If Cementeries Could Tell their Stories...

Last week a man named Rob took us to the National Cemetery in Guatemala City. Yes, the Cemetery was the first tourist attraction that I visited, rather morbid, I know. Yet, as Rob had promised we learned the whole history of Guatemala by simply walking around the cemetery and listening to the stories that she had to tell. The stories are painful but I think might have something to teach us. Going into detail right now would take days to express all that I was thinking and feeling while walking and hearing her stories so I have used the ease of a poem that rhymes to help me tell the story of the National Cemetery of Guatemala.

If Cementeries Could tell their Stories...

If Cemeteries could tell their stories, what would they say?

Would they tell of all the people that come to make their final stay?

Would she tell of the Castellos, whose temple looks that of a sphenix?

Who rule the rich and the poor by controlling what they drink.

Whould she tell of the Germans who ¨settled¨ in Coban?

Who forced the hands of Mayans to grow their coffee Gods.

Would she tell of the coming of the English and Chinese?

Who both came as immigrants and did as they pleased.

Would she tell of Arbanz who´s vision was the ¨New Deal¨?

But whose life was cut too short because he gave the US chills.

Would she tell of the bullet punctiered tomb of Miguel Garcia Gernados?

Where many layed their heads and quickly became ghost.

Would she tell of the dump that is her smelly neighbor?

Where children young and old live and find their labor.

Would she tell of the tiny boxes that are rented by the year?

Each adorned with photos and flowers by ones that hold them dear.

If the cemeteries could tell their stories, what would they say?

They would plead that we all stop hurting one another and remember the gift of each day.

This is a short poem by a novice poet. Some explanation....The Castello family´s tomb is at the center of the cemetary. They own all beer, water, and soda companies in Guatemala and are one of the wealthiest in the country. The Germans settled in 1875 in the land conquered by the Spainish in a small area encircled by mountains named Coban. There they forced the indigenous people to give them their land and forced them to grow coffee on it. Unknown to me the English and the Chinese also found homes in their search for a land with new opportunities. Arbanz was the president of Guate in 1944. In his acceptance speach he acutally used part of Eisenhower´s ¨New Deal¨language. Later he was killed for the progress he was trying to make in his country. In the 90´s Clinton actually came to apologize for the CIAs involvement in his murder. His tomb is at the front of the cemetary as well. Miguel Garcia Garnados was one of the writers of the constitution, but his tomb is most important because it is right by the dump. So, in the 36 years of civil war many priest, writers, profesors, journalist, and teachers where killed because of their ideologies. They were shot in the neck against his tomb and then convienetly thrown behind it in the dump. The same dump that many children live in and work in today. They recycle the trash that is thrown in the dump and make a fair living doing so, especially with the prices of aluminum on the rise. Among all of the big tombs are rows of small boxes each decorated so beautifully by their family members. Many rent these boxes to lay the bodies until generations go by and families cannot pay for them any longer. So, I have learned that cemeteries tell quite the story. It might be an exciting field trip for you to venture to your cemetary or maybe the many cemeteries in your town and see what stories they might have to tell. Below are a few pictures from my trip. Sorry for my first blog to be such a downer, but that is how my journey has started, and from my understanding blogs are supposed to real, so here it is! No worries though, I spent a gorgeous day in Antigua on Sunday and I will have stories and pictures to tell from that adventure in the next few days. Until then...more Spanish...I start the intermediate course tomorrow!

The Castello Tomb

The tiny rented tombs.

Gernados´bullet torn tomb.
The Dump next door.