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St. Michael's hosts Maya visitors from Guatemala, Sat. February 17, St. Michael & All Angels
Three Maya health volunteers of the CPR-Sierra [Communities of Population in Resistance of the Sierra] arrive February 12 to begin a “reciprocal visit” to the U.S., celebrating a 31-year partnership with St. Michael’s Guatemala Project that began in late February, 1993.
A February 17 morning coffee with the visitors, 9 a.m. to noon at St. Michael’s, includes greetings in indigenous languages, a presentation by the visitors, time for questions, information about Project summer teams, and opportunities to chat with former team members.
The formal program with the guests begins at 9:30 a.m. and includes a visual history, from 1993 to 2023 Project team visits.
Arriving from Guatemala are Pedro Bernal Raymundo, Gustavo Cuyuch Tzoy, and Diego Lopez Bernal, the lead “Equipo de Salud” of the CPR Sierra. They speak Ixil or K’iche’ Maya as first language, and will relate personal and community history in Spanish, with English interpretation.
The public is invited to all or any part of the morning’s celebration. The event is free. Donations to cover costs and to support the Project are encouraged. Maya textiles will be on sale.
St. Michael’s is located at 602 N. Wilmot Road, at 5th street. Activities are in the Parish Center.
During their stay the visitors will visit border areas, meet with Tucson-area Guatemalans and health professionals and with indigenous groups, interact with Center for Latin American Studies and the Honors College at the University of Arizona, enjoy a pancake lunch with St. Michael’s school on Shrove Tuesday (February 13), visit congressional offices, and explore possibilities for legal temporary work in Arizona, to benefit their rural communities and Arizona.
St. Michael’s Guatemala Project grew from Coordinator Ila Abernathy’s participation in the February, 1993, “Primera Visita por Tierra,” first “walk in” visit by internationals to CPR settlements in Ixil Area remote mountains beyond roads, at a time when they were still surrounded by the Guatemalan Army in the waning years of Guatemala’s 36-year internal conflict. The original 1993 “Primera Visita” poster, printed in Guatemala, will be on display. It states (in Spanish) that objectives were “free movement, family reunification, and respect for our rights.”
