 ARTS AND CULTURE |
Arts and culture make up an important part of a country's fabric. Deeply ingrained within the warp and weave, they bring an added texture full of music, art and words.Explore our arts and culture during your stay.
Hear Beethoven's Fifth played by the National Symphonic Orchestra, enjoy a comedy at the National Theater, or take an afternoon to view the work of some of Guatemala's most talented artists at the National Museum of Modern Art.
Enjoy your travels through the country and experience its culture to the fullest.
| The Art of Storytelling |
Don Héctor Gaitán prepares himself at the microphone. His glasses sit low on the bridge of his nose as he peers into the worn leather satchel that always accompanies him and pulls out of it a dark, leather bound book. He thumbs through the worn pages and nods when he finds the passage he's searching for. The sound engineer gives him a thumbs up and Don Héctor begins his tale for the radio audience of Quetzaltenango. His deep, modulated voice fills the room and within a few moments, the listener is transported to a rainy evening on one of Guatemala City's main thoroughfares.
"It all began on the rainy evening of June 30, 1935. It was the day that Tránsito Morales Noriega put on his National Police uniform for the very first time. He hustled down the block, intent on arriving early to his post on his first day of service, but taking the time to acknowledge the teasing shouts of admiration from his neighbors and friends. Little did he know that what was to transpire in the rainy night to come would tinge the remaining days of his life.," he pauses dramatically, takes a breath and renews his tale.
Born on January 25, 1940, his exposure to tales began at a young age. "I always enjoyed listening to my grandmother and her friends tell tales of the neighborhood. I began recounting them to friends and anyone who would listen," he says as he smiles. He points out that he wasn't very good in academics, but he did enjoy being the orator of school events every morning. His classmates looked forward to it as did his teachers.
With over 20 books in print today, Héctor Gaitán is one of the most recognized names in the folklore and history genre. He has spent more than 40 years traveling about gathering tales, legends and myths about Guatemala. He has five volumes of La Calle Donde Tú Vives, which are collections of short tales. A few others in print are a two-volume edition on Guatemalan history from colonial times to present day, a series on ghostly urban legends, a book on the Historic Center of Guatemala City and one on the Presidents of Guatemala. His most recent publication is the second volume of Memorias del Siglo XX (Memories of the Twentieth Century).
After studying journalism in Mexico, Don Héctor began his career as a journalist at a small newspaper. A few years later he returned to Guatemala, intent on working as a writer in his own country. A weekly paper became his pet project. La Calle Donde Tú Vives began small but was soon printing 40,000 a week and selling at five cents a copy. The paper ran from 1973 to 1978. | He is also a well-known voice on the radio airwaves and had a program on Radio Voz Las Americas. After being syndicated to other stations, the program went off the air a few years ago. But all was not lost. A station based in Quetzaltenango has recently picked up his program and is broadcasting to a wide audience that covers Totonicapán, Huehuetenango, San Marcos, Escuintla, Reutalhuleu, Chimaltenango, Sololá and into Mexico's southern border with Guatemala.
He continues to share his art of storytelling on the airwaves and on pages. Don Héctor Gaitán is one of Guatemala's own national treasures.
| Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de Guatemala |
In Guatemala's history, the first reference to a group of musicians dates back to 1813. It was in that year that the Sociedad Filarmónica del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús was established. The group of musicians banded together to accompany the mass celebrated on July 8th, the Day of the Musician.
The group received little support until the administration of President José María Orellana. President Orellana made great contributions to the music program and founded the Unión Musical Guatemalteca (Guatemalan Music Union). Unfortunately, as the president left office, so did support for the program and the Union was disbanded.
In 1936, during General Jorge Ubico's administration, an orchestra was officially formed. It was named the Progressive Orchestra for the political party that had brought Ubico to power. Thirty-eight musicians made up the orchestra that would play at all governmental functions as well as performing for the public.
The very first guest conductor to perform with the Orchestra was Maestro Arthur Fiedler from the Boston Philharmonic. In 1943, the conductor's baton was taken up by Maestro Leopoldo Stokowsky and marked a great achievement for the Guatemalan Progressive Orchestra. Soon after the Revolution of 1944, the orchestra took the name of the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de Guatemala (OSNG).
And thus, the road to the orchestra of today, has been a long and arduous journey. Notwithstanding, the OSNG and its supporters have come full force into the new millennium. There are new programs being established that will allow philanthropists and music lovers to take a greater role in helping the OSNG become a successful enterprise.
Many of the musicians formed at Guatemala's National Conservatory of Music go on to form part of the OSNG, but many have crossed international borders and are now performing in orchestras in the United States and in Europe. The OSNG boasts several special concerts during its season and include the well-known Christmas Festival.
For more information about the OSNG and its current season, e-mail orsinagua@hotmail.com, or call (502) 232-2167.
| A Legend of Guatemala |
 La Tatuana |
It has been said that a woman was sentenced to death for an unknown, yet heinous, crime. Sentenced to death by execution, the woman was imprisoned in a dark cell to await her punishment. A few days prior to the execution, a mysterious magician appears to the woman and bestows upon her a mystical gift. She is given a tattoo of a boat on her arm. Though it isn't clear whether the tattoo had magical powers, or it was her intense desire to outwit her captors, thereby avoiding death, by gazing at the tiny image tattooed on her arm she was able to board the little boat and escape her terrible fate. She was never seen, nor heard from, again.
All these informations are provided by courtesy of Destination Guatemala and Sol y Luna |
