Why are we the way we are?
¿Porqué estamos como estamos?

By Nelson Flores

Unknown to many, Guatemala is a multicultural society. Not only are there a variety of indigenous Mayan cultures (21 in all) and people of mixed indigenous and Spanish blood, but there are also people from Arab, Chinese, Jewish, and German backgrounds, among many others.

The Center for Regional Research in Mesoamerica, in coordination with the government of Guatemala and several cooperating organizations, has begun a major nationwide campaign entitled "Nuestra diversidad es nuestra fuerza" (Our diversity is our strength) to explore this diversity. The objective of this campaign is to not only celebrate the mosaic of cultures that have made Guatemala into the country it is today, but also to heal old wounds, acknowledge the sins of the past and work for a better future in which all people are treated fairly and with dignity.
One major component of this campaign is an interactive exposition entitled "¿Porqué estamos como estamos?" (Why are we the way we are?). With a blend of pictures, videos and tactile displays, this exhibit explores the history of the Guatemalan people. The exhibit incorporates a variety of themes, from the huge injustices perpetuated against indigenous populations, to the dominance of the ladinos in all aspects of Guatemalan society, to the history of immigration from countries around the world to Guatemala. The goal of the exhibit is for participants to reflect on how Guatemala has developed, as well as to combat prejudices and stereotypes in hopes of making Guatemala a stronger and more just society.
As I walked into the Quetzaltenango Anthropological Museum to view its exhibition of the traveling "¿Porqué Estamos Como Estamos?" exhibit, I was immediately approached by a guide that gave me a brief orientation to the exhibit and asked me to fill out a survey about my views on diversity in Guatemala. The guide then directed me to the sign with the overarching question of the exhibit: If every group of people and every culture contributes something valuable and unique into this world…why are we the way we are? I was then led into the exhibit where I was immediately exposed to the great diversity in Guatemala through a picture gallery of Guatemalans of all colors, ages, names, and origins. Displays of pictures on the side of the presentation turned over to reveal the origin of the person and how he or she became who they are. It was a strong introduction to multiculturalism in Guatemala, and a celebration of all of these differences.
However, this celebration of diversity quickly changed to an exploration of the challenges that diversity can cause. The second part of the exhibit focused on the many times in history that diversity has turned into inequality based on differences in race, ethnicity, religion, etc. It showed examples such as the United States´ treatment of its indigenous population to apartheid in South Africa. The exhibit shifted to cases specific to Guatemala and focused a great deal on the persecution and oppression of the indigenous populations throughout Guatemalan history and in the present; Spanish domination changed to ladino domination, and the indigenous people continue to live in poverty and still have little political power. To introduce this idea the exhibit began by exploring current statistics that demonstrate the disparities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example, only 5 out of 10 fifteen year old indigenous children are literate while 8 out of 10 non-indigenous children of the same age are literate and only 16% of indigenous people have regular access to medical care. In addition out of 42,275 people reported tortured, disappeared, or killed in the Guatemalan civil war 35,508 were indigenous.
The exhibit then examined the history that led to this current inequality. With the arrival of the conquistadors, the Creoles (direct descendents of the Spanish settlers) came to dominate all aspects of Guatemalan life. The indigenous people were seen as children and lost most of their land to the Creoles. This laid the groundwork for a system of oppression that would continue to plague the development of Guatemala. Over time, with mixing leaving few Creoles, ladinos (people of mixed Spanish and indigenous blood that abandoned the indigenous communities) came to power in Guatemala. Eventually, with a large influx of immigrants from around the world to Guatemala the term ladino changed from this exclusive definition to include all non-indigenous people who live in Guatemala. However, despite this change in definition little changed in the situation of the indigenous people.
This part of the exhibit also showed the vast inequalities in terms of gender and class, and how these inequalities intersect with race. For example, an indigenous woman makes 58% of what an indigenous man makes, who makes less than both non-indigenous men and women. There was also a display of sand that showed the vast class inequality that exists in Guatemala. The display stated that 2% of the population owns more than half of the land and visually displayed this using sand to represent the amount of land controlled by the 2% compared to the amount of land owed by the remaining 98%. The contrast was startling. This entire section on the history of discrimination in Guatemala clearly demonstrated that Guatemala still has a long way to go before it can reach the goal of seeing diversity as its strength, and that many current problems stem from centuries of oppression that are only now beginning to be undone.
The exhibit then returned to the themes with which it opened, showing the huge diversity in Guatemalan society and celebrating these differences. It also celebrated the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996 that ended the civil war as a sign of hope in the future. For the first time, the Guatemalan government finally recognized the multicultural nature of Guatemalan society and made a major goal for the future to finally include all Guatemalans from all backgrounds in the political process. Displays of many smiling faces of all different colors and the encouraging message of the Peace Accords gave me a feeling of hope that change was possible. This final part of the exhibit allowed participants to write our hopes and wishes for Guatemala's future on a poster. The many wishes that were already written had a common theme: that all Guatemalans are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.
I left the exhibit feeling hopeful about the future, but also mournful about the past and ambivalent towards the present. While Guatemala has come a long way towards starting to view diversity as its strength and celebrating difference rather than trying to eliminate it, past injustices continue to influence its present situation. It was, however, encouraging to see that so many people yearn for a better Guatemala-one where everybody is free to express their culture and be treated equally. This exhibit, as well as the entire "Our diversity is our strength" campaign, is an important first step to achieving this goal.