience is not limited by these tourism narratives. The contradictory conceptions
tourists develop of Mayan culture and communities testify to an important fact: once the
tourists arrive in Quetzaltenango, it is the Quetzaltecos, who shape ideological
constructions of Mayas.
Such academics as Hitchcock (1999), Van den Berghe (1994), Rojeck and Urry
(1997) have demonstrated that presentations of ethnicity in tourism events become
important factors in determining the boundaries that define groups. Goffman has
analyzed similar staged activities into what he terms front and back regions (Goffman
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1959). In a tourism context, the front is the meeting place of hosts, guests, and service
persons, while the back is the place where organizers retire between performances to
relax and prepare.
Bruner (2005: 17-19) takes Goffman’s analogy one step further in what he calls
the “touristic borderzone,” which is a distinct meeting place between tourists and local
“performers.” Here, tourists and locals are not just separated by a stage, they are all a
part of the production. Bruner’s borderzone is an “improvisational” space where both the
tourists and the locals define their ethnic identities as actors through their social and
economic interactions. In Quetzaltenango, Mayan culture is separated for the
consumption of the “tourist gaze” (Urry 1990). The separation of Mayan culture for the
benefit of tourists creates a staged quality to the proceedings, both in planned and
improvisational tourism activities. These activities reinforce ethnic boundaries and
associate particular characteristics to each ethnic group in the touristic borderzone.
Thus far, I have described some of the characteristics, interests, and perceptions
of the international tourist side of the Quetzalteco tourism borderzone. I have also
provided the initial front-stage ideological constructions of Mayan ethnicity created by
international, national, and local tourism marketers. Now, it is time to examine the local
side of the borderzone and how local tourism organizations manage the face-to-face
improvisational space with international tourists.
Quetzaltenango Representations of Mayan-Themed
Tourism
In Quetzaltenango, tourism organizations offer a wide range of activities which
feature representation of Mayan ethnicity for an international tourist audience. The most
popular institutions are language schools which have a fairly standardized set of activities
for their students. Each school will have a weekly calendar posted which will usually list
a movie, a conference, a volunteer opportunity with a social development program, a
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group dinner, a fieldtrip on Friday, and optional fieldtrips organized by the teacher on the
weekends.
Trekking companies also have a fairly standardized range of activities. Usually a
trekking company will offer trips up volcanoes, walking tours through local villages, and
a few longer multi-day treks such as the trek between Quetzaltenango and Lake Atitlan
and the trek between Nebaj and Todos Santos. Hyper Tours is a bit unique in the range
of its offerings. Since Hyper Tours owns a fleet of vehicles, the company is able to offer
a wider range of tours to local villages and other sights of ethnic or environmental
interest.
Finally, weaving cooperatives offer a fairly standardized experience as well. A
student usually chooses a course of ten, twenty, or forty hours. Classes usually take four
hours a day, five days a week, which leaves the students the rest of the weekend to
participate in language schools and trekking activities. During class time, students are
instructed in the basics of weaving, design, and the symbolism of the activity, itself.
Also, students start weaving projects of their own that they take home with them when
they are done.
Tourism organizations arrange tourism events that establish a borderzone, where
locals and tourists perform their roles. However, not all performances are equal. I have
found that the extent to which the tourism organizations promote pro-Mayan activism
greatly influences the types of images the organizations present on the front stage, how
they establish relationships and agendas backstage with those being presented, and how
they interact with tourists in the borderzone. Essentially, the more committed an
organization is to pro-Mayan activism, the more likely its pro-Mayan political agenda
will be present in all aspects of the touristic borderzone.
This commitment to pro-Mayan politics saturates the borderzone in a way that
alters the relationships between tourists and local presenters of Mayan ethnicity. The
deeper the organization’s level of commitment to pro-Mayan political agendas, the more
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likely the organization will be able to establish a sense of solidarity for a common cause
with the tourist. As the depth of this relationship develops, tourism organizations can
then begin to rely on tourists for volunteer and economic support of their social
development programs.
This analysis is organized to reflect the depth of a tourism organization’s
commitment to pro-Mayan activism agendas and how this commitment shapes tourist
activities in the borderzone. The chapter will begin by examining tourism organizations
with significantly less commitment to pro-Mayan agendas and finish with those
organizations that are significantly more committed. Through this analysis, I will
illustrate how the ideological constructions that tourism organizations present in the
touristic borderzone greatly influence the extent to which tourism in Quetzaltenango can
challenge long-held negative stereotypes of Mayas.
Extremely Mild Support for a Pro-Mayan Activism Agenda
Hans at Hyper Tours establishes his authority to present Mayan ethnic practices
indirectly. Through the years, Hans has personally acquired an abundance of historical
and cultural information about the region. He has used this knowledge to design many of
the tours that are presented in his marketing materials. However, rather than leading the
tours himself, Hans prefers to hire predominately Ladino, English-speaking Quetzaltecos
to lead many of his tours. Hans provides these guides with books and informational
pamphlets about the sites and he expects his guides to memorize particular dates, facts,
and figures about each of the sites they are presenting. Furthermore, Hans brings in
history professors from San Carlos University to give his guides monthly lectures on
local history. As a result, Hyper Tours’ guides are able to give accurate accounts of the
significant dates of the sites they visit on their tours. One of the most significant
characteristics of Hyper Tours’ excursions is a lack of any information that might be
deemed controversial or uncomfortable. This includes a glaring omission of statements
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pertaining to Guatemala’s socio-economic inequalities or the history of Guatemalan
ethnic relations.
For example, on March 11th of 2005, a Canadian tourist and I were led on the
“Indigenous Villages Tour” by a Ladino tour guide named Enrique. At 7:00am in the
morning, Enrique picked me up at the door of my house. Enrique had already picked up
the retired Canadian civil-servant at his hotel near the center of town, and as we pulled
away from my house, we introduced ourselves. After a forty minute drive where Enrique
established his authority as a guide by telling us that he had lived in the Quetzaltenango
area all his life, we parked our private minivan at the base of the hill that contained the
San Francisco market. For the next hour and a half, Enrique let us explore the markets.
He did not present a particular agenda or plan. He remained in the background, advising
us on the appropriate prices for particular articles of interest such as Mayan weavings or
baseball caps produced in Asia.
Next we went to San Andres to see a brightly colored church and a Mayan
religious ceremony. Enrique said that the church was built in the 1700’s. He proceeded
to explain that that church was brightly colored because the town was known for its
weavings and brightly colored dyes. From the church, we drove a few blocks downhill
and stopped at the entrance of a local family home. We entered the home to find that the
family had turned the front room of the house into a small store where a selection of
colored candles, liquor, sugar and other products were available for sale.
Enrique greeted the family and asked if it would be okay for us to view
“Maximilion.” The father of the family said that we could enter and we passed through
the storefront and proceeded down a hallway to the back of the house. In the backroom,
we found a manikin sitting in a chair dressed in sunglasses, a cowboy hat, a button-up
shirt, pants, cowboy boots, and black leather gloves. Flowers lined the walls of the room
and colored candles were burning on the floor surrounding the figure. Enrique explained
that this figure was called Maximilion. He said he was a Maya religious figure and that
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all of the objects in the room, as well as the sweet smells of tobacco and liquor, were
offerings to him.
The Canadian tourist asked Enrique a bit more about Maximilion. He wanted to
know what the colors of the candles represented, how the family came to host
Maximilion, and whether or not the Catholic Church recognized Maximilion as a saint.
Enrique admitted that he did not know much about the history of Maximilion, nor the
significance of the offerings in the room. In this presentation, Enrique would not, or
could not, offer reflections about Mayan culture. Rather, he simply offered this example
of Mayan culture as a representation of strangeness and difference. In a way, through
this presentation, Enrique was trying to alter the relationships between the tourist and the
presenter. Enrique was trying to establish a sense of solidarity with the tourist by
expressing the fact that he also thinks these religious practices are strange and different.
This momentary sense of solidarity, however, was not long lasting. The Canadian tourist
did agree that the religious practices were different. But, he did not further explore his
shared amazement with Enrique and just stopped asking questions.
We then went on to San Cristobal to see a larger church, and finally ended the
tour in Salcajá where we saw the oldest church in Guatemala and watched a weaving
demonstration. All along the way, Enrique was full of dates, town sizes, local products
and other types of facts and figures. However, there was no explanation about the
poverty of the region. There was no conversation about Mayan religious persecution or
about the violence in the region during the Civil War.
Yet, as we were driving to the next tourist site, Enrique indirectly confronted us
with an example of his own poverty and hardships. We found out that Enrique had
originally misrepresented himself to the Canadian tourist when he tried to establish his
authority to speak about the sites we were visiting. The Canadian asked Enrique where
the guide had learned English. Enrique repeated that he was from Quetzaltenango. He
said he knew the information he was presenting to us because he had lived in the region
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all of his life. Enrique then said that he had simply taken a lot of English classes and
conversed with tourists in Quetzaltenango. Later, when I asked Enrique the same
question in Spanish, he admitted that he had lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for a number of
years. He said that he did not mention this to the Canadian tourist because tourists do not
want to hear about his need to migrate to the United States for work and they are not
interested in the economic hardships of Guatemala. He also admitted that he had grown
up on the coast and that he learned the facts and figures that he was presenting in the
books at Hyper Tours.
Enrique’s alteration of the truth serves as a real testimony to local struggles and
economic hardships. Because of the training and instruction that Enrique had received at
Hyper Tours, Enrique believed that he had to suppress major portions of his personal
biography. In the next few months, I came to know Enrique fairly well. I learned that his
wife was from the United States and that he was due to have his first child within a week
of my own. Enrique also told me that he wanted to have his son in the United States.
But, because of his current immigration status, he did not have the money to get his
papers processed so that he could leave for Nevada with his wife. Hans paid Enrique just
enough for food, clothing, and doctor bills for his pregnant wife, but he did not have any
extra to set aside for an international trip. Later, his wife borrowed money from her
family to fly home and have the baby while Enrique was forced to hear about it over the
telephone in Quetzaltenango. This was real life drama. This is the type of story that can
alter relationships within the borderzone and establish a sense of human solidarity
between the guide and tourist. However, Hyper Tours admittedly has no commitment to
pro-Mayan politics and Hans professes the importance of “professionalism” to his guides.
This excludes testimonios and discussion of any subject that may be deemed as
controversial.
Hyper Tours does also subcontract some of their tours to local Mayan guides.
This allows Hans to draw on their identity as Mayas, and their wealth of lived
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experiences in Mayan communities, to establish the authority to speak about Mayan
ethnicity and communal practices. For example, on May 1st 2005, I went on a tour with
Hyper Tours to Chicabal – an inactive volcano with a lagoon in the top of its cone which
is known to be an important Mayan religious site. The tour was subcontracted to Chile
Verde Tours and was led by Oscar, a 27 year old son of a Mayan priest. Oscar had
learned English while living in Fresno, California. But, he spent most of his life growing
up at the base of Chicabal and he used his history in the area to establish his wealth of
local cultural and historical knowledge. As we climbed through humid foliage up the rim
of the volcano, Oscar pointed out overgrown areas that he said were guerrilla camp sites
during the Civil War. He described in great depth the military’s violence against Mayas
and he said that both he and his family members were caught between the gunfire of the
military and the gun fire of guerrillas for years.
Oscar was training to become a Mayan priest, himself, and he gave a passionate
explanation of Mayan religious practices and religious persecution. As we came over the
top of the ridge into the cone of the volcano, Oscar took us down what looked to be a
rarely used trail that led to a cave overlooking the lagoon. At the mouth of the cave,
Oscar pointed out candle residue and explained the significance of each color in this
religious ceremony. He also found recently charred chicken remains and explained that
Mayan priests often sacrifice chickens for a wide variety of reasons. He speculated that
in this case, the chicken’s remains suggested a fertility ceremony for a woman who
wanted to get pregnant.
Later, as we examined the charred remains of another sacrificial site, Oscar began
a conversation about Mayan religious persecution. He explained that Evangelical Church
leaders were applying increasing pressure on the national government and on Mayan
religious leaders to abandon “their savage ceremonies.” Oscar said that it was becoming
harder to find safe areas to practice their religion and that many Mayan priests have to
conduct their ceremonies in secret locations. Throughout the entire tour, Oscar displayed
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an impressive knowledge of local Mayan religious practices and continued to challenge
Mayan religious persecution.
A comparison of these two guides presents some interesting parallels that are
typical of Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. Both Enrique and Oscar grew up in
Guatemala during the Civil War. Both guides migrated to the United States to find work
and both made use of the English skills that they learned in the United States to craft
careers in Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. This comparison also offers some
interesting differences that separate Hyper Tours from other tourism organizations.
Oscar is Mayan and he has been able to take advantage of his commitments and
connections to his community to create a life and career. Enrique is not Mayan and he
grew up on the coast. However, his training and experiences with Hyper Tours has
persuaded him to create an alternative biography in which he claims to have grown up in
Quetzaltenango and learned English by speaking to tourists. On the other hand, Oscar
openly tells tourists that he lived and worked in Fresno and explains that his need to find
work abroad is an extension of local economic hardships and negative stereotypes of
Mayas. Enrique’s training at Hyper Tours has taught him not to talk about his
connections to the United States and to avoid breaching any subjects that may be
considered controversial.
Experiences like these are typical of front stage images of Mayas that are
presented in excursions with Hyper Tours. If the tour is led by an employee of Hyper
Tours, then the images of Mayas and Mayan communities that are presented are noncontroversial. Hyper Tours’ guides are usually Ladino and authority to present images of
Mayas is based on their training materials and the lectures they have attended, as well as
their status as Guatemalans. Yet, sub-contracted guides may speak freely about
controversial issues of socio-political importance in an attempt to establish solidarity or
authority with tourists, usually from a pro-Mayan perspective.
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Hyper Tours’ excursions are also highly organized, with little room for
improvisational interactions with non-Hyper Tours-affiliated Mayas. If Mayas are
encountered in a non-structured manner, such as in the example of the San Francisco
market experience, Hyper Tours’ guides refrain from providing an interpretive
framework to the international tourist experience. Facts and figures are presented, such
as how much a hat should cost, but any information that could be deemed as controversial
or uncomfortable is ignored or avoided.
In addition, there is a wide gulf between the apparent appreciation for Maya
culture on the front stage and the pejorative opinions of the owner expressed behind the
scenes. On the way back from Chicabal, Hans, himself, drove us back to
Quetzaltenango. I sat in the front seat with him and in our conversation I gained insight
into the backstage notions that influence Hyper Tours’ portrayal of Mayan images. Hans
and I proceeded to talk about his competition in Quetzaltenango. I asked him why he
thought that his organization had been successful while others, especially those with
Mayan owners, struggled. Hans said that “maybe Mayas have not had as much luck
building their businesses because they may have trouble raising money, they may have
trouble getting out of bed in the morning, and they are liars.” He also said that “Mayas
are taught to lie at a young age when their parents tell their kids not to tell the teachers
that the husband beats their wife and this starts them off as liars. Then they learn to cheat
and steal as part of the culture.” Finally he said “I will not hire anyone who has not been
in the States to see how to work properly.”
Obviously, there are extreme contradictions between Hans’s back stage comments
and Oscar’s front stage presentation with Chile Verde Tours. To be fair, in other
conversations with Hans, he has expressed compassion for Mayan communities and has
admitted that many people, including Hyper Tours, are unfairly making money in tourism
at the expense of local Mayas. However, Hans’s racist statements reflect a serious lack
of support for pro-Mayan political agendas. In fact, they help to propagate some of the
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worst negative stereotypes of Mayas. I believe that Hans draws from these racist
statements to justify his position as a foreign tourism organization owner. He readily
admits that he is exploiting Mayan culture by making large sums of money through
tourism. His internal justification for this exploitation is based on his belief that Mayas
are lazy and not deserving of the profits he makes in tourism.
Support for Pro-Mayan Activism in Name
The leaders of Iztapa founded the language school to earn money to support social
development programs in rural indigenous communities. Their name, itself, means
“Land of the People,” to reflect their commitment to political activism. Since the
foundation of the school, the structure has changed from a non-profit cooperative to a forprofit organization. Perhaps, before the change, the school presented numerous proMayan activist ideological constructions of Mayas to their students on a regular basis. I
base this speculation on the idea that the school’s webpage marketing rhetoric displays a
serious commitment to pro-Mayan activism.19 This may be an artifact of a previous
commitment. In my experience, Iztapa is committed to pro-Mayan activism ideals in
name only.
One difficulty that Iztapa encounters is establishing the authority to speak about
Mayan issues. Iztapa does employ Marco, who is a highly qualified presenter of Mayan
culture and social issues both through university education and lived experiences in
Mayan communities. Marco was one of the original founders of ILM and he is active in
Pan-Mayan political organizations, as well. However, he is the only teacher at Iztapa
with these qualifications. Many of the other teachers are younger, Ladino university
19 Evidence of a pro-Mayan commitment is found in Iztapa’s in-depth explanations of
how they support eleven different social development programs designed to aid Mayan rural
communities.
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students and they have no formal background investigating Mayan ethnic issues. In
addition, Iztapa has no formalized Mayan education program for their teachers.
Furthermore, Iztapa seems to have difficulty executing activities that present proMayan activist themes and images. For example, from time to time, through Marco’s
connections, Iztapa manages to bring in an authoritative speaker for their weekly
conference. On May 13th of 2005, Iztapa scheduled a professor from San Carlos
University to discuss “the week in news” with the students. This could have initiated
conversations about ethnic stereotypes, racism, or economic inequalities. Many other
local language schools, such as ILM or Sayaché, hold discussions like this one to
promote a pro-Mayan political agenda. But, there was little interest among the students.
The leaders of Iztapa had written on the weekly schedule that there would be some sort of
conference on May 13th. Yet, they did not provide a description of the conference’s
theme until late that same morning. That day, Marco and I were studying Spanish on the
third floor terrace of the school. At around noon, Magdalena, the administrative director
and one of the owners of the school, started asking students on the first floor if they were
interested in attending the conference. Apparently, when she got word out to the students
that the conference was confirmed, many of the students had already made plans for the
afternoon. By the time Magdalena reached the third floor, she had not found a single
student who could attend the conference. She related this to Marco and he had to call the
Professor from San Carlos to cancel the conference. When Marco returned from his
phone call, he said that this was a typical occurrence. He was becoming frustrated with
the situation since he looks irresponsible to his academic friends when the conferences
are cancelled.
Iztapa also organizes weekly field trips to sites of potential ethnic interest. For
example, on April 28th of 2005, Iztapa organized a fieldtrip to Poxlajuj in Totonicapan,
which is a Maya women’s cooperative that produces jams, jellies, and other types of
fruit-based foods. Again, there was little support from the administration of Iztapa for
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this activity. The administrators wrote on the calendar that there would be a field trip on
that day. However, they did not announce the theme or destination of the trip until late
that same morning. Therefore, by the time Magdalena got to the terrace to ask me if I
was interested in attending, she first admitted that none of the other students could make
it to the field trip and she was going to cancel the trip if I was not interested. I, in fact,
was interested in going on the field trip that afternoon and when I expressed this to
Magdalena she seemed slightly disappointed that she would not be able to tell Kenya, the
tour leader, that she could have the afternoon off.
This field trip could have been a chance to talk about the socio-economic position
of Mayan women in Guatemala and the importance of cooperatives in challenging
Guatemalan economic hierarchies. In ILM or Sayaché, a fieldtrip like this would have
centered on similar pro-Mayan political themes. However, the field trip was led by
Kenya, a younger Ladina teacher, who had little knowledge about the ethnic history of
the area. Due to this lack of knowledge, she did not attempt to speak as an authority on
economic inequalities, the socio-economic position of Mayan women in this region of
Guatemala, or the importance of cooperatives in challenging Guatemalan economic
hierarchies. Although she was friendly and charming, Kenya tended to concentrate on
describing the beauty of the countryside rather than tackling more controversial issues.
When we arrived at the Mayan cooperative, we met three young Mayan women
who were dressed in brightly colored huipiles from Totonicapan. They welcomed us and
asked Kenya and me if we would like to try some of their jam. The women produced
examples of their mango and pineapple jams, along with a little bread. We sampled the
jams and they were tasty. In fact, I decided to bring jars of both types of jam home. The
women appeared to have given a tour of their cooperative to tourists from Iztapa before.
They showed us the large metal pots that they used to cook down the fruit. They also
showed us the stoves and ovens they used to cook the fruit and bake the bread. Finally,
we worked our way to the back of the cooperative where they demonstrated the jarring
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procedure. They said that the cooperative was in the process of getting their jams
approved by the government so that they could be legally sold on store shelves. At this
point, the sale of their products was limited to language schools and Internet cafés. That
was the end of the tour. I bought some jam and Kenya and I headed back to catch the bus
to Quetzaltenango.
In typical Iztapa tourist activities, there is little room for improvisational
interaction between international tourists and local Mayas. Most tourist activities at
Iztapa, if they do happen, are highly structured. A friend of the school with authority to
speak on local issues is invited to make a presentation, or a field trip is planned to visit an
organization with close ties to Iztapa. Yet when activities are scheduled that could
potentially present pro-Mayan activist themes, such as in the opportunity to discuss “the
week in news” with the San Carlos professor, they are rarely supported by the school
administrators. If and when ideological constructions of Mayas are presented to tourists
on the front stage, such as with Kenya’s exclusive concentration on the beauty of the
countryside, the images are usually benign and rarely challenge negative stereotypes of
Mayas. Behind the scenes, or back stage, most Iztapa administrators and employees,
with the exception of Marco, seem ambivalent about the presentation of pro-Mayan
activist rhetoric. Yet, pro-Mayan activist language is widely used in Iztapa promotional
materials to attract students. However, once the students have committed to the school,
most administrators and employees expend little energy in seeing that pro-Mayan
activities actually happen. Usually the organization and hosting of these activities just
means more unpaid extra-curricular work for the school’s employees.
Marco is frustrated that his efforts to organize conferences are not supported by
the administration, but he is also still a bit shell-shocked by his experiences with ILM.
Marco has lost faith that language schools can positively influence local Mayan
communities. Therefore, apart from his occasional annoyance with having to call his
friends and cancel conferences, Marco seems content to put in his hours and collect his
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paycheck in a language school which in spirit may support pro-Mayan activism, but in
action presents benign ideological front stage constructions of Mayan imagery.
Backstage and Surrogate Pro-Mayan Imagery
One of the most limiting factors to Jaguartrekkers’ realization of pro-Mayan
political activist goals is its lack of local knowledge and authority. Although many of the
guides are friendly and enthusiastic about their work, Jaguartrekkers is rather weak in the
area of local cultural competence. All of their guides are foreigners and few came to
Guatemala with any background in the history or culture of the area. Because of the
volunteer nature of Jaguartrekkers, most of their guides are relatively inexperienced.
Javier at Q’anjob’al Tours, for example, has been leading treks for about four years and
has a lifetime of experiences in Mayan communities. On the other hand, a senior
member of the Jaguartrekkers team will usually have been in the country for a total of
four months.
Jaguartrekkers trains their guides by passing down knowledge from one guide to
the next. Each new guide goes on a trek with a more senior guide at least once, or twice,
to memorize the route and to establish relationships with key locals along the way.
However, little depth of knowledge is passed along about the history of the region and,
although relationships are established with locals along the way, Jaguartrekkers has
trouble getting some of their travel routes authorized by local communities and officials
on their treks.
Occasionally, this lack of knowledge and authority jeopardizes the quality and
even the safety of the treks. For example, in March 2005, I was on a trip with eight
others hiking between Quetzaltenango and Lake Atitlan. Including myself, there were six
Jaguartrekkers clients on the trip. The lead guide was also training two new guides who
were learning the route for the first time. This made us a group of nine in total. About
forty-five minutes into the first day, the head guide, Esteban, led us down the wrong path.
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We only lost fifteen to twenty minutes before we corrected ourselves, but it did not instill
great confidence in his leadership. Later that day, Esteban told our group that one of the
towns we were passing was destroyed by a hurricane and that the government built a new
town on the other side of the hill. Someone asked which hurricane it was and he did not
know. Someone then asked what department we were in and he did not know. A few
weeks later, I learned from a friend that an earthquake destroyed the town, not a
hurricane.
Unfortunately, this general lack of local knowledge and local authority produced
conflicts between Jaguartrekkers and the local populations. Later, on the first night of the
trek between Quetzaltenango and Lake Atitlan, we stopped for the day to set up camp on
a beautiful grassy knoll which overlooked a small village and a lush and foggy valley. It
was a comfortable and spacious site for our tents. However, five minutes after we set up
the tents, young men began to appear with soccer gear. Sure enough, we had set up our
tents in the middle of their soccer field and they began having a game on the far edge of
the field. We never moved our tents and they continued to play. For the next hour and a
half, we were in an awkward situation with the locals trying to ignore our intrusion and
we trekkers were trying to ignore the occasional soccer ball that would fly through the
camp and knock our dinner out of our hands.
The next day, Jaguartrekkers’ general lack of knowledge of the area and poor
connections with the local community put all of us in a potentially dangerous situation.
During the time of this trek, there was an enormous amount of tension focused on the
foreign mining of the area. Rumors were circulating in the countryside that gringos were
looking for gold and they wanted to take the land away from the villagers. Late in the
afternoon on the second day of the three-day trek, we were climbing out of a beautiful
valley where we had just snacked on oranges and swam in the Nahualá River. Of course
our guides did not know the name of the river, but I had learned it on an earlier trek with
Javier. After an hour of steep climbing, we reached a nice resting point at the top of a hill
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that overlooked the Nahualá river valley on one side and a plateau with a small village on
the other.
After all of the trekkers caught their breath, we continued toward the village. A
few minutes into out walk, we were confronted by a man who looked distressed to see us
coming out of the river valley. He was visibly angry and he called to his friends who
where following him up the path from the village. Eventually three other men, all in their
late thirties and early forties, emerged with machetes. Machetes are a common sight in
the countryside, so this was not an immediate cause for alarm. However, when the first
man demanded to know if we were looking for gold, the presence of the machetes
intensified the situation.
Esteban, the tour leader, was from Spain’s Basque country so he spoke Spanish.
But, his accent was so different from the local Spanish that these men had trouble
understanding what he was saying. I walked to the front of our group along with
Sebastian, one of the guides in training. We explained to the men that we were just
passing through the region on our way to the Lake. We said that we were international
students traveling with an organization from Quetzaltenango that uses the money they
earned from the treks to help poor street children with school supplies, instruction, and
shelter.
At first, the men did not believe us. In fact, they said that they might get more
help so that they could block us from passing through their village. They kept pressing
the idea that we were looking for gold. We continued to repeat our story in a number of
ways until they began to believe us. At that point, Sebastian asked the men what other
languages they spoke. They said they spoke Tz’utujil and Sebastian began to ask them
how to say a number of basic words in Tz’utujil. They found his pronunciation
humorous and this eventually defused the tense situation. Finally, the men granted us
authority to pass. Many of the other trekkers had a limited understanding of Spanish.
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However, they could feel the tension in the air and we were all relieved to continue on
our trek.
Similar to Hyper Tours, Jaguartrekkers realizes the limitation of their knowledge
and authority to speak about the history of the region and to frame ideological
constructions of Mayas. Therefore, on occasion, Jaguartrekkers also hires locals to give
historical or cultural presentations. In these cases, the presenters are usually highly
qualified individuals with the authority to give deep and insightful presentations. For
example, on May 12th 2005, a group of eight tourists, including myself and two guides
were starting the final day of our four-day trek between two of the largest towns in the
Cuchumatan mountain range in the North West corner of Guatemala’s highlands. The
previous night, we had stayed with Jesus, a local Mayan from the Todos Santos area, and
he and his family fed us dinner and breakfast as well as hosted us in their bunk house.
On the morning of the last day, Jesus led us up the back of a mountain which, once we
got up to the top, overlooked a beautiful valley with Todos Santos, our final destination,
in the distance.
Jesus began to establish his authority with the trekkers by saying that he had lived
in the area his entire life. He also briefly explained that he was in the area during the
Civil War when the guerrillas and military came to visit his indigenous village. With
Todos Santos in the distant valley as a backdrop, Jesus asked me if I would translate for
him. He began to explain the tragic history of the region during the Civil War. He told
us about the guerrillas coming to recruit local Mayas to join their movement. He then
described how the army came and accused the local townspeople of being guerrillas. He
said the army broke down doors, stole things from houses, and rounded up people in the
center of the town. The army had a list of people who were said to be guerrillas and they
made each person say their name. If their name was on the list, the army soldiers asked
them to go behind a house because they needed to have “a special conversation” with
them. Then he described how the army took the people on the list, put their heads on
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rocks, and smashed them. He said that one older woman, who was not on the list, ran out
of fear and they shot her in the back. The army then told the rest of the villagers that if
they helped the guerrillas they would have the same fate. As Jesus continued his story he
described how Mayas were placed between the military and the guerrillas for years and
they were often attacked by both sides. Jesus described how many of his family and
friends were beaten, raped, and tortured and how all the locals lived in constant fear for
years and years.
This was an incredibly powerful story and as we trekked down to Todos Santos, I
was hit with a barrage of questions, especially by the guides, about the Civil War and
Guatemalan politics. Certainly this presentation put Mayan ethnicity into a whole new
light for both the guides and tourists. It challenged the legitimacy of the government
military violence, the guerrillas’ counter-offensives, and the justice of Guatemala’s social
and economic hierarchies. Yet, this presentation lasted half an hour, at most, and was a
small portion of the trek. With the absence of an anthropologist/translator, I am certain
that much of Jesus’ story would never have been transmitted to Jaguartrekkers’ clients.
Jaguartrekkers’ guides’ front stage ideological constructions of Mayas is lacking
at best. Most guides do not possess an in-depth knowledge of the region, nor have they
established the simple authority to pass through many of the communities on their treks.
Due to this lack of knowledge and authority, Jaguartrekkers’ treks are loosely organized.
This gives international tourists ample opportunity to encounter Mayas in an
improvisational space. However, Jaguartrekkers’ guides are often unable to frame these
interactions with Mayas and their lack of local cultural competence has the potential to
put their clients in dangerous situations.
Backstage, Jaguartrekkers’ guides express sympathy for Mayan communities and
an earnest interest in learning more about Guatemalan socio-economic politics from a
Mayan perspective. Although Jaguartrekkers’ guides’ information is often only
somewhat accurate, the guides are generally aware of the larger themes that characterize
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Guatemala’s socio-political history from the Mayan perspective. They are quick to point
out the poverty of Mayan villages, and they do not hesitate to proclaim that Ladinos have
been largely responsible for the propagation of negative Mayan stereotypes. In some
cases, their comments made me think that a little knowledge is dangerous. Perhaps the
guides were too enthusiastic, or their comments were slightly off the mark. In any case,
as a result of the foreign guides’ lack of local knowledge and understanding of the
complexities of Guatemalan ethnic relations, little cultural understanding emerges
between local Mayas and tourists.
Like Hyper Tours, Jaguartrekkers hires local Maya guides who use their lifetime
of experience living in the local Mayan communities to establish the authority to speak
about Mayan issues. With this authority, these sub-contracted guides present pro-Mayan
images that directly challenge long-held negative stereotypes of Mayas and Mayan
economic subordination. Jesus’ testimonio about his community’s violent experiences
during the Civil War was by far the most powerful experience of the Todos Santos trek.
All of the foreigners were obviously struck by Jesus’ presentation. The impact that
Jesus’ presentation had on the guides and tourists shows that if tourism organizations
want to raise international tourist consciousness of Mayan political positions, it is
important to have well-informed local mediation of tourist experiences.
Pro-Mayan Activism in Action
The employees of two of the Quetzalteco tourism organizations – Q’anjob’al
Tours, and TelaMaya – do not have the academic background to site many of the ideals
that are expounded in the literature of Pan-Mayan Movement leaders. However, through
their front stage structured and improvised ideological constructions of Mayan images
and the backstage principles and actions that support these images, both organizations are
well-informed and deeply involved in pro-Mayan activism.
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Javier of Q’anjob’al Tours has a strong interest in his own Mayan heritage and
culture, as well as a wealth of lived experience in Mayan communities. Also, as a rather
gregarious individual, he has asked a lot of questions and made a lot of personal
relationships with people in the Mayan villages on his trekking routes. With these
interests, experiences, and relationships that he has established within local Mayan
communities, Javier claims the authority to frame ideological constructions of Mayan
ethnicity.
Most of Javier’s tours are treks across the Guatemalan Highlands and pass
through numerous small villages and cross land owned by a wide range of people. Due
to the almost constant movement of a trek, most of Javier’s interactions with the Mayas
on his tours are improvisational. It would be nearly impossible for Javier to establish
official contacts and relationships with everyone that a trekking group could potentially
come across during a three-day trek. Therefore, Javier needs to “think on his toes” to
frame pro-Mayan images of Mayas while trekking and to establish a positive rapport with
fellow Mayas he encounters.
This often proves difficult. For example, I was on a trek with Javier between
Quetzaltenango and Lake Atitlan in January 2005. Similar to treks through this region
led by Jaguartrekkers, we were stopped on numerous occasions and asked if we were
looking for gold in the region. On the second morning of our trek to Lake Atitlan, Javier,
two of my friends from Wisconsin, two Londoners who had joined our trek, and I woke
up to very sore muscles. We started the day at the bottom of a deep valley next to a
beautiful river. Our first task was to pack up camp, put our packs on already sore backs
and head out of this deep ravine up a steep mountain that would take us through a group
of Mayan villages. As we climbed through a banana plantation that then turned into corn
fields, Javier explained to me that on previous treks, he had problems passing through the
upcoming town. He said that he had been with a group of Israelis who had picked
bananas and corn along the way, against his wishes, and the local farmers yelled at them.
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The situation had recently grown worse due to new rumors that had spread through the
Highlands that gringos were looking for gold.
By mid-morning, we came to a beautiful little town on the Pacific Slope of
Guatemala’s Highlands. In the far distance, you could see the ocean. But at this point,
we were still a few thousand feet above sea-level, and half way up deep green slopes that
were crowned with volcanoes. As we passed through corn fields with stalks twice our
height and walked around lush banana trees, we came across groups of chickens that
were feeding in the fields. Next, we came to the local two-room school and stopped to
drink water and rest. The town felt sleepy, even at mid-morning, and we did not
encounter any of the residents in the small town center.
By the time we got to the far edge of town, however, there was a group of around
twenty men having a meeting. They were just as surprised to see a Mayan leading a
group of gringos through their village as we were to see them having a meeting on the
side of a mountain. Some of the men were young, some old, some in the traditional
indigenous clothing of the area, and some of the younger men were in baseball caps, blue
jeans and T-shirts. Javier greeted the group and began a conversation with the men in
Spanish. Javier was indigenous, himself, but he spoke Q’anjob’al and not Tz’utujil,
which was the local language. The first thing they asked Javier was whether or not we
were looking for gold. Javier tensed up a bit. I looked to Javier to see what he would
say, and although my foreign companions did not speak much Spanish, they also looked a
bit worried. Javier then smiled and said that they should look at the rough shape that we
were in, and the shabby equipment that we brought. Then they would know that we were
not the type of people who were looking for gold. Most of the local men found this
humorous and enjoyed a laugh at our expense.
Javier talked to them about his trekking operation and said his company passes
through the area a few times a month with tourists who are definitely not looking for
gold. Javier also mentioned that he had sent his son, Daniel, to the town during their
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annual soccer tournament a few months back and that Daniel had bought the trophy for
the tournament. The local men talked amongst themselves and a few of them
remembered Daniel and mentioned that he was a good soccer player. This donation and
participation in local events seemed to buy Javier the clout that he needed.
Javier asked them if there was anything that he could bring them, or help them
with, since he and his companions were going to be passing through the town on a
regular basis. The men mentioned that they needed some plastic tubing to help with a
water project. Javier said that he could only bring smaller things that he could carry on
his back. He then asked them if they would be interested in some new soccer jerseys for
their teams. The local men seemed interested and one asked if they could get two sets of
jerseys – one that looked like Cremas and the other like Rojos – the two largest
professional teams from Guatemala City. Javier said that he would try to buy the jerseys.
They seemed satisfied and we said our goodbyes as we continued up the mountain.
I was happy that I was with Javier during this encounter. I could have explained
to the men of the village that we were just passing through and that we were definitely
not looking for gold. Whether or not they would have believed me, is another story.
Javier had taken the time to establish a relationship with the local community during their
soccer tournament and he was attempting to continue this relationship by organizing
future donations. Furthermore, he successfully employed humor to lighten a tense
situation. Javier was able to use his authority as a Maya, combined with the authority he
had created through his donations, to establish new relationships and negotiate with
locals. Ultimately, this turned a potentially violent encounter into a friendly exchange.
As Javier passes through the Guatemalan Highlands, he also frames his clients’
improvisational experiences in Mayan communities. On many occasions, he will stop his
group and talk about the violence that was directed against Mayan populations during the
Civil War. In all explanations of Mayan ethnic issues and ethnic activities, Javier
challenges negative Mayan stereotypes as well as Mayan subordination in Guatemalan
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social and economic hierarchies. For example, as we continued up the mountain on our
trek to Lake Atitlan, Javier provided a context for the tourists to understand that last
encounter with local Mayas. Javier explained that a Canadian mining company had been
trying to expand their mine in the area around San Marcos since the previous autumn and
that many rural Guatemalans were protesting this expansion. Javier said that the people
of San Marcos, mostly Mayan farmers, had their land forcefully taken away from them
and this created tension throughout the Guatemalan Highlands. Javier said that the
Mayas in the area we were passing through probably took part in a violent protest that
happened a few days prior to our trek. He explained that local Mayas had blockaded the
Pan-American Highway by dragging boulders and trees onto the highway to halt the
delivery of mining equipment to the San Carlos mines. He then said that local military
forces used this protest as an excuse to beat, shoot, and kill many of the Mayan
protesters. Javier also explained that, as a result of the mining tension, many local Mayas
were worried that more gringos were searching for gold on their land. Thus, a
confrontation between a group of foreign trekkers and the local Maya had the potential
for verbal conflict and even physical violence.
Javier continues to support pro-Mayan political activism through his relationships
with like-minded subcontracted guides. For example, Javier subcontracts his trek
between Nebaj and Todos Santos with Domingo, a 15 year-old Ixil Mayan guide from
Nebaj. Domingo, although young and not formally educated, has an incredible wealth of
knowledge about local Mayan communities and makes a serious effort to display his
knowledge whenever possible. Domingo is also well versed in the tragedies of the region
during the Civil War because he lost most of his family members due to military violence
directed against Mayan populations in the Ixil triangle. At the beginning of the trek,
Domingo brings his clients to the grave sites of his parents. Domingo did not give us the
details of his parents’ deaths. But, the intensely personal nature of this experience helped
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Domingo connect with his clients and it also helped establish a pro-Mayan political
agenda.
Another example of this occurred as we started out the second day of our trek.
Domingo took us through the cemetery on the far edge of the town of Acul. At the
entrance to the cemetery, Domingo pointed to a small plaque that described a massacre
that took place in the town during the Civil War. The plaque described how government
troops moved into town and rounded up locals into the church. According to the plaque,
the military killed twenty-three locals, who could now be found in the graveyard. The
plaque also described how the military proceeded to burn the majority of the town to the
ground. The plaque did not give an explanation for the military’s actions. When an
Israeli tourist asked Domingo why the military killed the locals and burned the village,
Domingo said that the military suspected that locals had joined forces with the guerrillas.
But, according to Domingo, this was not true. Domingo said that the military used this as
an excuse to kill Mayas. Having visited the gravesite of Domingo’s parents the previous
day, none of the tourists questioned Domingo’s authority to make this statement.
Domingo’s use of pro-Mayan politics on this trek is an example of how tourism
organizations can greatly alter relationships within the tourist borderzone. By bearing
witness to personal and regional tragedies against Mayas, Domingo establishes a rapport
and solidarity with his clients. This connection improves the quality of the tourists’
experience and makes them feel like they are the protagonists in a tourist narrative that
involves danger and adventure, as well as solidarity with local Mayan populations.
Few Mayan women at TelaMaya have more then a year or two of formal
education. As young girls, their mothers, aunts and grandmothers taught them the
meaning behind many of the symbols and colors used in weavings. These women use
their experiences as Mayan women and weavers to establish personal relationships, a
sense of solidarity with their clients, and promote pro-Mayan politics. For example, on
April 2005, Julia, the vice-president of TelaMaya, explained that her mother had shown
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her what the patterns in Mayan weavings symbolized and that she was going to show
them to us. Julia proceeded to grab a stack of smaller weavings in the corner of
TelaMaya’s storefront. She brought them over to me and a woman in her mid-twenties
from Seattle. Julia pointed to a weaving that contained a diamond shaped pattern and
said that it was a design from their ancestors representing a carpet that women used to sit
on while weaving. Then she showed us how the same symbol was found in almost every
weaving in the store. She also showed us the symbol of a cup that the priests use to
communicate with the gods as well as symbols of Quetzals, which she said were sacred
birds for the Mayan people. She also went into a long explanation of the use of the
colors. For example, she said that white represented clarity, yellow represented purity
and corn, blue was a sacred color and represented the heavens and communication with
the gods, and she said that green represented fertility and everything natural. Throughout
this discussion, Julia demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of Mayan history. She also
expressed her pride in the quality of the weavings and her role of continuing a “rich and
important” Mayan tradition through teaching weaving to others. Finally, by
demonstrating her depth of knowledge to her weaving students, Julia established the
authority she needed to instruct us in the traditions and techniques of Mayan weaving.
As I have mentioned, beneath the surface there is an enormous amount of tension
and conflict between the members of TelaMaya. Some leaders suspected that other
leaders misappropriated funds from the Dutch NGO. In fact, this tension threatens to
break up the cooperative. However, the cooperative does continue to operate and the one
thing that seems to keep them together is their experiences of hardship as Mayan women.
The instructors at TelaMaya consciously use their weaving time to discuss the difficulties
of their lives outside the organization’s doors. In candid conversations with Julia and
Libertad, the treasurer of TelaMaya, both admitted that they talk about their hardships
with their foreign clients because the tourists are always interested in hearing about
personal tragedy. They joked that the more tragic the story, the more interested the
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clients seemed. Julia and Libertad said that they need something to talk about while
weaving, so they start by telling some stories of hardship in their lives and this helps to
establish a more personal relationship with the foreign tourists. Julia and Libertad also
joked that it is unfortunate that they do not need to make up tragic stories for tourists.
Some of the circumstances of their life histories are tragic enough.
For example, on March 2005, I was weaving at TelaMaya on a sunny afternoon.
TelaMaya is located just off the central park in Quetzaltenango and receives a good deal
of foot traffic past its doors. When people pass by, they generally look in to see the
colorful products and check out the activities. They see a room in the front of the
building with brightly colored huipiles, and bright wall hangings placed high on the
walls. They also see shelves packed with intricately designed pillows, rugs, woven
snakes for children, hackysacs for tourists, and a selection of clothing items for Mayan
women. As they pass by the door, they also may see a gringo learning how to weave. I
was always a special source of entertainment for passers-by. TelaMaya teaches Mayan
women’s weaving techniques on the back-strap loom. It is rare to see a man using a
back-strap loom and my presence at TelaMaya was often the subject of snickers and
whispers between Quetzaltecos who watched me weave from the doorway.
The mood on this particular day was light. There were only two women in the
storefront that day, Julia and Libertad, and they got along well. We joked about Julia’s
weight and about Libertad’s difficulty counting out change for customers. Julia told me
stories from her childhood and Libertad’s son, Hugo, played with paper airplanes that I
had made for him earlier in the day.
By mid-morning, the jokes between Julia and Libertad had lulled a bit. The
tourist from Seattle asked Julia if she had woven the clothes she was wearing. Julia
admitted that she did not weave the entire outfit. She said that she bought the basic cloth
in the market, but she had done the stitching and design work herself. Julia then used this
occasion to tell the tourist from Seattle a little bit about her childhood. Julia said that she
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used to weave nearly all of her family’s clothes when she was a young girl. Julia
explained that her father used to drink too much and that when he was really drunk, he
would beat her. She said that her father would not beat her brothers or her other younger
sister. But, for some reason, when he got drunk, which was most nights, he would
suddenly just get up out of his chair, start yelling at Julia and chase her out of the house
with his belt or closed fist. Julia explained that because of her father, she spent a lot of
time at her aunt’s and grandmother’s houses. While she was there, she would weave.
She said her father was drunk much of the time, which gave Julia plenty of time to weave
clothes for her family.
Late in the afternoon, as often happens, a friend of Julia came in to ask advice.
This woman had her five-year-old son with her and he looked weak and sickly. She said
that she had just taken her son to see a Ladino doctor but he made them wait in the lobby
all day. She said that she thought that it was because they were poor Mayas and she said
that richer Ladinos were going in and out of the doctor’s office before her. She then
asked Julia if she knew of any doctors who might be more attentive and friendly. Julia
gave her the name of a doctor near “La Democracia” market and the woman left with her
son.
After they were gone, we spent the next hour talking about inherent racism
against Mayas in most medical practices. Julia said that she had trouble finding a doctor
in town when her son was sick. She said that it was fairly common that Mayas would
have to wait all day to see a doctor. I explained to Julia that my wife and I had recently
passed five hours sitting on a cement floor in a waiting room to see a doctor with several
groups of Mayas. She said that she was surprised that we, as gringos, did not get to go to
the front of the line because this would be a typical practice in Quetzaltenango. As the
conversation continued, Julia and Libertad told numerous stories about how they, or some
of her family members, had been left sitting on the dirty floors of waiting rooms all day
while hoping to see a doctor. Sometimes, late in the afternoon, they did actually get to
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see the doctor. However, in most of these stories, they would wait all day and then the
doctor’s secretary – the same one who had been saying that the doctor would be ready to
see them any minute – would tell them that the doctor was too busy to see them and they
would have to come back tomorrow.
These types of tourist experiences are typical of both Q’anjob’al Tours and
TelaMaya. Javier, Domingo, Julia, and Libertad may not have read Pan-Mayan theorists
such as Warren, Fisher, or Cojtí, nor have they attended Pan-Mayan conferences, but they
are all aware of the power of pro-Mayan politics. As a result of their experiences with
racism, abuse, and economic hardship, these Mayan tourism organizers use their
authority as Mayas to directly challenge negative stereotypes of Mayas in the hopes of
creating economic advantages for themselves and their communities.
Again, the use of personal tragedies and the promotion of pro-Mayan politics alter
relationships in the touristic borderzone. The personal nature of the Mayan women’s
testimonios establishes a more personal connection with tourists. It helps tourists to
understand the hardships in the weavers’ lives. The tourists’ participation in weaving
activities then establishes the tourist at the center of a narrative of an organization that is
aiding the struggle of poorer Mayan women. This personal connection between tourists
and weavers not only helps to enrich the tourist experience, it also entices the tourists to
buy more weavings and to further support the goals of the school through potential
financial contributions.
Pan-Mayan Activism in Action
The spirit of Sayaché and ILM’s ideological constructions of Mayas are similar to
those found in TelaMaya and Q’anjob’al Tours. However, the tourism organizers of
Sayaché and ILM have read Pan-Mayan theorists like Fischer, Warren, and Cojtí. In all
language school sponsored activities, Sayaché and ILM present constructed images of
Mayas that continually challenge long held negative stereotypes of Mayas. What
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separates Sayaché and ILM from the other tourism organizations is that backstage they
consciously integrate the ideas of Pan-Mayan theorists into their ideological constructions
of Mayas for tourists.
In ILM, the three remaining founding members are all university-trained Mayas
with a long history in Pan-Mayan activism and a lifetime of experience in local Mayan
communities. These founders were members of groups that helped write Guatemala’s
peace accords, they have been asked to speak on Mayan-related issues at local, national
and international conferences, and they all have leadership positions in various
Quetzalteco Pan-Mayan organizations. The next three teachers, who are called in if there
are enough students, are the three recipients of university scholarships. All three are
Mayan women from the countryside, are in the process of formal university training, are
active in Pan-Mayan political organizations, and have a wealth of lived experience in
Mayan communities. These tourism organizers use their education, positions of
leadership within Mayan communities and Pan-Mayan organizations, and their lived
experience in Mayan communities to establish the authority to present ideological
constructions of Mayas to their foreign clients.
Every Tuesday, one of these six ILM teachers hosts a Mayan-themed conference
for their students. Usually the conferences are presented in a rotation, so the same
teacher will present the same conference every five or six weeks. One of ILM’s
conferences is titled “Peace in Guatemala.” In this presentation, Germaine sites scholarly
works that are often used as a basis for Pan-Mayan activism such as Robert Carmack’s
(1988) work on violence against Mayas during the Civil War and Demetrio Cojtí’s
(1997) book on the formation of the Pan-Mayan Movement. Germaine uses his own
experience as a student at San Carlos University, which made him a target of government
terror, as well as his friends’ and family’s experiences to discuss the tragedies of the Civil
War from a Mayan perspective. These tales always involve personal accounts of fear and
loss at the hands of the military. Germaine’s presentation then includes his own views on
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Pan-Mayan activism and the importance of their participation in writing the peace
accords. ILM also has conferences dedicated to “Mayan Rights” and “Racism in
Guatemala.” In all these conferences, presenters also site intellectual works that are often
cited by Pan-Mayan activists to challenge Mayan subordination and promote positive
images of Mayas to their clients.
Most conferences stick to a standard format. They start in the afternoon and
usually last about 90 minutes. As indicated in the above titles, the conferences at ILM
are usually about Mayan-related issues. Even those conferences that are not directly
related to themes of Mayan social and economic subordination return to these subjects in
one way or another. For example, in October 2004, I went to ILM a little before 2:30pm
in the afternoon for a conference on “Immigration.” I was the first to arrive at ILM and
found that the door to the school was chained with a large padlock. I sat on the dusty
floor underneath the awning at the entrance to the school to keep out of the hot afternoon
sun while I waited for the other teachers and students to arrive.
At exactly 2:30pm, I saw Jesus turning the corner at the far end of the street. He
waved to me as he rushed back to the school to open the locks on the doors. As we
entered the building, Jesus hurried into the office to make a few calls while I stepped into
the central meeting area to read the paper and wait for my fellow students. The meeting
area was once a central courtyard of a large house but the school put a corrugated plastic
roof over the top to keep the rain from falling on the couches during the six-month rainy
season. They still have plants growing along the edges of the room in raised boxes. The
plants get some light through the semi-translucent plastic roof. When it rains they also
get a bit of water because the roof tends to leak at the edges.
I sat down on one of the overstuffed and mildewed brown couches and interrupted
the work of a group of ants while I read the paper. I got through the entire sports section,
the front page, and a story on the dangers of flooding on the Rio Seco before the other
students began to filter in. These particular students were all in the same missionary
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program. They had just arrived a week or two earlier and they were attending a month of
Spanish classes before they were sent to smaller towns all over Western Guatemala to
teach music to children, help organize cooperatives, and to spread “the word of God.”
These students had already begun to bond with each other through their shared
experience in class and at local bars and restaurants. As we waited for Jesus to finish his
phone calls, they made plans to go to a “cowboy” bar where they serve beer from the
barrel (a fairly rare occurrence in Quetzaltenango).
At about 3:10 to 3:15pm, Jesus emerged from the office and organized us on the
couches for the conference. Jesus looked a bit haggard. Teaching elementary Spanish
for five hours in the morning looked like it had taken its toll on Jesus and he did not
appear to be particularly excited about giving a conference that afternoon. Without fail,
however, once he was a few minutes into his talk, the passion returned to his voice. Jesus
began the conference by saying that two major factors influenced Guatemalans to
migration to “El Norte.” The first factor was “La Violencia” and the second was the
economy. Jesus began with the history of the relationship between the United Fruit
Company and Guatemala. He talked about agrarian reform to reclaim United Fruit
Company land and how this reform was seen by the United States and the CIA as
“Communist.” He then detailed the CIA-supported military coup which overthrew
Guatemala’s first democratically elected government. Jesus moved on to the formation
of revolutionary groups in the countryside and the rise of “repressive military dictators,”
such as Rios Montt, who spearheaded Guatemala’s period of violence.
Next, Jesus’ talk became personal. He is a Q’anjob’al Maya from an area outside
Todos Santos. In 2004, he was in his mid-forties which meant that in the early 1980’s he
was a young man. Jesus described how guerrillas came to his town to try to organize
resistance against the government. He said that originally, people were excited about the
guerrillas’ position on agrarian reform. Then he described how the military came and
strong-armed locals to disband many civic organizations, such as labor unions, because
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they said that groups had “Communist” tendencies. The military also burned crops,
wrecked churches and hospitals, and broke or burned most of the schools’ supplies
because they said that Jesus’ town was helping the guerrillas. Finally, he ended his
section on La Violencia by talking about how Mayan women experienced much more
hardship than the men. He said that during the eight years of La Violencia, Maya women
in his village, many of whom were his relatives, were raped, tortured, and killed along
with their children to intimidate the rest of the villagers and keep them from joining with
the guerrillas. Jesus said that many Guatemalans migrated to the United States in order to
escape from this type of violence.
Jesus then described how the economy in the countryside had been destroyed
through the burning of crops and general intimidation during the violent period. He said
that many Mayas were forced to work on coffee, cotton, and sugar plantations for rich
families who made their fortunes by exploiting Mayan labor. Ultimately, he described
how Guatemala’s struggling economy continues to cause Guatemalans to look for work
in the United States. Jesus, himself, had worked in California, and most of his Mayan
friends had worked in the United States at one point in their lives. He then described a
brutal trip through Mexican deserts. He talked about spending nearly $3,000 to hire a
“coyote” to take him across the border. He told us about the poor treatment that he
received in California. The pay was below minimum wage and his bosses treated him
“like dirt.” He worked relentlessly, washing windows to earn money for his family in
Guatemala. Finally, after a year of grueling work, he managed to save enough money to
help build his house on the outskirts of Quetzaltenango.
After listening to an hour of Jesus’ personal experiences with the rape, torture,
murders of his friends and family members, as well as hardships in the United States, the
conference ended. Before the conference, the missionaries were talking about the
cowboy bar and the beer they were going to drink later that night. Now, there was
silence. Jesus smiled and asked if anyone would like to play him in a game of ping-pong.
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One of the missionaries offered to play. As they left the room, the air slowly began to
return to the students’ lungs. Within an hour, the missionaries were in the cowboy bar
with a beer in their hands. They talked about Jesus’ conference a bit. Mostly they
conversed about feral dogs, trips to Lake Atitlan, or the weavings they bought the other
day. Jesus’ conference never fully leaves you, though. As the missionaries were
eventually sent to small towns in Western Guatemala, Jesus’ experiences and the
influences of the Pan-Mayan Movement went with them.
Sayaché is different from the other six tourism operations as the only organization
with both Maya and Ladino owners. However, in their presentations of tourism
activities, both Mayan and Ladino organizers site Pan-Mayan intellectuals to challenge
long-held negative stereotypes of Mayas. In general, the directors of Sayaché have a high
level of knowledge about local history and cultural practices. One of the five school
owners, Herbert, is involved in Pan-Mayan activism, and although he is Ladino, he is one
of three paid employees of The Mayan League – a Pan-Mayan NGO. Furthermore,
Herbert earned a Masters degree in sociology and is working on his Ph.D. in
anthropology. Therefore, he has a wealth of institutional education and he uses these
qualifications to establish his authority to present images of Mayas to tourists. The four
remaining owners are also university educated. Although some have not formally studied
history or local culture in the university, they have taken it upon themselves to read the
works of Pan-Mayan activists. In addition, Sayaché also relies on Herbert’s connections
with authoritative academics for its weekly conferences on Mayan-related issues. Thus,
the teachers and organizers of tourism activities at Sayaché are highly qualified to present
thoughtful and well informed presentations of Mayan culture and social issues.
For example, in February 2005, Oswaldo, one of the five owners of Sayaché, led a
tour of a coffee plantation on the Pacific Slope of Guatemala about forty-five minutes
outside of Quetzaltenango. Early on a Saturday morning, a group of fourteen students,
including myself, met Oswaldo outside Sayaché’s doors. Oswaldo was able to organize
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enough interest in the trip that he decided to hire two minibuses with drivers to take us to
the plantation. The minibuses arrived promptly at 8:30am when we were scheduled to
leave. But, we were still awaiting the last student signed up for the trip, a student in his
mid-twenties named John. We waited for another five minutes and then a group of
students in the back of one of the minibuses said that they were out late the night before
with John and he had a few too many beers. They said that since John had not yet
arrived, he was probably not going to show up at all and that we should go without him.
The two minibuses pulled away from the school and we headed out of town.
Eventually, we wound our way down the Pacific slope of the Santa Maria Volcano and
turned off the main road to the entrance of a coffee plantation. We had dropped a few
thousand feet in altitude and the air was noticeably thicker and warmer. The vegetation
had changed as well. The land was still dry in Quetzaltenango, but just a short distance
down the road, the trees were green, the plants had flowers, and the earth was moist. It
was a nice change.
Oswaldo organized us into one group and asked me if I would translate for him.
After Oswaldo paid a man at the entrance of the plantation, we all entered. Oswaldo led
us past a few large buildings with plantation employees sitting in lawn chairs and simply
watching us pass by. It was a slow period at the plantation. The coffee had been picked
and it was too early in the season to worry about the next crop. Therefore, there was just
a skeleton crew of employees who were there to look after the place for the owner.
Eventually, we worked our way into the coffee processing room. Oswaldo
explained how the coffee was picked, dumped, separated, removed from its husk, dried,
and then roasted, all within the same building. Then we walked out onto the drying
terrace that overlooked the valley where we could see the size of the plantation. It
appeared huge to me, but Oswaldo explained that this was a smaller plantation. He also
said that the seasonal workers, mostly Mayan, are treated a little better at this plantation
than most because they were allowed to form a union, of sorts, that has bargained well
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with the owners. He explained that this is why the school goes to this particular
plantation.
Oswaldo then began his lecture about coffee plantations, in general. He said that
about 40% of the country’s indigenous populations are involved in seasonal employment
on the plantations. This means that they arrive at the plantations in late October and
work through January. They come with all of their belongings – children, goats, cooking
supplies, and clothing. They are housed in large bungalows and sleep side by side with
other families. They have to pay rent for this small space, the food that they buy from the
plantation owner, and all of the other items that they may consume while they are there.
Thus, when they go to get paid at the end of the month, they often owe the owner money
rather than the other way around. Oswaldo said that in a sense, the system works like
sharecropping in the United States. Men receive between Q18 to 20, women between
Q15-18, and children between Q 8 -10 for a day’s work. Often this is less than they
spend in a day at the plantation owner’s store. He then said that once these debts are
established with the owner, the families are forced to return to the plantations, year after
year, to try to work off their debt. In the meantime, they continue to owe the owners
more and more money. Then he asked the students if they had enjoyed their coffee that
morning.
As we left the plantation, the students’ spirits were low. What had started out as a
beautiful trip into the countryside had ended up implicating students in a system of
Mayan national and global economic and social domination. This is typical of Sayaché’s
organized excursions. In fact, in all of their tourism activities, Sayaché is highly critical
of Mayas’ positions of social and economic subordination.
Both ILM and Sayaché use their qualifications as academics with advanced
knowledge of Pan-Mayan intellectual literature to establish their authority to present
ideological constructions of Mayas to international tourists. As with TelaMaya and
Q’anjob’al Tours, ILM’s leaders have years of lived experience in Mayan communities
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and personal stories of racism and violence against Mayas. This, in part, helps ILM
establish their authority to frame images of Mayas in the touristic borderzone.
ILM leaders are also highly educated intellectuals who are well integrated into
international indigenous activist movements and debates. In some ways, this presents a
dilemma. As previously discussed, many of the images that tourists are confronted with
while researching a trip to Guatemala are filled with exotic images of Mayas from a
golden age. These types of images help fix the tourist narrative as an experience with
primitive, exotic Mayas and, in some ways, suggest that Mayas need to stay primitive and
exotic to continue to propagate the tourist narrative and earn money from tourism.
However, ILM leaders challenge these images through the promotion of PanMayan intellectual ideals. In their front stage presentations of Mayan identity at
conferences and all other school-sponsored activities, they call attention to negative
stereotypes of Mayas. Through improvisational encounters with Mayas on the street and
through highly structured conferences, they then make a major effort to demonstrate how
these images of Mayas are inaccurate, unjust, and help to maintain a system of Mayan
subordination. Similar to the Pan-Mayan activists who are described in Diane Nelson’s
article on “Maya Hackers” (Nelson 1996), the leaders of ILM use themselves and fellow
Mayan activists to form progressive ideological constructions of Mayas that directly
challenge negative stereotypes. Backstage, the leaders of ILM use many of the theories
and arguments of their fellow Mayan intellectuals to help emphasize the contradictions
between negative stereotypes of Mayas and the progressive ideological constructions of
Mayan images that they promote.
Since some of Sayaché’s leaders are Ladino, they have difficulty claiming
authority to frame ideological constructions of Mayas. As Ladinos, they do not have the
lived experience in Mayan communities that would allow them to speak about antiMayan stereotypes and economic subordination from a Mayan perspective. Hyper Tours
and Iztapa handle this dilemma by either presenting benign front stage images of Mayas
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or by sub-contracting the presentation of Mayan ethnicity to Mayan-run organizations.
Teachers at Sayaché, on the other hand, use their intellectual knowledge of Pan-Mayan
activism to qualify their authority to speak from a Mayan perspective. The front stage
images of Mayas that are created in both structured and improvisational school activities
challenge negative stereotypes of Mayas and demonstrate how these images support
Mayan social and economic subordination.
Backstage, Sayaché goes to a major effort to educate their staff on the arguments
and ideals of Pan-Mayan intellectuals. For example, Sayaché puts prospective teachers
through a two week training course. The first week focuses on the theoretical and
practical aspects of teaching Spanish to foreigners. In the second week of training,
Herbert uses his intellectual background as an academic and Pan-Mayan activist to
indoctrinate the perspective teachers into some of the major issues in Pan-Mayan theory
and activism. Herbert gives lectures on subjects like the Mayan Cosmo-vision (a general
explanation of Mayan religious beliefs) and persecution of Mayan religious beliefs, and
violence directed against Mayas during the Civil War in Guatemala. At the end of the
two week training period, the prospective teachers take an exam to test the extent to
which they are qualified to teach the mechanics of Spanish to foreign students as well as
the extent to which they understand various aspects of Pan-Mayan intellectual arguments.
The teachers are required to pass both sections of the exam to be hired as teachers at
Sayaché.
Conclusions
Goffman’s front stage/back stage analogy accurately depicts the performative
nature of tourism activities (Goffman 1959). Images of Mayas and Quetzaltenango are
constructed by each tourism organization. Either as performers or as interpreters for their
clients, the role that these tourism organizations play establishes a boundary between
themselves and their clients. Urry’s concept of the “tourist gaze” provides a theoretical
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glimpse of the tourism experience from the tourists’ perspective of the boundary (Urry
1990). In Quetzaltenango, the tourist perspective usually includes a position of relative
wealth and a conceptualization of the “tourist narrative” in which they are the
protagonist. Bruner’s “touristic borderzone” is the space where actors from both sides of
the boundary meet, face to face (Bruner 2005). In this space, tourists and tourism
organizers play with their roles to test boundaries, establish relationships, and redefine
their tourism experiences.
In Quetzaltenango, the ability of tourism organizations to battle negative
stereotypes of Mayas and to improve local Mayan economic circumstances is highly
dependent upon its ability to successfully present pro-Mayan images to tourists in the
borderzone. Pro-Mayan images help to redefine boundaries and establish relationships
between tourism organizations and tourists. The new relationships can create a sense of
solidarity between tourists and presenters, redefine the roles the borderzone, and place
tourists in the center of a narrative that is helping rebuild Mayan communities and
helping local organizations achieve pro-Mayan activist goals.
Not all Quetzalteco tourism organizations share a pro-Mayan activist agenda.
Hyper Tours’ guides do not present overly exoticized front stage images of Mayas. In
fact, a look backstage, as evidenced by Enrique’s desire to omit conversations of regional
poverty, suggests that Hyper Tours’ guides wish to avoid any presentations of Guatemala
that may be deemed controversial. Hans is rather familiar with the predominance of
Quetzaltenango’s pro-Mayan activism in other tourism organizations. I suspect that he is
aware that he could alienate clients if he presented them with exotic images of Mayas as
primitive relics of a past golden age, since they are also probably attending local
language schools or learning to weave in Mayan women’s cooperatives.
Hans’ main goal is to present a “professional” image of his tourism organization
to attract more clients. His commitment to professionalism may not present exoticized
images in the borderzone, but it perpetuates an imperialistic narrative of tourists standing
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separate from the chaos of Guatemalan life. Tourists are picked up on time, ride in clean
new minivans with plenty of space, and are led by educated, English-speaking guides.
Commitment to this narrative often puts Hyper Tours’ guides in difficult positions. They
play the role of local experts who are of the people. However, when presented with
issues of Mayan poverty or spiritualism, where other pro-Mayan organizations would use
the occasion to establish solidarity with Mayan communities, Hyper Tours’ guides may
claim ignorance. They will essentially establish a sense of solidarity with the tourists
based upon a shared lack of knowledge about Mayan culture. However, solidarity based
on ignorance and astonishment does not seem to be as enduring.
Sometimes Hyper Tours’ guides are not qualified to talk about the history and
customs of Mayan communities around Quetzaltenango and Hans needs to hire local
Mayan guides who have lived in their community. In these cases, Hans has less control
over the images of Mayas that are framed in the borderzone by the sub-contracted guides.
As evidenced by the Chile Verde tour guides, many of the images that are presented in
this tourism experience match those of other organizations with pro-Mayan activist
agendas. In this case, the Chile Verde guides make it clear to tourists that they are only
subcontracted by Hyper Tours. Any solidarity that is established while on a Chile Verde
tour is with Chile Verde, not with Hyper Tours. This directly challenges Hans’
imperialist narrative of remaining above the fray of Guatemalan life. However, Hans is
still the tour operator who puts the tourists on the trek, in the first place, and he remains
the most convenient and easily accessed tourism organization in Quetzaltenango. Thus,
Hans continues to rely on the professionalism of his service and his abundance of
resources (vans, backpacks, guides, and a wide range of tours) to remain competitive.
Jaguartrekkers, like Hyper Tours, realizes the limits of their authority to present
Mayas to tourists. Therefore, their backstage support for pro-Mayan activism causes
them to sub-contract with guides such as Jesus. Jaguartrekkers encourages Jesus to bear
witness to his experiences with racism and the violence during the Civil War. The
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continual front stage reenactment of Jesus’ presentation reestablishes Jaguartrekkers’
backstage pro-Mayan activist stance with new guides and ensures that a pro-Mayan
agenda is continued into the future. A combination of language school recommendations,
social development marketing materials and touristic borderzone experiences with subcontracted guides like Jesus help to create solidarity with tourists that translates into
support for Jaguartrekkers’ backstage social development goals.
Iztapa’s borderzone interactions with tourists are probably the most striking.
Iztapa’s marketing material suggests a huge commitment to pro-Mayan activism. A
tourist who buys into the Iztapa narrative may expect pro-Mayan activism to play a
central role in their Quetzaltenango experience. Yet, once the tourist has signed on with
Iztapa, there is actually little effort to present pro-Mayan front stage images to tourists.
In both structured and improvisational encounters with Mayas, the majority of Iztapa
guides refrain from suggesting any interpretive framework. Instead, Iztapa becomes just
a convenient place to learn Spanish and a solid base for excursions into the countryside
with other organizations. Although there is only one organization like Iztapa in this
dissertation, my experience has shown that there are many language schools that have
Iztapa-like characteristics. Iztapa may have attracted their clients with pro-Mayan
rhetoric, but the added solidarity created by pro-Mayan activism is never pursued and the
school becomes just a place to learn Spanish.
The remaining tourism organizations use pro-Mayan activism to reshape
relationships within the touristic borderzone. Either by drawing from a lifetime of
experience in Mayan communities or formal education and knowledge of Pan-Mayan
activist issues, these tourism organizations employ pro-Mayan themes to help build a
sense of solidarity with their clients. The promotion of pro-Mayan activism still
maintains the “us” and “them” border. But, the roles of “us” and “them” are redefined.
Local Mayas are no longer exotic primitives from a golden age. They become
contemporary actors in a struggle against centuries of continual subordination.
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International tourists are no longer idle travelers in a strange land. They become active
protagonists who are using their relative wealth and power to improve conditions in local
Mayan communities.
Indirectly, these ideological constructions of Mayas are witnessed by the
employees of these organizations, by their affiliated guides and presenters of Mayan
culture, and by the Quetzalteco public as they watch international tourists become
interested in pro-Mayan activist agendas. The survey of Quetzaltecos suggests that this
indirect influence, alone, contributes to a challenge of long-held negative stereotypes of
Mayas and improving Quetzalteco conceptualizations of Mayan culture. However, this
indirect influence, although important, only represents a portion of the influence that
tourism has on Quetzaltenango and its inhabitants.
The ability to establish a sense of solidarity with tourists allows organizations to
draw from additional sources of power to help meet their backstage goals. Solidarity for
pro-Mayan agendas entices international tourists to use their relative positions of wealth
and abundance of free time to donate money and volunteer for pro-Mayan causes.
Monetary donations and volunteering for social development programs directly influence
the ability of tourism organizations to challenge negative stereotypes and improve local
Mayan economic conditions.
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CHAPTER SIX
THE DIRECT, ECONOMIC INFLUENCES OF QUETZALTENANGO
TOURISM
Research on tourism presents overwhelming evidence that the promotion of
tourism activities can produce significant economic gains on international, national, and
local levels (see Crystal 1989: 149; Krystal 2000; Leong 1989; Little 2000; Little 2004;
Schaffer 2001; Smith 1989: 60; Stanley 1998; WorldTourismOrganization 2000).
Supporters of tourism point to the value of the new money brought to the area by both
investors and tourists, themselves (Smith 1989a: 6). Yet critics of tourism have identified
numerous cases where the money brought by tourists never reaches the local community.
In these cases, locals experience many of the drawbacks of tourism such as
overcrowding, environmental degradation, exploitative labor relations, and inflation, but
do not receive any of the economic benefits that tourism dollars bring (see Kincade 1988;
Trask 1992; Wood 2000) The goal of this chapter is to specifically examine the extent to
which the promotion of tourism in Quetzaltenango, and the influx of capital that it
creates, contributes to the improvement of local Mayan economic circumstances through
wages and career development, capital accumulation, and social development programs.
Wages and Career Development
Researchers have often examined tourisms’ impacts on society from the
perspective of wages earned and the need for career development strategies aimed at
tourism industry personnel (see Smith 1989a; Baum 1993). The tourism industry is
“labor intensive, especially for minimally skilled labor pools and ranks high as a
developmental tool, particularly for underdeveloped areas worldwide” (Smith 1989a: 6).
Many of the employees in the minimally skilled labor pool are members of
“disadvantaged minority groups” who occupy low-wage positions in the service sector
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(Wood 2000: 220). Furthermore, these positions are often seasonal, with poor working
conditions, and lack career training and the potential for career advancement (Jithendran
and Baum 2000).
For example, Mayan-themed tourism is one of the main attractions in Cancun,
Mexico. In Cancun, it is easy to find Mayas dresses in “traditional” Mayan clothing
working as hotel staff, waiters, or models for tourist photographs. According to Torres
and Momsen, tourism has provided new employment opportunities in the region (2005).
However, those who acquire high paying permanent jobs are typically white mestizos,
while “Maya from the region occupy the lowest rung of the employment hierarchy doing
the less desirable temporary and seasonal jobs…” (Torres and Momsen 2005: 331). This
type of labor structure insures that Mayas do not advance from less desirable jobs to more
professional positions. Furthermore, the vast majority of tourism capital is returned to
wealthier international and Mexican investors while Mayas continue as subordinates.
However, it is possible for tourism development to provide wages and a career
structure that economically benefit all levels of employees in tourism activities (see
Mowforth and Munt 1998). For example, in Istanbul, Ermete demonstrates how both the
Hilton in the 1960’s and the Sheraton in the 1970’s supported an employment policy in
which locals were trained in hotel management (1996). Today, in many Turkish resort
areas, the most senior and well-paid hotel managers went through the Hilton and
Sheraton training programs (from Kusluvan and Karamustafa 2001). This has made local
hotel workers leaders in their community. Along with positions of increased authority
came higher pay checks, putting more money in locals’ pockets and improving the
economic circumstances of the employees and their families.
Wages earned and career development strategies in tourism organizations also
play an influential role in Quetzaltenango. In this chapter’s exploration of tourism’s
influence on wages and career development, I will investigate the following questions:
How much money does tourism generate? Who earns the wages? Are wages
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dependable? Do the organizations support the development of employees’ skills to
advance in a career? Answering these basic questions will help determine the economic
impact that tourism has on local Mayan communities.
The wage that an employee of a Quetzaltenango tourism organization earns is
dependent on the type of organization and the nature of the job. Employees of language
schools and trekking companies earn similar wages. The major difference from one job
to the next is the amount of time the employees work to earn their wages. For example,
Spanish language school teachers at ILM, Sayaché, and Iztapa all earn about Q1,500 per
month (or about $200). The wage structure is fairly standardized in that each teacher
earns about Q350 per week, per student. Hans’ wage structure at Hyper Tours is slightly
more complicated. Hans claims that he pays Enrique Q2,000 (or $240) a month to lead
tours full time. Enrique claims that Hans pays him a base salary of Q1,200 (or $150) for
working fulltime, which is seven days a week. He can also earn more money if he
recruits tourists to take additional tours before they get back to the Hyper Tours office.
Enrique said that if he could get two to three people to sign up for tours each week, then
he would make Q2,000 a month. However, he also said that most people are not ready to
make that sort of a commitment on the spot. Often, he will suggest a tour, they say they
will think about it, and then they will come back to Hyper Tours a few days later and sign
up for the tour. When this happens, he does not get the commission even if they mention
his name because the tourists did not sign up for the next tour while officially with
Enrique.
Relatively speaking, employees of trekking companies and language schools do
fairly well. In my survey of Quetzaltecos, the majority of Quetzaltecos reported that they
make between Q1,000 and Q2,000 per month. Wages earned from language schools and
trekking companies put their employees at the upper end of this range. However, there is
one major difference between language school wages and trekking wages. Language
schools’ classes last five hours whereas trekking guides are expected to work at least an
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eight hour day, if not more (i.e. overnight excursions). Occasionally, if business is
particularly good, language school teachers are assigned students both in the morning and
the afternoon. This means that they will make twice as much money that week and their
monthly salary could reach as much as Q3,500. Under these circumstances, language
school teachers earn significantly more than tour guides and the average Quetzalteco.
Women in weaving cooperatives are not paid by the hour or student. They are
paid for each piece that they produce. Some orders are commissioned and others are to
fill the general needs of the store. In either case, TelaMaya provides the materials and
then pays the women about 70% of the profits from the sale of the piece in the storefront.
Julia at TelaMaya said that some women work faster than others. But, she estimated that
if the women work on a piece on and off throughout the day it usually takes about two
days to produce a piece that would pay the weaver Q70. If the women are weaving
consistently, they can earn about Q700 to Q800 a month. This is a lower wage than the
average Quetzalteco. But, it is also part-time work from the home.
The final two trekking companies also have distinct wage structures.
Jaguartrekkers is run by foreign volunteers. Therefore, the organization does not pay
their staff a wage. Q’anjob’al Tours is a family-run business and all of the profits earned
are directed back to supporting Javier’s family, who are also his employees. In the
summer of 2005, business was not steady and Javier’s family members/employees would
receive irregular wages in the form of weekly spending cash. However, as part of
Javier’s family, they also received room, board, and Javier paid for his family
member/employees’ tuition in San Carlos University or at private elementary and high
schools.
Much of the direct influence that tourism wages can have on local Mayan
economic circumstances is dependent upon whether or not Mayas earn wages in tourism
organizations. There are a few tourism organizations discussed in this dissertation (ILM,
TelaMaya, and Q’anjob’al Tours) who have all-Mayan employees. Thus, all wages paid
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by these tourism organizations go directly into the hands of Mayan families. However,
tourism organizations with all-Mayan employees are rare in Quetzaltenango. In fact,
ILM and Q’anjob’al Tours were the only language schools and trekking companies with
only Mayan employees. There are some organizations that employ a few Mayas, such as
Sayché, Hyper Tours, and Iztapa. However, Mayas usually represent a small percentage
of the workforce in these organizations and the majority of wages go to either Ladino or
foreign employees. In these cases, tourism wages have little direct influence on Mayan
communities.
Employees of tourism organizations earn a fairly consistent wage. However,
there are some exceptions to the rule depending on the volume of business in each
organization. Sayaché, Hyper Tours, Iztapa, and TelaMaya all have a fairly even flow of
business. Therefore, throughout the year employees of these organizations can count on
a consistent paycheck. Yet, as I have previously described, ILM and Q’anjob’al Tours
struggle to maintain a consistent flow of business and there are periods of time when
there is no business at all.
Finally, does tourism employment in Quetzaltenango help to develop Mayan
employee skills and facilitate career advancement? The general answer to this question
is, yes. Most tourism organizations provide the experience, training, and financial
support their employees can use to advance in that particular organization or to start their
own business. The level of support for career advancement is, once again, dependant
upon the organization. Some organizations provide more direct support than others.
Hyper Tours is an example of a tourism organization that provides training and
experience that could lead to the career advancement of Mayas. But, in order to advance
to an upper management level, Hyper Tours employees need to take their training and
experience elsewhere. There is a significant hierarchy in authority and pay scales at
Hyper Tours, which places local Mayan and Ladino employees at the lowest level of
economic compensation. Hans is the top of the command chain and Sven, a Dutch
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employee who started with Hyper Tours in January of 2004, is now second in command.
I am not entirely sure how much Sven receives for his labor. But I know that he is given
a particular set of clients and that Sven makes a significant commission on the sale and
organization of tours.
Hyper Tours continues to train Ladinos and an occasional Mayans in the finer
points of the local trekking industry. Employees learn how to lead treks and tours. As
mentioned before, Hans also brings in university professors to teach his guides about the
history of the region. Occasionally, Hans may even put a local guide in an important
management position. Javier once ran a large portion of Hans’ business, researching new
tours and dealing with most human resource issues. However, Javier was never able to
break through what could be described as a “glass ceiling” at Hyper Tours. Mayas can be
given positions of responsibility, but it seems that only foreigners are given the upper
level management positions and only foreigners share in Hyper Tours’ growing profit
margins. For example, Javier reports that he worked 60 to 70 hours a week and took on
major responsibilities within Hyper Tours, but his weekly salary never rose and he was
never allowed a share of the large profits. Rather than promoting his local Mayan
employee, Hans brought in a Dutch foreigner with little experience in tourism and gave
him a position above Javier. Discouraged by this lack of advancement in his career at
Hyper Tours, Javier took the experience and training that he gained at Hyper Tours and
started his own trekking company.
Some of Hyper Tours’ direct competition does provide training and support for
their Mayan employees that can lead to significant career advancement. Javier at
Q’anjob’al Tours serves as a prime example. Javier is using the economic support that he
gets from Q’anjob’al Tours to pay for his son’s high school and university education
which focuses on tourism development. Furthermore, his son is working side by side
with his father to learn the finer points of the local tourism industry so that he can one
day take over Q’anjob’al Tours from his father. Javier hopes that in five to seven years,
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he will have built his business up enough that he will be able to retire and pass Q’anjob’al
Tours to his son. If the business grows, his son’s on-the-job training and university
education will put him in an enviable financial position when his father retires.
In general, the wages that Mayas earn in Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry
positively influence local Mayan economic circumstances. The wages that are earned are
relatively higher than average Quetzalteco wages. Employees also generally receive a
dependable wage throughout the year.20 Furthermore, either indirectly or directly,
employment in Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry provides opportunities for career
advancement.
Capital Accumulation
The power to control the circulation of capital from tourism profits also directly
affects the extent to which the promotion of tourism improves local economic
circumstances of Mayan communities. There is evidence that the promotion of tourism
can produce economic growth in local communities (Pye and Lin 1983: xvi; Smith
1989a: 6). For example, in the Southwestern United States, the influx of new tourism
money caused a “renaissance” in Native American productions of fine weavings, rugs,
pottery, basketry, bead making, and jewelry (Deitch 1989). Deitch argues that local
control of capital earned through artisan productions created a new local industry by
which local Native American could make a living and support their families. Deitch also
argues that the ability to control this capital served to strengthen Indian identity and pride
in Indian heritage (Deitch 1989: 235). Another example can be found in Otavalo,
20 There are seasonal fluctuations in Quetzalteco tourism traffic. The busiest seasons
mirror the North American and European academic calendars. The busiest tourist season is in the
summer. Tourism organizations can also expect a bump in tourism traffic during winter breaks
and spring breaks. During these periods many local tourism organizations contract Guatemalan
students, who are also on break, to help handle the increase in business. Despite these
fluctuations, full-time employees of most of the organizations in this dissertation can count on a
year-round steady flow of tourists, and a consistent wage.
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Ecuador where a decade of indigenously-controlled craft sales has turned into profits for
local indigenous communities (Colloredo-Mansfeld 1999; Meisch 2002: 200). This
economic growth has allowed local indigenous groups to use tourism money to buy
political power through the election of indigenous leaders to major political positions.
With this political power, local indigenous leaders have developed entirely new
expressions of “indigenousness” (Colloredo-Mansfeld 1999; Meisch 2002: 200).
However, many scholars have pointed to occasions when the promotion of
tourism and external control of capital, have contributed to the economic exploitation of
indigenous groups (e.g. Nash 1989; Stanley 1998). Often, tourism investors come from
outside the local groups being represented, and these investors use their power to direct
profits back to the source of capital (Crystal 1989: 149; Jithendran and Baum 2000: 405;
Smith 1989b: 6). In these, cases the displayed ethnic group often comes to resent and
oppose tourism organizers (Elliot 1997: 6; Greenwood 1989; Kusluvan and Karamustafa:
2001; Urbanowicz: 1989).
As discussed earlier, according to Haunani-Kay Trask, tourism in Hawai’i has
functioned as a form of American “imperialism.” Due to the economic power of these
external investors, native Hawai’ians have experienced economic exploitation ranging
from lower per capita incomes, to the extinction of animals and natural environments, to
rising living expenses which classify Hawai’i’s indigenous populations as “nearhomeless” (Trask 1993: 182-183). A further example of economic exploitation in
tourism is described by Jamaica Kincaid (1988) in Antigua. Profits from tourism were
returned to external investors, and as a result of their labor, local Antiguans are left with
sweeping corruption, and dilapidated schools and hospitals (Kincaid 1988).
In both of these cases, the money generated by tourism development did not
circulate within the community for long and profits earned by foreign investors were
commonly returned to the foreign investors (see Chambers 2000: 33; Crystal 1989: 149
Jithendran and Baum 2000; Moreno 2005: 3; Smith 1989a: 6). In these cases, the
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promotion of tourism had negative impacts on local indigenous economic conditions,
essentially producing, or reproducing, a form of economic exploitation.
What these examples suggest is that if the tourism dollars in Quetzaltenango,
which are earned through the presentation of Mayan culture, circulate within the local
community and reach a large number of Mayan pockets, then Mayas can improve Mayan
economic circumstances. However, if tourism capital is controlled by a limited number
of wealthy Ladino and foreign interests, then the promotion of tourism may create capital
that never reaches the pockets of Mayas. Thus, the promotion of Mayas in tourism could
continue a long history of Mayan economic exploitation where Mayan labor, and in this
case images of Mayan ethnicity, are exploited to create wealth for non-Mayas.
Determining who controls Quetzaltenango’s accumulated tourism capital, from an
organizational leadership standpoint, is a fairly straightforward task. Organizations that
are run by Mayas, such as ILM, TelaMaya, and Q’anjob’al Tours put the control of
tourism capital in Mayan hands. Organizations that are run predominately by Ladinos or
foreigners, such as Jaguartrekkers, Hyper Tours, and Iztapa put the control of capital in
non-Mayan hands. Yet, whether or not the majority of the capital made in Mayan
tourism is accumulated by Mayas is a more complicated question. Answering this
question requires comparing the gross profits that the organization earns with the
distribution of the profits to Mayan business owners and employees after operational
expenses are paid. In Quetzaltenango, some organizations direct the vast majority of
profits into non-Mayan hands, while other organizations’ capital is completely controlled
by Mayas.
Hyper Tours is an example of an organization where little accumulated capital is
shared with Mayas. For example, on the Indigenous Villages Tour described in the
previous chapter, I was accompanied by one other tourist. We each paid $25 to go on the
tour. I estimate that Enrique used about $7 in gas and $5 in entrance fees that were taken
directly out of the combined $50. This means that Hyper Tours keeps $38 dollars from
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our tour and of the $38, Enrique makes $5. However, if nine tourists go on a tour and
pay $25 each, which Enrique reports is a common occurrence; Hans collects a total of
$200 for the tour. He then has to pay perhaps $8 dollars in gas and $22.50 in entrance
fees leaving $169.50 in profits. Yet, Enrique still only makes $5.
Of course Hyper Tours has significant operational expenses in overhead. Hans
keeps the details of his personal and corporate finances secretive. Therefore, any
statement on Hyper Tours’ overhead expenses is a mere estimation. But, from my
observations, Hans has at least five newer larger mini-vans, two four wheel drive trucks,
at least six guides and a Dutch administrative assistant. Hans has a strategically-placed
storefront right off of the central square in Quetzaltenango, and he has a well-maintained
website and an arsenal of glossy brochures.
Even with these overhead costs, it seems that Hans is making quite good profits.
From the analysis of the Indigenous Villages Tour, Hans often makes more money, after
gas, labor and entrance fees, from half day tour than he pays Enrique in an entire month.
Multiply this half-day profit by sixty (two tours a day in a thirty day month) and labor
relations begin to look fairly exploitative. Furthermore, Hans only has one Mayan
employee. Thus, of the little accumulated capital that is shared with Quetzaltecos, only a
miniscule amount directly reaches Mayan employees.
It could be argued that Hans’ subcontracting of guide services does distribute
accumulated capital in local Mayan communities. For example, Hans did subcontract
Oscar of Chile Verde Tours to lead a Hyper Tours trek to Chicabal. Oscar was paid for
his services, he is Maya, and in a conversation I had with Oscar on the way down
Chicabal, he explained how he intended to invest the money he made from Hyper Tours
back into the local community. Oscar explained that he and his Mayan partners at Chile
Verde Tours had a plan to build bungalows for tourists close to the base of the volcano so
that they could convince tourists to stay in town overnight. This way, Chile Verde could
invest their profits in the hope that tourists would spend more capital within the town. I
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asked Oscar how long he thought it would be until they had enough money to build the
bungalows. He said that Hans barely pays Chile Verde Tours anything to lead the trek.
He takes the work for the exercise and to get Chile Verde Tours in front of foreign
tourists. Oscar explained that Chile Verde Tours was looking for investors to help them
build the bungalows. I suggested that Hans controlled a lot of capital and he may be
willing to invest some money in the project. Then a look of frustration crossed Oscar’s
face. He said that they had done plenty of business with Hans and Hans had kept all of
the profits. Oscar seemed fairly confident that Chile Verde Tours would not be working
with Hyper Tours in the near future.
Of course, not all tourism organizations direct the accumulation of capital into
exclusively foreign hands. Most organizations do direct significantly larger sums of
capital into Mayan communities. For example, in some ways the structure of
Jaguartrekkers’ labor force is similar to Hyper Tours. Jaguartrekkers is run by foreigners.
All leadership positions are held by foreign employees and the power to redistribute the
capital gains of tourism rests in the hands of foreigners. In fact, Jaguartrekkers critiques
themselves for providing competition to organizations like Q’anjob’al Tours. With
increased competition, they may be hindering Javier’s attempts to raise capital for his
Mayan family.
Furthermore, like Hyper Tours, Jaguartrekkers relies on the labor of subcontracted
Mayan guides to provide the authority to frame images of Mayan ethnicity for tourists.
However, the structure of the relationship between Jaguartrekkers and its subcontracted
guides is significantly different from that of Hyper Tours. For example, Oscar was
frustrated with his miniscule share of Hyper Tours profits. Jesus, on the other hand, was
happy with his relationship with Jaguartrekkers. Jesus said that since he established his
labor agreement with Jaguartrekkers, he and his family make more money in two days’
work than they used to make in an entire month. Per tourist, Jesus received Q10 for
dinner, Q10 for breakfast, Q10 for lunch, Q10 for guiding, Q10 for staying at his place,
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Q5 for use of the sauna. At this rate, Jesus makes Q55 per tourist. On our tour to Todos
Santos, we had eleven tourists (including the guides who also paid) so Jesus made a total
of Q550 in less than twenty-four hours.21 In other words, for less than a day’s work
Jesus made more money than Enrique makes in an entire week.
As I spoke with Jesus about his relationship with Jaguartrekkers, he proudly gave
me a tour of his family’s land and buildings. He showed me the bunkhouse they had built
with tourism money. Through Jaguartrekkers’ establishment of this subcontracted labor
relationship with Jesus, tourism capital was being redistributed through the Mayan
community surrounding Todos Santos.
Jaguartrekkers also differs from Hyper Tours in that the directors of the
organization are all volunteers. Tourism capital does not return to the pockets of
Jaguartrekkers’ foreign directors. The organization may provide foreign competition for
Mayan-run trekking companies such as Q’anjob’al Tours but Jaguartrekkers directs
excess business toward Q’anjob’al Tours and they create beneficial relationships with
subcontracted Mayan guides. In addition, Jaguartrekkers directs nearly 100% of the
profits that they earn back into social development programs that directly benefit local
Mayan communities. In these ways Jaguartrekkers argues, and I agree, that the benefits
of their distribution of capital far outweigh the drawbacks of foreign ownership.
Finally, there are organizations in Quetzaltenango in which Mayas control 100%
of capital accumulated from tourism. TelaMaya, ILM, and Q’anjob’al Tours are run
entirely by Mayan administrators and staff members. While some of these organizations
are for-profit and others are not, these organizations still feature exclusively Mayan
administrators and largely Mayan labor pools. As a result, the bulk of capital is directed
to back to Mayas. For example, when business at ILM is robust, they first call in the
21 This less than twenty-four hour period includes a good portion of time, perhaps eight
hours, sleeping in Jesus’ bunkhouse.
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three Mayan women scholarship recipients to help teach the new students. Spanish
language teaching gives the women extra spending money to help support them while at
the university. If there are more than six students at one time, then ILM draws teachers
from another pool of mostly Mayan university students. ILM’s operational costs are
fairly low. They need to pay rent for the house they use as a school, which probably
costs around one-hundred dollars a month. They also support a website and pay for the
school’s utility bills. ILM charges language school students between $140 and $160 a
week, depending on the time of the year22. If ILM can attract one student for one week
of language instruction, they can probably cover the basic overhead costs of the
organization. Afterward, 20% of student fees are directed toward social development
programs and the remaining capital is split evenly between all the teachers who taught in
a particular week. Because most of the teachers are Maya, the accumulated capital stays
in Mayan hands.
Whether or not accumulated tourism capital has positive affects on Mayan
employees and their families is also highly dependant upon the type of organization. If
tourism organizations place the control of the majority of accumulated capital in the
hands of non-Mayas, then Mayan communities receive little direct benefit from tourism
promotion. However, if tourism organizations direct the majority of tourism accumulated
capital to Mayas, then this distribution of capital usually has positive effects on Mayan
communities. When tourism capital is directed towards Mayan communities, some of the
most direct benefactors are the employees and their families.
For example, Q’anjob’al Tours has no externally supported social development
program. Certainly, if Q’anjob’al Tours is one day financially successful, an inordinate
amount of profit may go to support one particular family, and this would change
22 During busier times of year ILM charges a higher fee.
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Q’anjob’al Tours social development dynamics. Currently Q’anjob’al Tours is struggling
to survive and all profits go towards supporting the basic necessities of Javier’s family, as
well as his children’s education. However, by using tourism profits to invest in his
family, Javier continues to hope for a better future.
Certainly, Javier believes that Q’anjob’al Tours will grow, and he will be able to
buy his own vehicles, purchase better trekking equipment, and hire more Mayan guides.
On many afternoons, I sat with Javier in the office of Q’anjob’al Tours waiting for a
tourist to sign up for his tours. While we were waiting, he would talk about his plans and
dreams for the expansion of the business with anticipation and glee. However, the
subject that Javier was most interested in and proud of was the education of his children.
Javier’s three oldest children all planned on pursuing professional degrees.
For example, Javier’s oldest daughter, Angelica, was a young Mayan woman who
was attending law school at San Carlos University. An interesting pastime that I often
enjoyed in the offices of Q’anjob’al Tours was watching Angelica deal with male
tourists. I witnessed dozens of young foreigners use their broken Spanish to try to entice
Angelica to join them for a drink or bite to eat, later in the evening. Angelica would
politely tell the tourists that she was not interested, or that she had to study that night, and
as she turned away she would roll her eyes while Javier and I laughed in the background.
In between these episodes, Angelica would tell me about her classes at San Carlos
University. She would often say that her studies were hard and that she had spent the
night studying for an upcoming exam. However, she also seemed to truly enjoy her
studies. She was planning to specialize in criminology and hoped that once she was
done, she would be able to obtain a high level job in the Municipality of Quetzaltenango,
or maybe even in Guatemala City.
Javier also had two sons who were working toward professional degrees. As
described earlier, Javier’s eldest son was in his final year of the equivalent of high school
and he had already been accepted into San Carlos’s tourism studies program. Javier
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explained that once he got too old to run the business, he was hoping to turn it over to his
eldest son. Javier’s younger son was not as interested in following in his father’s tourism
footsteps. Rather, he planned on studying to become a doctor after he finished his high
school education in three years.
When Javier and I were sitting alone in his office, he would often tell me how
proud he was of his children and how he really hoped that more tourists would walk
through the door so that he could support the education that his children deserved. Javier
and Q’anjob’al Tours did not have the luxury of supporting external social development
programs that would help circulate tourism profits into surrounding Mayan communities,
but he certainly had hopes for assisting his Mayan family with tourism dollars.
TelaMaya is another prime example of how tourism capital directly benefits
tourism employees and their families. In Quetzaltenango, no one is going to become rich
from weaving. But, this type of work helps circulate tourism dollars in Mayan
communities and provides a significant benefit to many Mayan families. Libertad is an
example of a weaver who has used the capital generated by weaving for tourists to
support her education and that of her family. Libertad is the treasurer of TelaMaya and
works in the storefront four or five days a week. She does not get paid for keeping the
accounts, selling the cooperative’s products, or for teaching weaving techniques to
tourists. However, she often brings in her two young sons, Hugo and Jesus, and while
she is working on weavings to sell in the storefront, the other women of TelaMaya watch
over her children. Also, by watching the storefront, Libertad has a better chance of
convincing tourists to commission customized weavings, which slightly increases her
hourly wage.
Libertad then takes the money that she makes at the weaving cooperative and uses
it to invest in the education of her family. Libertad lives in Chile Verde, which is about a
half hour to forty-five minute bus ride outside of Quetzaltenango. In her area, the schools
lack essential funding and as a result, the level of education is poor in quality. Therefore,
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Libertad has used part of the money that she earned weaving to establish a fund for the
education of her two young sons. Hugo was going to enter a private school in
Quetzaltenango when he turned five the following year. Libertad also thought that by the
time her son Jesus turned five, three years from then, she would also have enough money
saved to be able to send him to private school.
In the meantime, Libertad was using some of her earnings to attend night school.
The other women in the cooperative, especially Julia, watched her sons while she was in
class. As a young girl, Libertad was only able to go to school for two and a half years
and she said that she could hardly remember anything that she had learned. Four years
later, she was two years away from receiving her equivalent of a high school degree.
Libertad was using the math skills that she had learned in night school to organize the
accounts of the cooperative. She speculated that once she had earned her degree, she
could use the experience that she had gained working as the treasurer of the cooperative
to find a higher paying job as an accountant for a small business.
Q’anjob’al Tours and the women of TelaMaya do not have the luxury of earning
enough capital to support additional social development programs. They, themselves, are
the social development programs. Through these organizations, many Mayan men and
women access profits from the tourism industry in Quetzaltenango. These profits help
support the Mayan owners’ and employees’ families in Quetzaltenango and the
surrounding countryside.
Quetzaltenango and Social Development Programs
There are areas in Guatemala with a larger selection of language schools, trekking
companies and weaving cooperatives than Quetzaltenango. Antigua, for example, easily
has double the number of these services and has a superior system of transportation to
move tourists from the airport to the language schools, trekking companies and weaving
cooperatives. There are also areas of Guatemala which offer more picturesque
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environments. Lake Atitlan has all of these tourist services, plus a beautiful lake crowned
by steep cliffs and volcanoes. Quetzaltenango cannot compete with the natural beauty
and convenience these destinations. However, Quetzaltenango differentiates itself from
other tourism locations in the country with an abundance of civil society activism and the
prevalence of tourism organizations’ social development programs.
In Chapter 4, I described how a significant percentage of tourists who travel to
Quetzaltenango report that they participate in social development programs through
tourism organizations. Furthermore, Quetzaltenango is marketed as a destination for
tourists with a particular interest in volunteering in social development programs. For
example, the 2004 edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Guatemala (Nobel and Forsyth
2004) has a special section for Quetzaltenango which describes the city as a major
destination for volunteer work in the many language schools, trekking companies,
weaving cooperatives and other non-governmental organizations. The opportunity to
volunteer for a social development program in Quetzaltenango is a major factor in
marketing the city as a tourism location.
The scholarly literature that could most effectively inform an analysis of social
development programs in Quetzaltenango is that of “sustainable tourism.” The concept
of sustainability has become popular within tourism development rhetoric within the last
two decades, and the utilization of sustainable tourism discourse has become nearly
essential among countries wishing to develop their tourism industries (Butler 1991; Eber
1992; Farell 1992; Hunter 1997; Ko 2001). However, within this discourse, there is a
wide spectrum of definitions that have been associated with the concept of “sustainable”
tourism and there is little agreement on the definition of what exactly “sustainable”
means (Weaver 1991). For this argument, I will apply Briassoulis’s succinct and
pertinent summation of the characteristics of sustainable tourism. Briassoulis states that
sustainable tourism centers on the successful management of host communities’
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resources that promote the wellbeing of natural and socio-cultural resources while
satisfying tourists at the same time (Briassoulis 2002).
The marketing rhetoric of Quetzaltenango’s social development programs
describes how the organizations’ programs promote the wellbeing of Mayan natural and
socio-cultural resources. In fact, marketers use this concept of sustainability to attract
tourists to Quetzaltenango. It is true that some tourism organizations have a serious
commitment to circulating capital in local Mayan communities through organizationsponsored social development programs. Yet, others use the concept of sustainability and
social development programs as mere marketing schemes to attract tourists to their
tourism activities.
In Quetzaltenango, there are two factors which influence the extent to which
tourism organizations direct accumulated capital into Mayan communities through social
development programs. The first factor is the organization’s ability to accumulate
enough capital to support supplemental Mayan community development. In the last
chapter, a tourism organization’s commitment to pro-Mayan politics was measured by the
depth and prevalence of pro-Mayan rhetoric in their tourism activities. In this chapter
commitment to pro-Mayan ideals will be measured by the extent to which organizations
with sufficient accumulated capital direct this capital into social development programs
that benefit Mayan communities. As can be expected, those organizations with a serious
commitment to pro-Mayan activism support highly beneficial programs and others with
little commitment support few, if any, programs.
Pro-Mayan Activism and Highly Beneficial Social
Development Programs
There are three organizations in this dissertation – Jaguartrekkers, ILM, and
Sayaché – that use their accumulated capital to support highly beneficial social
development programs. In the previous section, the ability of Mayas to control
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accumulated tourism capital was highly dependent upon the organization’s leadership and
employee structure. Organizations with more Mayan leaders and employees allowed for
Mayan control of capital. However, it is also possible for non-Mayans to contribute to
improving Mayan economic circumstances in Quetzaltenango. Jaguartrekkers is a prime
example of how an organization that has predominantly non-Mayan employees can
directly benefit local Mayan communities through a commitment to pro-Mayan activism
and social development programs.
Jaguartrekkers sponsors two main social development programs which are both
run by ESK (the NGO that founded Jaguartrekkers): the Hogar Abierto and the Las
Rosas Escuela de la Calle. Hogar Abierto, or “Open Place,” was founded in 1999 and is
run by ESK with funds and volunteers from Jaguartrekkers. Hogar Abierto is a
dormitory for mainly Mayan children and adolescents who have been living on the streets
of Quetzaltenango. It provides a place of refuge, educational, and when necessary
psychological services for children in crisis.
The Escuela de la Calle, or Street School, was also organized by ESK in 1999.
Through the financial support gained in Jaguartrekkers’ trekking fees, ESK founded and
fully supports a school for children between the ages of 5 and 14 who pose a high risk of
living on the streets. The school began by supporting only a handful of children, but as
of 2005, they are providing formal education, health education, and nutritional advice to
167, mostly Mayan, students. In May of 2005, the Escuela de la Calle vacated its rented
building in Las Rosas for a newly constructed and much larger facility up the street. The
new building was made possible through Jaguartrekkers’ trekking fees and donations.
Furthermore, through Jaguartrekkers’ connections, the school has received
numerous foreign volunteers who have worked to support the administration of the
school and education of the students. Jaguartrekkers’ support has not only resulted in the
education of hundreds of Mayas, but also the development of Mayan cultural pride within
the students, due to the organization’s commitment to pro-Mayan activism.
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For example, in March 2005, I went to Las Rosas to attend a school celebration.
As the result of a relationship established with Jaguartrekkers, for the past six years,
education students from a university in the Basque region of Spain have volunteered as
teachers for two-month periods at the school. On this particular day, a celebration was
planned to say goodbye to the teachers as they were heading back to Basque country.
Not only did these teachers volunteer their time to help educate students, they also
seemed to establish a sense of ethnic solidarity between Mayas and Basques. Outside the
school was a large banner reading “Defendiendo las Linguas Minoterias” (Defending
Minority Languages). Later in the day, after the dancing and official goodbyes, the
Basque teachers and K’iche’ students took down the banner and ran through the streets
chanting, “Esukara – K’iche,’” proclaiming to the world their pride in their language and
heritage. The procession ended a quarter of a mile down the road from the school at the
half-built site of the future Escuela de la Calle. At the site, the leaders of ESK explained
that the new school could never have been built without the financial and volunteer help
provided by Jaguartrekkers. As we left the site of the future school and walked, hand in
hand, with Escuela de la Calle students toward the old school, it was hard to deny that
Jaguartrekkers supported social development programs that significantly improved the
educational experiences of young Mayan children in Las Rosas.
In the previous chapter, both ILM and Sayaché were shown to challenge negative
stereotypes of Mayas through the conscious use of arguments presented by Pan-Mayan
intellectuals in their tourism activities. Kay Warren has helped define the goals of PanMayanism as an effort to “incorporate new generations of Mayan professionals…into a
discursive community…” (Warren 1998). The social development programs of these
organizations demonstrate a similar commitment to Pan-Mayan ideals. Both of these
organizations use tourism capital to provide support to Mayas and Mayan communities to
help cultivate new generations of capable and well-educated Mayan professionals. These
professionals can, in turn, act as persuasive advocates to advance the Mayan cause.
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ILM supports two main social development programs: The University
Scholarships for Mayan Women and the English Education Project with the Children of
Chuisuc (a mainly indigenous community outside of Quetzaltenango). The University
Scholarships program began with the founding of the school in 1995. As mentioned
earlier, ILM recognized indigenous women’s limited opportunities for education,
especially at the university level, and they initiated a full scholarship program for several
young Mayan women. The school uses 20% of language school students’ fees to support
the program which pays for their tuition and room and board in an ILM-rented apartment
shared by the women. ILM also trains the scholarship recipients as language teachers so
that they can work at ILM and earn spending money for expenses ILM is not able to
cover such as photocopies and books.
Current scholarship recipients are training to be agronomists, medical
professionals, and lawyers in Quetzaltenango’s San Carlos University and in universities
in Cuba. Once they have finished their training, they are then encouraged to return to
their communities so that rural Mayan populations can benefit from their educational
experiences. I spoke with four out of the five women who are currently receiving
scholarships23 and each of them said that they felt fortunate to receive these scholarships.
Without this opportunity, they would not have been able to start or continue their
education at the university level. Furthermore, four previous scholarship recipients
completed their university education in law, economics, and social work and each are
currently using their talents either in their rural communities or in Quetzaltenango.
The Child Education Program started soon after the founding of the school and
within the last four years, the school has concentrated its efforts on the community of
Chuisuc. ILM recruits language student volunteers with English-speaking abilities to
23 The fifth scholarship recipient was studying in Cuba as a medical student and
therefore could not be interviewed.
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teach English to indigenous children, two out of every three Wednesdays, at the Chuisuc
elementary school. The aim of the program is to simply increase the level of indigenous
education in and around Quetzaltenango. Through English instruction, ILM draws from
the resources of its international students and uses these resources to help indigenous
students become more successful in Junior High and High School level education.
In February 2005, Germaine, the director of ILM, led me, a Danish woman, a
young Canadian man, and a middle-aged doctor from California out the door of ILM and
down the street to catch a bus to Cantel. After two multicolored buses sped by
advertising such destinations as “Toto” and “Momo,” we saw a bus heading to Cantel.
We flagged it down with the usual wave of the hand, and boarded as the bus made a
“rolling” stop. After fifteen minutes of high velocity, triple passing on mountain curves,
we arrived in Cantel and got off the bus. We walked up a large hill for thirty minutes and
arrived at a two story school that overlooked Cantel and its famous glass factory at the
bottom of the valley.
The school was in surprisingly good physical shape. “InterVida,” a Spanishsponsored social development group, had just built a new wing onto the school and
updated the central courtyard which served as a playground. As a result, the entire school
had a fresh coat of paint in the familiar blue and yellow colors of InterVida. As we
entered the courtyard we encountered, a woman who was wearing an amazingly beautiful
huipile. Germaine shook her hand and the two spoke in K’iche’ for a minute or two
while I looked around the school grounds. Then she led us up the stairs of the school and
into a room with twelve young students. Germaine greeted them and introduced us as
their English teachers for the afternoon. We were given three students each and we took
them to the four corners of the classroom to start our lessons.
After a brief introduction to my young Mayan students, it was apparent that I had
drawn the group with no English experience. The lesson plan for the day was to teach the
children the names of animals, numbers above one hundred, more advanced colors such
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as turquoise, and any children’s songs that we could recall. As I looked around the room,
the other students seemed to be having almost full conversations in English with their
teachers while my students could not count from one to ten. After forty-five minutes of
brilliant instruction, my students could count to ten. They could also name a few barnyard animals and sing select lyrics from “Old McDonald.”
As we left the school, the students and teacher thanked us. My fellow English
teachers talked about how impressed they were with the English abilities of their
students. It seemed apparent that we all had had a great time teaching the children.
Germaine said that they had been teaching English at the school for about five years. He
said that when some of the students leave the school to continue their education in
Quetzaltenango, they have better English abilities than their high school teachers. We
were all happy with our contribution to the local Mayan community and made plans to
come back and teach again the following week.
The quantifiable direct economic benefit of ILM’s tourism dollars translates into
the full support of Mayan women’s university education and English instruction for rural
Mayan school children. This support has certainly directly improved these women’s
abilities to become well educated, strong, and intelligent leaders in their Mayan
communities. ILM has also helped Mayan students be more successful in high school
level education. The non-quantifiable benefits are, of course, harder to calculate. It is
difficult to put an economic figure on the value of education. However, as a result of the
scholarship and English instruction programs, Quetzaltenango and its surrounding rural
communities are directly benefiting from the talents of well educated Mayan women and
children.
Similarly, Sayaché’s social development programs help to develop new
generations of educated young Maya leaders. Sayaché’s school has a wide and ever
increasing number of social development programs which include a Scholarship Program
for Indigenous Children, a Stove Building Project, a Medical Project, as well as La
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Guarderia, the daycare center located in Llanos de Pinal (a mainly indigenous rural area
outside of Quetzaltenango). The scholarship program began before the start of Spanish
language instruction at Sayaché. With money from foreign language school students’
tuition, Sayaché provides, approximately, one hundred scholarships for kindergarten to
university age students. The average scholarship is Q100 (or about $13 per month) and is
intended to help the students with transportation to and from school as well as to buy
books and other materials.
Soon after the founding of the school, Sayaché began the Stove Building Project.
This social development program uses school profits to buy supplies to build more fuelefficient stoves in rural indigenous towns near Quetzaltenango. Each week (usually on
Tuesdays), Sayaché recruits language school students to go to the indigenous
communities to help build stoves that conduct heat more efficiently, help families save
money and time in gathering firewood, and help to reduce deforestation within
Guatemala24.
In June 2002, Sayaché started a Medical training program for medical students
from the United States. The students are given a weeklong seminar in local history,
Mayan culture, and medical practices. They are introduced to specific Spanish medical
terms that they then use while working for a month or more as volunteers in
Quetzaltenango’s hospitals and medical clinics.
Finally, in 2003, Sayaché formally took over the administration and full financial
responsibility of La Guarderia Daycare Center. Every Wednesday, Sayaché recruits
foreign student volunteers to visit the daycare center and play with the children. With a
portion of the foreign students’ funds and donations, the daycare center aids single
24 The use of non-efficient wood burning stove in the region has caused rapid
deforestation. This deforestation has led to poorer air quality and the removal of the trees has
also caused instable soil conditions on mountain side that have led to deadly mudslides in recent
years.
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indigenous women in the Llanos de Pinal community by providing after school education
and care to over forty low income Mayan children.
Even beyond their Scholarship Program for Mayan Children, Stove Building
Project, Medical Project, and La Guarderia, Sayaché has more social development
programs than can be properly covered in this section. For brevity’s sake, I will only
describe in greater detail La Guarderia’s impact on the local community. Sayaché pays
La Guarderia’s four room building and courtyard, after school meals for the children, and
the salaries of the four local women who run the daycare center. Also, Sayaché can
usually recruit a Spanish language student to serve as the director of the school. This
means that the student handles the accounting duties of the school, buys the food and
other supplies in Quetzaltenango on a bi-weekly basis, and organizes events to attract
other Spanish students out to the daycare to play with the children.
My visit of La Guarderia in February 2005 was a fairly typical excursion to the
school. A group of students and myself planned to meet at the school early in the
afternoon and then to leave at 2:00 p.m. for La Guarderia. However, in typical fashion, a
group of 12 students and I were left waiting at the school well past that time for one of
Sayaché’s teachers to show up with supplies for the children. At around 3:00 p.m., the
teacher finally arrived and we loaded up a bag full of toys and school supplies for the
children and headed out the door. We walked a quarter mile down a large hill until we
came to the front entrance of Quetzaltenango’s cemetery. Here, we caught a minibus to
La Guarderia. There were already five locals in the minibus, which made us a total of
eighteen in a bus that was designed to carry eight passengers, at most. Actually, by local
standards, this was not too crowded. However, I was glad that I was not put in charge of
carrying the children’s cake.
The minibus dropped us off at Llanos del Pinal and we walked about half a mile
down a dirt road toward La Guarderia. As we walked, we passed by a number of wood
burning stoves that many of us had been working on over the past few weeks. When we
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arrived at the school, we were met by a wave of around forty Mayan children between the
ages of three and fourteen. The children were excited, jumping around, asking us our
names, and showing us some of their favorite toys or pictures they had colored before our
arrival. After a good twenty minutes of frenzied activity, the kids settled down a bit and
one of the directors of the school asked the students to get out their homework so that the
adults could help them with it. Usually, only a little tutoring gets done in these situations.
The children are adept at changing the conversation from schoolwork and foreign
language students, who may only have a weak grasp of Spanish, usually take advantage
of their friendly and supportive companions by practicing their language skills.
On this excursion, however, I did not help tutor the children. I was recruited to
help Caroline, the foreign volunteer coordinator of Sayaché, wrap presents for them in
the other room. The cake and a large bag of gifts were for a Valentine’s Day celebration
for the children. As Caroline and I wrapped colored markers, crayons, coloring books,
small plastic balls and other little trinkets, the kids were consistently trying to break into
the room to get a peak at the cake and to see what we were doing.
After an hour of wrapping, the children had completely lost interest in their home
work. Caroline and I emerged from the room with the cake and a present for each child.
A director asked the children to get forks and plates in the kitchen, and then form a single
file line at the table next to the cake. They all did this while jockeying for a good spot in
line. We all had cake, and by the time the children started to catch their sugar induced
second-wind, we headed outside to play in the vacant lot across the dirt road.
Once all of the children arrived at the lot, Caroline and I brought out the bag of
gifts. We read off the children’s names, one by one. They came up to us, thanked us for
the gifts, and tore the wrappers off to uncover school supplies and toys. The next hour
was spent playing soccer in the vacant lot, playing with the new toys, and occasionally
giving students airplane rides by swinging them in the air until they were nearly too dizzy
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to walk. Eventually, the sun hit the horizon of the mountain and a shadow fell on the
valley. This was the sign for the foreigners to head back to Quetzaltenango.
This type of support from Sayaché certainly provides the young Mayan children
of Llanos del Pinal with structured activities, nutritious (or not so nutritious) meals,
supervision, and entertainment after school. It also allows the mothers of Llanos del
Pinal the extra time they need in the afternoon to get work done in town or around the
house before the children come home. The support of this type of program does not
directly contribute to the incorporation of new generations of Mayas into a discursive
community. However, programs like these produce an influx of tourism capital, in both
economic donations and volunteer work, into communities. This investment in local
Mayan communities provides support for Mayan families that allow parents the time to
either earn more money themselves or further their educations. This infrastructure also
supports the development of healthy, happy, and well adjusted young Mayas who will
one day most likely become the strong and intelligent leaders of future generations of
Mayas.
Marginal Support for Pro-Mayan Activism and Marginal
Benefit from Social Development Programs
Iztapa is typical of language schools in Quetzaltenango in that, as an actor in civil
society, it claims to support a wide range of social development programs. The school
requires that students spend between one and six weeks at the school studying Spanish to
ensure that the students have attained a level of Spanish communication which will allow
them to serve as competent volunteers. Once the students have completed this period of
Spanish instruction at the school, they have a wide range of volunteer opportunities in
“organic agriculture, organic agro-industry, artisan support projects, rural education, post
war projects, inter-institutional work, medical projects, and alternative centers for justice”
(UlewTinimit: 2006). Due to this variety of volunteer opportunities, I concentrated on
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two specific social development programs: The Organic Agro-Industry Project at
Poxlajuj-Totonicapan, and the Artisan Support Project at TelaMaya.
The Poxlajuj-Totonicapan project, as described in the excursion with Kenya in the
previous chapter, is located approximately twenty-five kilometers outside of
Quetzaltenango where twenty-five Mayan women produce jams, jellies, breads, cereals,
and dried fruits for sale to tourists and local markets. According to Iztapa, school
volunteers are recruited to help in the marketing, sales, and commercialization of the
products as well as with the education of the Mayan women cooperative members.
Iztapa also claims to organize an “Artisan Support Project” with TelaMaya using
language school volunteers and “other forms of support” to help Mayan women weavers.
This program allows language school students to volunteer to help the women of the
cooperative with a number of tasks. The Spanish students can help in marketing, and
commercializing the products, as well as in the translation and design of marketing
materials in English, French, and German.
However, Iztapa does not financially support either of these organizations, but
Iztapa does serve as a portal to organize volunteers for particular projects. For example,
when I spoke with the women of the Poxlajuj-Totonicapan project, she said that they had
received Iztapa student volunteers from time to time. These volunteers had helped the
cooperative with marketing, design, and translation. However, this effort is entirely
supported by the individual tourists. According to the women at the cooperative, Iztapa
has not any contributed any of its profits to support the cooperative.
Iztapa also advertises that they support TelaMaya. Iztapa shows an orientation
video to new students with TelaMaya women weaving. In the video, Iztapa – in English
– claims to support TelaMaya both economically and with volunteers. Yet, the women of
TelaMaya said that they have never gotten any support, either financial or in volunteer
labor, from Iztapa. When I mentioned the video to the women of TelaMaya, they said
that it was just another example of Ladinos taking advantage of Mayas.
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Iztapa uses pro-Mayan political rhetoric in their advertising materials. Yet, in
their tourism activities, there was little actual support for tourism activities that presented
pro-Mayan themes. Similarly, Iztapa advertises that they support a wide range of social
development programs. With a closer investigation, it is apparent that Iztapa’s support is
marginal at best. Marketing a pro-Mayan agenda has proven an effective technique to
attract tourists. However, without a more significant commitment to pro-Mayan activism
and follow through on marketing promises, Mayan communities experience little benefit
from the capital that is accumulated in Iztapa.
No Commitment to Pro-Mayan Activism and No Social
Development Programs
Quite simply, when I did this research in 2004-2005, Hyper Tours had no social
development programs. They did not claim to have any programs in their marketing
materials, nor did they offer clandestine support for social development programs
backstage.25 In fact, Hans stated that the vast majority of tourism organizations in
Quetzaltenango lie about their support for social development programs. He said that if
Guatemala did not have any social problems, then the language schools and other tourism
organizations would invent a social problem, “for the support of stray dogs and cats in the
street, for example” to attract tourists and make money. Therefore, he claims that he does
not want to contribute to the deception of tourism by directly supporting social
development programs. With this stance, Hyper Tours does not apply the capital they
have accumulated to help improve the economic circumstances of local Mayan
communities.
25 As I have mentioned Hans’ support for social development programs changed when
he started his fund to help support the victims of Hurricane Stan.
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Conclusion
I have argued in this chapter, and throughout this dissertation, that tourism in
Quetzaltenango is different from most other tourist destinations in Guatemala. The
prevalence of activism in civil society and pro-Mayan politics attempt to do much more
than maintain the status-quo. The majority of the tourism organizations discussed in this
dissertation hope to create real and sustainable change: change that not only improves
Mayan economic circumstances, but also challenges long-held negative stereotypes of
Mayas and helps to improve Guatemalan conceptualizations of Mayas and Mayan
culture.
The concept of sustainable tourism works its way through all three sections of this
chapter. Tourism can promote the economic wellbeing of Mayan communities through
Mayas’ employment and career development in the industry. Overall, jobs in tourism are
relatively lucrative. Mayas can earn good salaries, depend upon regular paychecks, and
find opportunities for career advancement. Capital can also be accumulated by Mayas,
which can directly benefit tourism employees and their families. Finally, portions of this
capital can also be directed to support social development programs that provide huge
economic and social benefits to Mayan communities.
However, these benefits for Mayan communities are not uniform. The extent to
which these tourism organizations benefit Mayan communities is highly dependent upon
the ethnic characteristics of the organization as well as the organization’s commitment to
pro-Mayan political agendas. This variability in direct benefits raises larger questions
about what sustainable tourism means for the area’s Mayan populations. The vast
majority of organizations market themselves as substantial contributors to civil society,
activism, and the promotion of wellbeing of Mayan communities. Yet, some provide
much more benefit than others.
Tourism in Quetzaltenango is continuing to grow and more international, national,
and local players are becoming involved in tourism promotion. This new interest makes
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this a pivotal period in the development of Quetzaltenango’s tourism industry. ProMayan activism has proven an effective method for attracting international tourists to
Quetzaltenango. The question then becomes whether or not the development of tourism
in Quetzaltenango will promote sustainable tourism that will produce wider benefits to
Mayan communities, or whether pro-Mayan activism will be used merely as a marketing
ploy with no real benefit for Mayas. In a country where tourism is now the largest
industry and Mayas are increasingly becoming the focus of tourism promotion, the health
of many Mayan communities is dependent upon positive developments in this industry.
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CONCLUSION
In May 2005, I was attending Spanish classes with Germaine at ILM. He and I
were going over a rarely used form of the subjunctive with only marginal progress at my
end. After an hour, our energy was waning and I needed a break. I asked Germaine if he
had heard about the CAMTUR meeting that was being held at La Pension Bonifaz. He
said he had heard that there was a meeting and that CAMTUR was trying to organize a
new tourism committee, but that he did not plan on attending. I asked him why and
Germaine said that he had already been there. I thought he might have been confused or
that I heard him wrong, so I repeated that the meeting was that night and that it had not
happened yet. Germaine then asked me if I would like to hear the story about the one
time he was at La Pension Bonifaz. Intrigued by this introduction, I replied that I was
interested.
Germaine began by saying that a few years back, right after ILM was visited by
the head of INGUAT, he and two other Mayan leaders of ILM were invited to a business
meeting by the owners of a few of the large hotels in the area. The hotel owners invited
the ILM leaders to have lunch with them at La Pension Bonifaz, one of the most
exclusive hotels in Quetzaltenango, located just off the central park. None of the ILM
leaders had been to La Pension Bonifaz before. For Quetzaltenango standards, rooms at
the hotel were expensive, around $40 a night, which is about three times the average
hotel price. Meals at the restaurant were also fairly expensive, averaging about five to six
dollars a plate, which for many Quetzaltecos is almost a day’s wage. Finally, La Pension
Bonifaz was unofficially one of the main centers of upper class Ladino society in
Quetzaltenango. The hotel was only a block away from the municipal buildings and the
restaurant and ballrooms were often used for high-powered business and governmental
meetings by Quetzaltenango’s Ladino elite. Germaine said that he and the other leaders
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had no idea why they were being invited to lunch at La Pension. But, they were curious
to find out what the hotel owners would have to say to them. At the least, they would get
a fancy free meal out of it. So, they agreed to meet a few days later.
Germaine and the two other Mayan leaders arrived at La Pension at noon.
Germaine said that they were greeted at the door by a hotel employee and directed to the
back of the restaurant where they joined three hotel owners at a large, well set table with
wine glasses and linen napkins. The hotel owners said that they were pleased that the
ILM leaders had agreed to meet with them. They were all served coffee and the hotel
owners started to talk about how slow business had been for them recently. Then they
asked Germaine and his friends how business had been for ILM. Germaine explained to
them that business had been good and that they were starting to attract more language
students from all over the United States.
When the small talk about business ended, the hotel owners made a sign to the
staff to serve the main course. The food arrived and the hotel owners began to ask
Germaine and friends how they managed to attract so many students. The ILM leaders
explained a little about their one-on-one language instruction techniques and the
popularity of the social development programs they offered for local Mayan
communities. The hotel owners said that they were impressed by the business that ILM
was generating and that they had a proposition for ILM. The hotel owners wanted to
create a partnership with ILM to house ILM students in La Pension and two other hotels
near the central square rather than in local Quetzalteco homes. The hotel owners offered
to drop the daily price of their rooms from $40 a day to around $30 a day for language
school students. Germaine told me that the hotel owners also said that this would be a
great opportunity for ILM to house their students in “more appropriate and luxurious
accommodations.” The hotel owners continued by explaining that if ILM accepted their
offer, ILM could grow to be a prosperous and internationally respected language school.
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Furthermore, by working with the hotels, ILM would be doing their part to make
Quetzaltenango “a world class tourist destination.”
Germaine said that he and the other ILM leaders politely thanked the gentlemen
but replied that they must decline the alliance. They explained that the language
students’ home-stays with local families were an important part of the language
acquisition process and housing students in hotels would slow their progress. Germaine
said that the hotel owners were shocked by ILM’s response. He speculated that the hotel
owners expected ILM to jump at the chance to partner with one of Quetzaltenango’s most
prestigious hotels.
Germaine then explained to me that the leaders of ILM all found the hotel
owners’ proposition ridiculous. First of all, they felt like they were being talked down to
at the meeting. Furthermore, the technical aspects of the arrangement would have
certainly detracted from the ILM language school experience. The students would also
be paying more than $200 a week, without meals. In their home stays, the students were
paying about one tenth of this price, which included meals. Also, the students were able
to practice Spanish and establish relationships with their Quetzalteco host families.
Finally, Germaine explained that teaming up with the hotel owners would contradict
everything that the school stood for. He said that the hotel owners, and other men like
them, had been making fortunes off of Mayan labor for centuries. ILM was doing fine
without the help of the hotel owners and they were using their success to help local
Mayas. Germaine asked me why ILM would want to share their profits with Ladinos
who had already gotten rich off of Mayan labor. I had no answer. Germaine then said
that the CAMTUR meeting and project would be no different.
This episode characterizes many of the challenges that face Quetzaltenango’s ProMayan tourism organizations. There is now a well established track record in
Quetzaltenango of tourist interest in pro-Mayan activist issues, and like the local Ladino
hotel owners, many local, national, and international tourism organizations are taking
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notice. This new interest may well bring change that could affect, among other things,
traditional sources of capital, labor relations, internal and external alliances, as well as the
level of tourist interest and the types of tourists who are attracted to Quetzaltenango’s
tourism industry. How will these changes benefit Mayan communities? The cultural
stakes of tourism are high and tourism promotion can certainly counter negative
stereotypes of Mayas and improve local Mayan economic circumstance. However, the
future of Pro-Mayan activist tourism in Quetzaltenango is nowhere certain.
Tourism in Quetzaltenango has grown from the grassroots efforts of local
Quetzaltecos, such as Germaine, who have come together to form tourism organizations
and build a locally run industry. It is this grassroots development that makes the local
tourism product and experience that differentiates Quetzaltenango from other more
popular tourism locations in Guatemala. As a reaction to violence against Mayas during
the recent Civil War many of Quetzaltenango’s tourism organizations were established
with the goal of contradicting negative stereotypes of Mayas and improving local Mayan
economic circumstances. This goal has proved beneficial for many local tourism
organizations including ILM. It has attracted tourists and it has also provided the glue
that has kept local tourism organization alliances together where alliances between
organizations that do not share these goals have failed.
A commitment to pro-Mayan activism has also allowed organizations like ILM to
circumnavigate local and national sources of capital. Much of Quetzaltenango’s local
grassroots development has not drawn from the pocketbooks of local wealthy Ladinos.
Nor have these organizations drawn economic aid from national level, politicallyinfluenced sources of capital. Rather, pro-Mayan activism organizations have gone
directly to the international tourists for support. This has allowed Mayas to earn a living
and support their families, it has recruited scores of international volunteers, and it has
circulated tourism profit in local Mayan communities. Yet, with new interest in
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Quetzalteco tourism and new potential sources of capital, a commitment to pro-Mayan
politics may not prove to be as beneficial in the future as it has been in the past.
In INGUAT and CAMTUR’s tourism development plans and documents, both
organizations advocate for the ability of tourism to contradict negative stereotypes of
Mayas and improve local Mayan economic circumstances (CAMTUR 2003; INGUAT
2000, 2001). However, both of these organizations have virtually no alliances or even
simple interactions with Mayan-run or pro-Maya Quetzalteco organizations. For
example, part of INGUAT’s stipulations for the new CAT committee was that the
committee needed representation from all parties involved in the local tourism industry.
Quetzaltenango’s largest tourist draw is based on Mayan-centric tourism. Most of the
CAT organizations had Mayan-themed names and offered tourism activities, but nary a
Mayan could be found in the organization. Javier was the only Mayan business owner
associated with CAT and he occupied a low level position in the organization’s hierarchy.
CAT meetings reminded me of INGUAT’s Folkloric Ballet, which was so heavily
criticized by participants in my video focus groups. Like the ballet, CAT meetings were
full of Guatemalans who make money from Mayan-themed events and who represent
Mayas to the greater community and world. But, none of these Guatemalans were
Mayas, themselves.
With the exception of Jaguartrekkers, this dissertation has demonstrated that
organizations without significant Mayan representation as leaders, owners, and
employees tend to give little back to Mayan communities. They may have Mayanthemed names and tourist activities, but they generally do not promote pro-Mayan
activism nor do they widely circulate tourism dollars in Mayan communities. INGUAT
and CAMTUR boast of wide benefits for local Mayan communities but if they do not
integrate Mayan leaders and Pro-Mayan activist organizations into their leadership, the
chances that these projects will actually benefit Mayas is slim.
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If Mayan-led tourism organizations are excluded from these larger national level
alliances, these organizations will also be excluded from access to national sources of
tourism development capital. Of all the organizations discussed in this dissertation,
Hyper Tours is the most financially successful. Hyper Tours has more vehicles, tents,
backpacks, guides, tourists, tours, and income than any other organization. This is not
because Hyper Tours necessarily has the strongest and most beneficial alliances. The
organization does not employ many Mayas as guides to present and frame Mayan culture,
and they do not have a pro-Mayan activist stance to attract tourists. What Hyper Tours
does have is the most investment capital. There is continuing controversy over whether
or not Hans brought over tens of thousands of dollars from Europe to invest in his
business. In any case, he always has the option of returning to Europe to get another high
paying job and he does not have a large extended family to support. With this safety net,
Hans has the ability to direct all of his capital and efforts toward building a thriving
tourism organization. Hyper Tours success is significant on its own. Of the four sources
of power discussed in this dissertation – capital, alliances, authority, and Pro-Mayan
activism – capital may be the most powerful influence in Quetzaltenango’s tourism
industry. Hans has the largest investment capital and he has had the easiest time reaching
his organizational goal of simply making money for himself.
However, there are other organizations discussed in this dissertation that are
interested in more than simple economic gain. Some organizations discussed in this
dissertation that have the largest commitment to pro-Mayan activism are also the
organizations that require the most capital to meet their goals. Organizations with a
serious commitment to pro-Mayan activism need capital to run tourism businesses while
at the same time directing significant amounts of profits to social development programs
in Mayan communities. If organizations that do not share a similar commitment to proMayan activism get access to national tourism development funds, the new national-level
alliances may give these local tourism organizations an edge in accumulating the capital
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they need to thrive. Pro-Mayan organizations may experience increased local
competition and they may find it even harder to accumulate capital to meet the dual
mandate of running a tourism business and development program.
Of course, national-level alliances are not the only sources of capital. In fact,
national-level alliances have been almost non-existent. In Quetzaltenango, it is the
relationship with the international tourist that has generated virtually all of the capital that
has made the local tourism industry and its benefits for local Mayan communities
possible. Yet, new interest in Quetzalteco tourism may significantly alter the
international tourists’ experiences and relationships in Quetzaltenango.
The most repeated phrase in CAT and TAC meetings was that these groups were
going to work together to make Quetzaltenango “a world class tourist destination.” The
world class models that CAT and TAC are using are areas like Cancun or Cozumel,
Mexico. CAT and TAC members all seem to agree that Quetzaltenango lacks a certain
level of refinement. These local tourism organizations have the goal of building large
luxurious hotels, fancy restaurants, and nightclubs. They often say that they would like
to attract “a different type of tourist.” They are looking to attract a tourist who would
spend hundreds of dollars a week in their hotels and restaurants, rather than the $25 that
current tourists spend on home-stays with local families. Many tourists who travel to the
“The Mayan Riviera” and places such as Cancun and Cozumel visit sites like ChichenItza and probably have at least a mild interest in Mayan culture. However, as Momsen
and Torres (2005) have demonstrated in Cancun, the benefits for local Mayan
communities in tourism models such as these are relatively small. A new type of tourist
and increased competition in a world class tourist destination would most likely limit proMayan tourism’s benefits for local Mayan communities.
Another potential problem that could limit the benefits of tourism in Mayan
communities is a change in the Quetzaltenango tourist narrative. Walter Little begins the
conclusion of his interesting and insightful work on Mayan artisans in the Antigua
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tourism industry by describing a scene with a German documentary camera crew (Little
2004). In this scene, the crew is attempting to film local Mayas and their “traditional”
cultural practices. However, the German crew is continually frustrated by the gas
burning stoves, televisions, and other “modern” conveniences that are commonly used by
contemporary Mayas. Eventually, the German crew could not get the shots they needed
and they started to ask Mayas to weave without the radio on, or to cook without a stove.
When the Mayas refused, the Germans left. Later, one of the locals joked that, “I was
going to be in the movie, but my television was too big…” (Little 2004: 261). These
Germans did not find Mayas who matched their traditional or stereotypical views of
Mayas, which caused them to give up on their project.
Quetzaltenango’s tourist narrative consciously contradicts stereotypes of
traditional Mayas by arguing and demonstrating that Mayas who have big televisions or
who use the Internet and cell phones are no less Maya because they take advantage of
technological advances. However, Quetzaltenango’s pro-Mayan activist tourist narrative
is based on the idea that Mayas have been the focus of centuries of violence and social
and economic subordination.
Babb has illustrated how Nicaragua’s tourism industry was once based on what
she has called “solidarity tours.” These types of tours were designed to inspire a sense of
solidarity between tourists who may be interested in revolutionary movements and
Nicaragua’s Sandinista government (Babb 2004). Babb found that after the Sandinista
government was replaced, Nicaraguan officials began to build a new type of tourism that
would attract wealthier tourists who would stay in more expensive hotels and spend more
money in the country. This new type of tourism moved abandoned the solidarity model
and subverted many of the messages from the revolution that originally attracted tourists
(Babb 2004).
As Guatemala moves farther and farther away from the Civil War years, I wonder
if this tourist narrative of empathy with Mayas’ experiences of violence and solidarity
253
with a Pro-Mayan movement will become less provocative. Furthermore, the main goal
of Pro-Mayan tourism organizations is to continue to encourage and support the
development of strong, well educated future generations of Mayan leaders. If these
organizations continue strive for this goal, will tourists become less sympathetic to a proMayan tourist narrative? Once the conditions of the current tourist narrative no longer
exist, and Mayas are no longer a subordinated population, Quetzaltenango may need to
invent a new tourist narrative to support pro-Mayan goals and the tourism industry.
Finally, what does all of this mean for the Pan-Mayan movement? I have argued
that many tourism organizations in Quetzaltenango promote a form of pro-Mayan
activism that accomplishes many goals of the Pan-Mayan movement. As demonstrated
in the survey, tourism has improved many Quetzaltecos’ general opinions of Mayan
culture. Many Quetzalteco tourism organizations have recruited international tourist
volunteers, raised money, invested significant amounts of tourism profit in Mayan
communities, and have helped support the education and professional advancement of
current and future Mayan leaders.
Because I have witnessed these benefits first hand, I have also argued that tourism
deserves serious attention in academic literature on indigenous movements. Many works
in tourism have made the link between tourism and realized benefits for local indigenous
communities (see Howes 1996; Gladney 1994; MacCannell 1992). However, few works
on indigenous activism have established the parallels between the benefits that tourism
can provide and the goals of contemporary indigenous movements.
I argue that this parallel between politics and tourism needs to be pushed one step
further. Tourism is an effective means to meet the many of the goals of contemporary
indigenous movements. Many organizations in contemporary indigenous movements
provide the same benefits as these tourism organizations do within their communities.
They contradict negative stereotypes, circulate money in indigenous communities, and
help to develop contemporary and future generations of professional, well educated, and
254
strong indigenous leaders. But, tourism provides additional benefits. Tourism can allow
local indigenous groups to sidestep local and national power structures and appeal
directly to international tourists for support. Furthermore, tourism allows the message of
indigenous movements to reach a wider audience. Academic discussions, conferences,
and publications based on indigenous movement themes are important because they often
communicate the ideals of indigenous movements to an influential audience. But, the
scope of their reach is limited. The average Maya or Ladino in Quetzaltenango will
probably never read a book or article written by a Pan-Mayan activist and most may not
have any interaction with Pan-Mayan organizations. Tourism, on the other hand, reaches
a wide audience. Tourism is a lucrative, popular and high profile industry. The images
and identities that are presented in tourism events not only reach international tourists
but, directly or indirectly, these images reach the entire population.
This is precisely why attention to tourism is so important. With ever-increasing
interest in Quetzalteco tourism, organizations such as ILM are coming to a crossroads. If
Pan-Mayan activists could use the benefits of tourism, they could raise more money to
help realize their goals and they could bring their message to a wider audience.
Likewise, if Pan-Mayan leaders in key positions can support tourism, then tourism
organizations can further develop provocative images for international tourists as well as
access international sources of pro-indigenous movement support and capital.
Ultimately, this would help realize the goals of Pan-Mayan activism. Furthermore, if
INGUAT and CAMTUR truly intend the promotion of tourism to benefit Mayan
communities, then they need to make a serious effort to integrate Mayan leaders into key
leadership positions and to direct tourism profits back into Mayan communities. Without
this effort, Mayas such as Germaine and his partners at ILM could end up generating
wealth for non-Mayas, and tourism might support stereotypes of Mayas as primitive,
exotic, relics of a past Golden age.
255
APPENDIX A. SURVEY OF QUETZALTENANGO
Survey Content
The University of Iowa
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
BENJAMIN M. WILLETT
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
ENCUESTA AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL SOBRE EL TURISMO Y
CULTURA MAYA
LUGAR Y FETCHA__________
No. de Encuesta_____
DATOS GENERALES
Zona:_____
Edad:_____
Sexo: M F
Etnicidad: K’iche’ Mam Ladino Otro
Especifico:_____
1)¿Cuál es el ingreso económico promedio mensual que usted tiene?
De 0 a Q. 1,000, De1,001 a 2,000, De 2,001 a 3,000, De 3,001 a 4,000, De 4,001 a
5,000, Más
2)¿Cuantás personas integra su familia? Mujeres_____
Hombres_____
3)¿Qué actividades turísticas ha realizado en los últimos diez años?
4)¿Qué tipos de actividades turísticas le gustaría realizar?
256
5)¿Trabajas usted en la industria del turismo?
SI
NO
Especifique:
6)¿Tiene miembros de su familia que trabaja en la industria turística?
SI
NO
Especifique:
7)¿Cree que su familia ha recibido beneficios da la industria turística en su municipio?
SI
NO
Cuáles son los beneficios:
8)¿Quiere ver más desarollo del turismo en su municipio?
SI
NO
9)¿Ha participado usted en actividades turísticas en donde resalite la Cultura Maya?
SI
NO
¿Cuáles?
10)¿Le interesa más el desarrollo de actividades turísticas en donde resalte la Cultura
Maya?
SI
NO
11)¿Qué importancia cree que tiene la Cultura Maya para los guatemaltecos?
MUY IMPORTANTE
IMPORTANTE
NO IMPORTANTE
Especifique:
12) )¿Qué importancia cree que tiene la Cultura Maya para los extranjeros?
257
MUY IMPORTANTE
IMPORTANTE
NO IMPORTANTE
Especifique:
13)¿Cree usted que las actividades turísticas pueden ayudar al desarollo de la Cultura
Maya?
SI
NO
Especifique:
14)¿Cree usted que las acticidades turísticas pueden mejorar la opinion de todos los
Guatemaltecos sobre Cultura Maya?
SI
NO
Especifique:
15)¿Los eventos turísticos Mayas que se han desarrollado, han mejorado su opinion sobre
la Cultura Maya en general?
SI
NO
¿Cómo?
Cluster Analysis
A preliminary Two Step Cluster Analysis was performed using all possible
variables in this survey. The resulting groupings did not match any demographic
characteristics at a 95% confidence level. Therefore, within the context of this project the
results were not particularly useful.
Next I performed a Two Step Cluster Analysis using only the demographic
characteristics of Ethnicity and Zone, since they were the two most influential variables
in bi-variate relationships, along with all other possible variables. In this clustering of
results demographic characteristics were paired with other variables and produced the
results reported in this chapter.
258
APPENDIX B. MARKETING IMAGES
Web Pages
Each of the Google results led to a Guatemala tourism themed home page. When
counting the frequencies of the terms “Maya” or “Mayan,” “Indigenous” or Indian,” and
“Ladino” I searched only the first page which appeared on the screen. For descriptions of
Mayan culture and tourism sites I followed links on the home pages that looked like they
would lead to descriptions of Mayan themed tourism activities. I specifically did a search
on “Guatemala Tourism” rather than “Guatemala Maya Tourism,” or something similar,
in order to obtain the most general information possible on Guatemala. These are the top
ten websites, in order of occurrence, from the January 31st 2006 Google search on
“Guatemala Tourism:”
1. QuetzalNet (QuetzalNet 2006)
2. Trip Advisor (Trip Advisor 2006)
3. Visit Guatemala (INGUAT 2006)
4. Terra (Terra 2006)
5. Pop Planet (Pop Planet 2006)
6. Info Hub (Info Hub 2006)
7. Fodors iexplore (Fodors iexplore 2006)
8. LAFTA (LAFTA 2006)
9. Yahoo (Yahoo 2006)
10. Peace Corps Online (Peace Corps Online 2006)
259
Guide Books
During my research in 2004-2005 I accumulated five widely popular Guatemala
guide books which I have used as examples of Guatemalan marketing and texts that are
used to frame international tourist experiences. I used all five of these guide books to
provide examples of descriptions of Mayan culture and tourism activities. The guide
books are:
1. Guatemala: Adventures in Nature (Mahler 1999)
2. The Rough Guide to The Maya World (Eltringham et al. 2001)
3. Lonely Planet: Guatemala (Nobel 2004)
4. Moon Handbooks: Guatemala (Bernhardson 2001)
5. Cadogan: Guatemala (Norton 1997)
For frequencies of the terms “Maya” or “Mayan,” “Indigenous” or “Indian,” or
“Ladino” I used only the most general introduction (Nobel 2004: 3-54) and the
Quetzaltenango section (Nobel 2004: 139-151) from Lonely Planet: Guatemala, the
introduction (Bernhardson 2001: 1-48) and Quetzaltenango section (Bernhardson 2001:
214-226) from the Moon Handbooks: Guatemala and the introduction (Norton 1997: vii58) and Quetzaltenango section (Norton 1997: 128-135) from Cadogan: Guatemala. I
chose to only use these three books because they were general guide books on
Guatemalan tourism. The other two books, Guatemala: Adventures in Nature (Mahler
1999) and The Rough Guide to The Maya World (Eltringham et al. 2001), specialized in
either natural environments or Mayan tourism and I thought that they would give a
skewed view of general Guatemala tourism descriptions.
Guidebook Websites
The top twelve websites from the Guatemalan tourist guide books came from the
Lonely Planet: Guatemala (Nobel 2004), Moon Handbooks: Guatemala (Bernhardson
260
2001), and Cadogan: Guatemala (Norton 1997). I chose to only use these three books
because they were general guide books on Guatemalan tourism. The other two books,
Guatemala: Adventures in Nature (Mahler 1999) and The Rough Guide to The Maya
World (Eltringham et al. 2001), specialized in either natural environments or Mayan
tourism and, again, I thought that they would give a skewed view of general Guatemala
tourism descriptions.
From Lonely Planet I analyzed all suggested websites that were still functioning.
Cadogan suggested a wide range of sites both in the United Kingdom and the United
States. I decided to start at the top of the list for each country and find three examples
from each that were still functioning as I went down the lists. For the Moon Handbook I
analyzed the first three websites, from the top of the list working to the bottom, that were
still functioning.
Some of the web addresses from the guide books led directly to Guatemalan
themed home pages. In those cases I counted frequencies of the terms “Maya” or
“Mayan,” “Indigenous” or Indian,” and “Ladino” only on the first page which appeared
on the screen. Other guide books suggested web addresses that led to general home
pages for organizations that had information on tourism to multiple destinations in the
world. In these cases I chose the first link to Guatemala available (from top to bottom of
the page) and counted the frequencies of the ethnic terms only on the first linked page.
For further descriptions of Mayas and Mayan themed tourism activities I followed
links from the Guatemalan home pages to more specific descriptions of Mayan themed
tourism activities. The following twelve websites were used in this analysis:
From Lonely Planet
1. Gringo’s Guide (Gringo’s Guide 2006)
2. Lanic Guatemala (Lanic Guatemala 2006)
3. La Ruta Maya Online (La Ruta Maya Online 2006)
261
4. Lonely Planet.com (Lonely Planet 2006)
From Cadogan
5. Bales Tours (Bales Tours 2006)
6. Cox and Kings Travel (Cox and Kings Travel 2006)
7. Dragoman (Dragoman 2006)
8. Clark Tours (Clark Tours 2006)
9. Wildland Adventures Inc. (Wildland Adventures Inc. 2006)
From Moon
10. Green Tortoise Adventure Travel (Green Tortoise Adventure Travel 2006)
11. Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips (Far Horizons Archaeological and
Cultural Trips 2006)
12. Guatemala Unlimited (Guatemala Unlimited 2006)
262
APPENDIX C. TOURIST SURVEY
Research Methodology
In February of 2005 I began to survey local tourists to help understand their
motivations for coming to Quetzaltenango and their experiences once they were there. I
decided to survey 100 international tourists. My hypothesis, based on my experiences in
Quetzaltenango, was that tourists who study in local language schools may have different
experiences than those who do not. Therefore, using quota sampling, I surveyed 50
language school students, and fifty non-language school tourists in popular tourist
locations.
Language school students tend to have home stays with Quetzalteco families and
this gives language school students a first hand experience of average Guatemalan living
conditions. Furthermore, while most tourism organizations have social development
programs, I suspected that it was the social development programs of the language
schools where tourists usually have the opportunity to volunteer. I also thought that the
opportunity to volunteer in social development programs may affect language school
students’ experiences in Quetzaltenango.
In order to recruit 50 language school respondents each Tuesday, from the
beginning of February 2005 to the second Tuesday of March 2005, I stopped by all of the
language schools in this dissertation, as well as two others that I new well. During the
breaks, at lunch time, after classes ended, or during an afternoon or nighttime scheduled
activity I asked language school students to fill out a survey. In the vast majority of
cases, they were happy to do so.
To gather the 50 non-language school tourists’ responses I hired an assistant who
was an occasional student at Sayaché. On Thursday or Friday afternoons during the
months of March through May of 2005, Mike and I would go to popular tourist hangouts,
263
such as bars, cafés or movie houses, to find potential survey respondents. The particular
tourist destination for the day was chosen randomly, and we made sure to not visit the
same destination twice to gather a wider sample. We approached tourists at their tables,
explained the project, and asked them to fill out a survey. Again, in the vast majority of
cases, they were happy to do so.
Survey Questions
Survey of Tourists and Tourists’ Experiences
Citizenship:
Sex:
M
Age:
F
Profession:
Language School Student:
Yes
No
1) What was your main reason for coming to Guatemala?
2) Where did you find travel information about Xela?
3) How long have you been in Xela?
4) How long do you plan to stay in Xela?
Between:
1 to 2 weeks 3 to 4 weeks 1 to 2 months more then 2 months
5) What types of tourist activities have you experienced in Xela?
6) What other types of tourist activities do you plan on attending during you time in
Xela?
264
7) Have any of these activities involved demonstrations of Mayan culture? If so, which?
YES
NO
8) How important are Mayan cultural activities in your travel plans?
VERY IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT
NOT IMPORTANT
9) Have any of your activities in Xela involved volunteer work in any way? If so, which?
YES
NO
10) Do you think that these interactions with Mayan culture have changed how you think
about Mayas and Guatemala in general? If so, how?
YES
NO
11) Will you come back to Xela? If so, why?
YES
NO
12) What suggestions would you make to tourism organizers to improve tourists’
experiences in Xela?
265
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