The devil sits stoically as the sun slowly sets over La Antigua Guatemala. Crowds surround the carefully constructed creature waiting for the time to come. The long strands of fireworks are lit and the once hushed scene suddenly bursts into a cacophony of bangs, bursts, and shouts as people jump back from the explosions and flames. Finally, the figure is complete engulfed in fire that lights up the evening sky. So is the annual tradition of the burning of the devil. Now the Christmas season may begin!

“All year he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on helpless mortals. But on December 7 at 6 p.m. sharp, the devil gets his comeuppance, as he is tossed out of the house along with the trash and set ablaze in the Quema del Diablo (Burning the Devil), a tradition in many Guatemalan towns that literally sparks the beginning of the Christmas season.” —Juan Carlos Ordóñez from Revue Magazine

Legend says that the devil hides in the corners of the house, in piles of old junk that was collected throughout the year. By burning this trash, it allows a clean start to the Christmas season. So on the 7th of December, in a neighborhood in Antigua, the crowd gathers just before sundown to witness the burning of the Devil.

Below is an excerpt from an article from ABC News: Health ‘The Face of Hunger’, also listed are links to a slideshow from Christiane Amanpour’s report on chronic malnutrition as well as a video by Dr. Peter Rohloff, discussing the very striking difference between Guatemalan children growing up in the United States and those growing up in rural Guatemala. It is a very dire situation.

Amidst the lush landscape and breathtaking natural beauty of Guatemala, more than half the population lives below the poverty line and suffers from chronic malnutrition.

In fact, Guatemala has the highest rate of malnutrition in the Western Hemisphere: 50 percent of the population is stunted and, in rural Mayan villages, that figure gets as high as 80 percent.

The main cause of stunted growth, experts say, is lack of vital nutrients during the first thousand days of life, that critical period of development from conception to age 2.

“The most incredible thing about stunting in Guatemala is how completely total an experience it is for rural communities. All children are at least six or eight inches shorter than they should be,” said Peter Rohloff, an American doctor who runs Wuqu’ Kawoq, a group of medical clinics in rural Guatemala. “In a family that’s extremely impoverished, you will see very extreme cases of chronic stunting where children who are twelve years old, look that they’re — as if they were four or five. ”

This story is part of ABC News’ “Be the Change: Save a Life” initiative, a year-long series of broadcast and digital coverage focusing on global health issues. Watch the kickoff on a special-edition of “20/20″ Friday at 10 p.m. ET.

But stunting is not just about height. With malnourishment comes greater susceptibility to disease and infection, impaired cognitive function and even lower IQ. Stunted kids are more likely to drop out of school and grow up to be unskilled workers with little potential for economic success later in life.

“If you want to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala this is how you do it: Feed kids and feed them early before they get malnourished,” Rohloff said.

Because a typical Mayan diet is lacking in animal protein like milk, Rohloff encourages mothers to breast feed but also to give their babies supplementary food starting at six months. He teaches mothers how to use Incaparina, a locally made corn gruel fortified with vitamins and minerals that needs to be mixed with just the right amount of water.

The mixture will be useless or even harmful if it is too diluted or the water contaminated. There are better supplements that need no preparation, Rohloff said, like Plumpy Doz, a ready-to-use sugary peanut paste with milk powder and vitamins. Unfortunately, there is no local Plumpy Doz manufacturer and getting the product shipped in can be problematic and expensive.

For nutritional intervention to be most effective, he said, it has to be done before the age of two. “Unfortunately, most programs in Guatemala are geared to school-aged kids but by the time they get to school it’s too late,” he said.

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The celebration of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception marks the start of the Christmas Season in Guatemala. In the neighborhood of la Concepción in Antigua there is an altar erected in the Convent of Concepción during this time. On December 8th, there are many celebrations, one of which is a parade, or convite, in the nearby town of Ciudad Vieja. These convites are filled with floats, princesses, and costumed dancers, and are quite the sight to see!

To enjoy a video of the dancers of the convite, click here.

“All year he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on helpless mortals. But on Monday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. sharp, the devil gets his comeuppance, as he is tossed out of the house along with the trash and set ablaze in the Quema del Diablo (Burning the Devil), a tradition in many Guatemalan towns that literally sparks the beginning of the Christmas season.” —Juan Carlos Ordóñez from Revue Magazine

Legend says that the devil hides in the corners of the house, in piles of old junk that was collected throughout the year. By burning this trash, it allows a clean start to the Christmas season. So on the 7th of December, in a neighborhood in Antigua, the crowd gathers just before sundown to witness the burning of the Devil.

Scroll to below the photos to see a video link to this year’s event.

(click on any photo for a larger image)

This year's devil, waiting for his day

Past devil and 'son'

Fully lit with firecracker 'tail'

Always on duty, firefighters and helpers

Here is a link to a Noti7 video reporting on the evening (facebook).

IT IS THE SEASON FOR SHARING.
At midnight on Christmas Eve 2005, two of our sponsored students went door to door hoping someone would give them a tamale to eat.
This is the traditional meal at Christmas in Guatemala. Their single mother could not afford to buy the ingredients to make Tamales.

When we found out about this we wondered how many other families could not afford to celebrate Christmas and how many other children were sad and hungry at this time of the year.

It turned out there were a lot of people who could not afford to celebrate Christmas.

In 2006 we started the Christmas Tamale Basket Program. We gave out 215 baskets of food. In 2007 we gave out 650 baskets. In 2008 we gave out more than 1,000. In 2009 we gave out approximately 1,600 Christmas Baskets of Food!
This year has been a very, very hard year in Guatemala, natural disasters, sink holes, flooding, mud slides, volcano eruptions, rising costs of living and a severe lack of jobs due to a lack of tourism and all of the reasons listed above.

Mother Teresa said “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one…”

We are asking for your help to feed just one family this Holiday Season.

Food prices have continued to rise again this year in 2010.
This Food Crisis means that families will be forced to forego traditional foods for tortillas and beans. This continues to take its toll on children and families. There are lots of families needing help.

Malnutrition is a constant challenge in Guatemala.

Please consider feeding an impoverished family this Holiday Season.
Many families in Guatemala do not have enough food to eat this year. Many of the families that we work with cannot afford to have the traditional meal at midnight on Christmas Eve.

You can make a difference now.

For $35 you can give a Christmas Tamale Basket and feed a family of 12 or more. Our Christmas basket is made of plastic and will be used afterwards by the family to stack and wash dishes, hold food etc. The food items will include: Oil, 15 lbs of Rice to make the tamales, a block of drinking chocolate (this is traditional to drink at midnight), a loaf of bread with which they eat the tamales at midnight, sugar for the tamales, coffee, usually we include raisins, grapes, apples but this year there are so many people in need of food that these luxury items will be replaced for food staples such as beans, corn or vitamin enriched cereal.

To make a contribution for the Christmas Tamale baskets please go to our website
http://mayanfamilies.org/DonateOnline
and go the General Donation section to send a donation. If you would like to nominate a special family or a sponsored student to receive your basket please send us their name or student number by e-mail to Sharon@mayanfamilies.org
If you would like to pay by check please send your donation made out to Mayan Families to:

Thank you for your support.

As November arrives in Guatemala, so do the strong winds that carry colorful kites high into the sky. Small barriletes, as they are known in Guatemala, are sold on the streets and in many of the tiendas for about 50 cents apiece. But the big event happens on November 1, All Saints Day or el Dia de todos los Santos. Families gather in the cemeteries to clean and adorn the final resting places of deceased loved ones as well as to fly kites to send messages to the spirits.

In several towns, giant barriletes  have become the major draw. The larger kites reach almost twenty meters in height. They are constructed of tissue paper on bamboo framing. Thousands of people gather in the cemetery of towns such as Santiago Sacatepequez to witness the raising of the largest kites and to see the flying of many smaller ones. It truly is a spectacular sight!

(click on any photo to see a larger image)

To read more about the barriletes gigantes, read the article, Messenger in the Wind.

More photos here, here, and here

Welcome to our new blog page!

Many people have wanted to learn more about Ixchel Textiles and Guatemala, so we decided to create this page in order to share a glimpse into life in Guatemala as well as its people, culture, and traditions. We hope you enjoy!