Global Press Journal Connections: The World in Photos

Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

Elder Aceituno (left) and Henry Xalpot burn incense before they play a game of Mayan ball at the Antigua International School in Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. The incense is offered to Mayan deities as a sign of respect, part of the game’s tradition that dates back thousands of years.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Virginia Saminez, 13 (left), and Roxana Tuiz, 12, make altars to commemorate Guatemala’s 198th Independence Day at the MAIA Impact School near the southwestern town of Sololá, Guatemala. The altars are made of recycled materials and showcase important elements of Guatemalan identity.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Anderson Gutiérrez salutes the four cardinal points, a nod to Guatemalan customs and culture, during an equestrian show in Chaquijyá, a village in Solalá, Guatemala. Gutiérrez has been riding horses alongside his father since he was a child.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Andrés Iboy, 43, addresses a crowd to campaign for a third term as mayor and muster support for his party, Comité Cívico Sololatecos Unidos para el Desarrollo (SUD), in his municipality of Sololá, Guatemala. The country held general elections on June 16 and Iboy was not reelected, ending his eight-year mayoral term.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Ericka Galizio, 36, shows off her juggling skills in the central park in Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala. Galizio, who is originally from Italy, travels around Guatemala and performs her juggling show on request, hoping to share her art and creative expression with women in the area.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Santa Maria Nebaj, Guatemala

Juana Ceto (left to right), Francisca Terraza and Karina Cedillo study different types of coffee during a public coffee tasting at the Parque Central de Nebaj in Guatemala. The event is held at least three times a year as a part of Programa Conjunto "Desarrollo Rural Integral Ixil," a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) rural development project. Local people give advice and feedback to the producers before the coffee is exported.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Miguel Raymundo plants seeds to start a forest nursery in his backyard in Nebaj, a municipality in the department of Quiché, Guatemala. Raymundo is starting multiple nurseries to experiment with new strategies to reduce pollution.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Diego Satat, 29, learned carpentry from his father. Here, he sands wooden posts for tables and chairs in his own shop, located in front of his home in the Nebaj municipality in the department of Quiché, Guatemala.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Francisco Tun (right) shows his respect for Samuel Saloj Tuiz, a local mayor, during a ceremony in Sololá, Guatemala. At this event, as part of a 500-year-old custom, 73 outgoing mayors passed the “vara” (rod) to 73 new mayors.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Vásquez Guatemala

Santa Vásquez (left) and Paulina Chiyal buy flowers at the market in the village of Vásquez, in the Totonicapán region of Guatemala. Vásquez arrived early to choose flowers to decorate her house and the local cemetery’s mausoleum.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Intermediate students perform a folk dance at the Escuela Central, a school in the village of Chaquijyá in Guatemala’s Sololá department. They perform on special occasions to demonstrate their traditions and customs.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala

Ixmukané Saloj, a graduate of Colegio San Francisco Panajachel, a high school in Panajachel, Guatemala, models a dress made of recycled waste for the school’s “Señorita San Francisco” contest. The dress helped to spread awareness about the dangers of pollution at an event which had environmental conservation as its theme.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Local painter Julio Cotuc paints children’s games on the playground of a primary school in Aldea Chaquijyá, a village in Sololá, Guatemala. The school’s teachers arranged for the games to be painted in order to help the students have fun during recess.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Chajul, Guatemala

In Chemal, a community in the town of Chajul in El Quiché department, Guatemala, Gaspar Caba, 24, teaches María Cedillo to read and write in a program under the auspices of the Comité Nacional de Alfabetización, the country’s national literacy committee. Once a week, adults in the community who did not attend school as children meet to learn to read and write basic words.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

San Andrés Semetabaj, Sololá, Guatemala

In San Andrés Semetabaj, a municipality in Sololá, Guatemala, Alirio López, 63, places soda cans on a road so that passing cars will crush them. Alirio recycles the cans into kitchen utensils.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Abraham Bámaca Chalí (second from right), Ixchel Tuyuc Cux (right) and other members of Grupo Xajil, a band from San Juan Comalapa, play the marimba in Guatemala’s Chimaltenango department. The group performs ancestral music for sacred ceremonies, art circles and cultural activities around the world. The name Xajil, in the Mayan Kaqchiquel language, translates to dancing musician.

Photo by Norma Baján Balán

Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala

Juana Marcos (right), 29, weaves fabric in a style known as “jaspeado” in her backyard in Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala. This traditional method of weaving has been passed down from generation to generation among members of the community.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

In Salquil Grande, a community within the Nebaj municipality in Quiché, Guatemala, Ana Bernal, 11, learns how to effectively wash her hands to maintain personal hygiene while also conserving water. Water has been scarce in this community, and heads of local families have been making an effort to educate their children on efficient handwashing at school and at home.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala

In Cunén, a municipality in Guatemala's Quiché department, María Itzep, 28, and her son Marcos, 2, sort through their corn harvest, picking the good corn by color to store in the granary for food throughout the year. Each January and February, the corn is harvested and stored to dry, and Marcos is accompanying his mother throughout the process to learn about her work.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala

Juana Chuj, 32, spins yarn on the patio in front of her home in a small community in Cunén, in Guatemala's Quiché department. She is joined by her two children, Elena, 10, and Ciriaco, 3. Juana Chuj begins spinning every morning at 9 a.m. to prepare the yarn for blouses and other clothing she will make, a practice common among people in this area.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

From left: Catarina Bernal, Margarita Ramírez, Catarina Cedillo and Margarita Matom, all members of the Viucalvitz community in the municipality of Nebaj in Quiché, Guatemala, clean and prepare rabbit meat for a dish called faenado de conejo, fried rabbit served with rice. Their goal is to learn and share how to cook this healthy meal that takes advantage of the community's resources.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Juan Marcos, 42, trims trees in the community park of the municipality of Nebaj, in Guatemala’s Quiché department. Marcos does this once a month so that park visitors can have a good view.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Luis Palax, 13, gets ready to fly his kite in Chaquijyá, a village in Guatemala’s Sololá department. Luis made the kite with tissue paper, straw and thread.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Neighbors German Guzmán, 34, (left) and Pedro Ceto, 32, of Vicalama, Nebaj, in Guatemala’s Quiché department harvest and bag their corn to store for their families’ consumption throughout the year. Corn is a main source of carbohydrates for the families of this region.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

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Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Santa Maria Nebaj, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Vásquez Guatemala

Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Chajul, Guatemala

San Andrés Semetabaj, Sololá, Guatemala

Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala

Cunén, Quiché, Guatemala

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala