In February of 2008, I had no idea why I was going to Guatemala. I just knew that it was time to go after dreaming it up for a few years. I had promised a friend that I would visit him there at some point during his 3-year teaching gig but hadn’t bothered to connect in with him before purchasing my plane ticket. Of course, I arrived on his last day there before returning to the states for a visit. But there was something else drawing me to Guatemala - a lake; and I knew it would all be perfect.
It was Lago de Atitlan and it was a 3+ hour chicken bus ride out of Guat-city – but add on at least an hour for a girl without a road map (does one exist??), no sense of direction in a foreign land, and no Spanish other than a Lonely Planet phrase book…
I stayed at a place that offered scuba diving – something I always wanted to take up. I was there to live out a dream that wasn’t quite ready to be realized. Instead I met Gabo within hours of my arrival. The next day he took me to Jaibalito, a small village barely touched by tourists. Here I met some Maya people, learned a few words of Tz'utujil, and skipped out on my PADI certification to pick up garbage. Clearly it was a different dream that was waking up.
After a few days, I remembered a brief phone call I made from the Houston airport to a friend of a friend who I was referred to because she knew people there. Oh, I forgot to mention that I had only booked four of eleven nights’ stay prior to my departure and just figured I would figure it out once I got there…. No need to be tied down once my PADI course was over. So, my friend figured I might need a place to stay. Well, I got an email address out of the phone call and reassurance that I shouldn’t pay any attention to anyone who said I was crazy because I would be just fine there. And this was true.
So, I emailed Pedro and asked to meet him. After a few boat taxis and a hike up to the top of the hill in San Pedro, along with a new friend I had made along the way, we met Pedro in front of the bank. And we followed him trough tiny alleyways; down, down, down past stray dogs and yard birds and houses with no glass in their windows. The whole time my new friend was muttering under her breath things like, “This is crazy. This is how people disappear in Guatemala. This is exactly what you are NOT supposed to do. Are you serious?”
Then we came to the Cruz residence: A small house filled with friendly greetings and with a staircase that led up to an artist’s studio. This is where I first glimpsed the work of Lorenzo Cruz Sunu. And I instantly knew this was special. I learned that selling paintings was a primary source of income for this family with 8 siblings. Other members of the family create beautiful beadwork or weave textiles. I knew that I had channels through which I could help this family earn income.
Now, over a year later, we have worked together to create an art exhibit in St Paul, Minnesota.
Stop in to Jay’s Café for a cultural experience. The exhibit will be up through the month of June. If you are interested in learning more or purchasing one of the paintings on display, please email me at corypitman@gmail.com.
791 Raymond Ave.
St. Paul, Minnesota 55114
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EXHIBITION TZ` UNUN` YA
Lake of the Birds Exhibition
IXIMULEEW
IXIM (mazorcas, cob)
ULEEW (tierra)
Heart of heaven and earth. Respect for life and equality, and not a single soul to discrimination; Maya, Ladino, Garifuna and Xinca. It also represents the four cardinal points.
$240 SOLD
TERNURA, tenderness
It represents life and peace, love and joy, age and color, homeless and reconciliation.
$240
EXPRESIÒN DE INFANCIA. Expression of childhood
$220
PASCUAL ABAJ. Brotherhood of Chichicastenango.
$330
MAXIMON, wooden sculpture and brotherhood
$330
CANDELA CEREMONIAL, Ceremonial Candle.
$220
MELODIAS DEL PUEBLO, Melodies of the village.
Our souls vibrate as the sound of the marimba; voice soft as a tender mother and the singing of birds in the forests, the sweet embrace of a mother, the marimba is instrumental power of nature and man in the transformed The melody is the traditional SON.
$220
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