Travelojos

Originally from Seattle, Jessie Kwak and her husband Robert Kittilson are living in Peru and sharing their experiences on their new website Unpaved South America.

With Jessie doing the writing and Robert capturing the images, the website will highlight the lesser-known destinations in South America.

By Jessie Kwak

Machu Picchu will be closed at least until the end of February, due to massive flooding and landslides in the Cusco region. In the last few weeks, Mother Nature has sent Peru’s tourist economy into a tailspin: it’s estimated that the losses from Cusco and Machu Picchu average around $1 million a day.

The site sees half a million visitors a year, who provide a steady stream of foreign cash to support a countless number of formal and informal tourism industry workers in the area.

The people of the region. The torrential rains and subsequent flooding of the last weeks has left more than 23,000 people homeless. The people who have been the most affected are those who have the least, whose one-room homes and 2-hectare cornfields are their only assets. Some 16,000 hectares of crops were destroyed in the flooding, and although the government has promised aid to farmers, it’s unlikely to be nearly enough.

Rescue operations and press coverage have been overwhelmingly balanced in the favor of foreign tourists, causing local resentment. While tourists were airlifted out of Aguas Calientes (otherwise known as Machu Picchu Pueblo) Peruvians were stuck on the road between Cusco and Abancay for days without food or shelter, and without the all-important press coverage. Although many other regions in the Peruvian highlands were affected, Cusco has received the most attention because of its importance as a tourist destination.

Impact on tourism. Fetransa, the company in charge of the railway, is hoping that the railway will be fixed within two months, and that they will be able to provide access to Machu Picchu within three weeks. The plan is to repair the road between Ollantaytambo and Santa Teresa in order to get tourists into the area (you’ll still have to hike several hours from Santa Teresa to Machu Picchu itself). The journey will be more complicated than ever, but no worries, tour companies will still be falling all over themselves to charge you top dollar for the service.

Want a citadel that's older than the Inca empire itself? Try Kuelap.

Many people are canceling their trip to Peru simply because they’re unable to visit one of Peru’s thousands of archaeological sites; with their major cash cow out of commission for a month or more, Peru’s tourist department is rethinking their strategy of only marketing Machu Picchu. They’ve suddenly realized that Peru has much more to offer than a single overhyped (albeit impressive) set of Inca ruins, and have launched a new campaign: “Meet Peru Now.”

Looking for other untouched Inca citadels? Try Choquequirao. Want a citadel that’s older than the Inca empire itself? Try Kuelap. Were you just in it for the hiking? Then don’t miss the Cordillera Blanca. For a broad, hardly comprehensive, sketch of what Peru has to offer, check out my post on alternatives to Machu Picchu on our blog.

Helping out. Want to help? This article on Living in Peru has a list of places to send donations.

Follow Jessie on Twitter at @Jkwak.

In this Intrepid Traveler Dispatch, photographer Skip Hunt tells us about his motorcycle ride through Mexico.

At times, he says, parts of the country feel like a portal to another dimension—even without the benefit of mind-altering substances found to grow there (more on that later).

At the end of each entry is a link to a blog post Skip had written while he was still on the road. He concludes his dispatch with a slide show and a link to his book.

THE TRIP: Left Austin, Texas on a 2005 Suzuki DL650 in June of 2009 and traveled through Mexico through August. The journey began in the sacred desert region known as Huiricuta, to major cities, strange villages that induced strange deja-vu, mountains, jungle, peyote/mushroom rituals, coastline, and amazing winding roads all throughout the Sierra Madres. I blogged about it here.

WHO: Skip Hunt

WHEN: June through August in the Summer of 2009

WHY: I’ve been traveling off and on throughout Mexico for a couple decades now. Started doing it on a motorcycle in 2005. Each time I discover yet another layer of profound and surreal truth that’s just beneath Mexico’s gritty crust.

GETTING THERE WAS: On a motorcycle in the rainy season is not something I would recommend to anyone. Nor crossing Mexico City at 6pm on a Friday in the rain… on a motorcycle. However, the curves throughout the Sierra Madres will take your breath away… Just keep your eyes on the road though, never know when a bus will be passing going the opposite way on a blind curve.

I WAS REALLY SURPRISED WHEN: I experienced a very strange and persistent deja-vu feeling that lasted all 5 days I was in Tepoztlan. I’d never been there before, but after meeting a odd man named Ea Orgo-Maynez at the nearby town called Amatlan (believed to be the birthplace of Quetzalcoatl) who claimed the location was a “portal to another dimension”… I started having persistent deja-vu that didn’t go away until I left that place.

I REALIZED THAT I WOULD LOVE IT WHEN: A goat herder named Evuli on a burro didn’t think I was a crazed peyote-eating gringo making a giant peace sign in the desert, and instead helped me find good stones to add to the design.

THE BEST PLACE I STAYED WAS: a $1.5Mil home in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. I’d traded taking photos of it for staying 5 nights there. Each room had it’s own AC and the infinity pool overlooked the ocean on the edge of a rocky bluff. Unfortunately, I got some strange flu that was much stronger than any “gripa” I’d ever got in Mexico… and spent a good part of those 5 days trying to sweat it out.

THE COOLEST ATTRACTION WAS: likely watching the full moon rise from the desert after a storm had passed by and I was about to begin my last dance with mescalito in the San Luis Potosi desert region called Huiricuta. Or, perhaps stumbling down to the beach after too much smoke and raicilla from my English friend JR in Puerto Vallarta.

IF I HAD TO DO IT AGAIN I WOULD HAVE: not crossed Mexico City at any time other than early Sunday morning. IF I ever do that again, I will definitely plan an entrance and exit ONLY on Sunday mornings early.

THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE I HAVE ABOUT VISITING MEXICO IS: embrace the slow pace and appreciate the raw, surreal beauty of Mexico. And if you can’t find a reasonably-priced room in Guadalajara, the brothel I had to stay in was the cleanest and most reasonably-priced hotel I’ve ever stayed in.

I created a little slideshow of images with music from this trip here:

skip hunt :: vagabond :: mexico 2009 from Skip Hunt on Vimeo.

I also created a blurb.com book of this journey and the best images and writing here.

In this interview, Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll of Uncornered Market tell us about the Latin America leg of their trip around the world.

The couple started out in Guatemala and made their way through Central and South America via bus and public transport.

Along the way they picked up some Spanish, street smarts, and good food.

It says on your blog that you left jobs in Prague, Czech Republic in Dec. 2006 to begin traveling the world. Where are you from originally?

We are both originally from the United States. We were living in San Francisco, but decided to move to Prague in December 2001 to experience living and working abroad together. We each found jobs within a few months and ended up staying for five years.

Families gather at the hot springs waterfall at Finca El Paraiso near Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Hot, sulfuric water comes from above with cool water in the pools below - a perfect combination.

When did you start the Central/South America leg of your trip?

We began traveling in Central/South America in March 2009. Our first stop was Guatemala. We spent four months in Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) and then began traveling through South America (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina) in July 2009. We’re currently taking a break from constant movement in Buenos Aires for a couple of months.

What are some of the main differences between traveling in Central or South America and other places in the world such as Asia?

In Asia, we took night buses and public transport all the time. We also went on many hikes on our own and walked around cities at night. You had to be aware of pickpockets, but we were never warned by people about bandits or kidnappers or armed robbery.

However, when we arrived in Guatemala, almost every conversation we had about our travel plans included safety warnings and the latest busjackings by locals, expats or other travelers. We still took buses and public transport, but we never took night buses in Guatemala and didn’t wander around much at night.

We continued this more cautious approach to travel throughout the rest of our journey in Central/South America. Although we’ve had a couple of problems with pickpockets, we have been fortunate and have not had any run-ins with armed robbers.

Language is another big difference. In many countries in Asia, it’s impossible to get conversant in a local during a visit of several weeks or a month. In this region, you can essentially use one language (Spanish) for most of the countries. This makes it easier to converse with locals.

Did you know how to speak Spanish before your trip? (I read the comment you made on the NY Times Frugal Traveler blog about the language school in Xela, Guatemala–I’m seriously considering following your advice)

No, we learned Spanish along the way. We took two weeks of Spanish classes in Xela, Guatemala and then picked up the rest on the road. We joke with locals we meet that we have attended “Street Spanish School” for the last ten months. When you’re forced to speak Spanish to figure out buses, accommodation, food, and negotiate every transaction you start to learn quickly. We’re not completely fluent now and have trouble with grammar at times, but we still manage pretty well.

I’m thinking of going to Xela in May. Can you suggest a good itinerary for a one week trip in Guatemala? (Would you recommend a language school experience in Xela over one in Antigua?—-I noticed that Xela seems more like a university town for one thing.)

While we really enjoyed the time we spent in Antigua, we’d recommend Xela for language school. Although Xela is full of foreigners learning Spanish, you have more opportunities to speak Spanish than in Antigua. It’s a more indigenously diverse city, which makes it really interesting visually and culturally. Most of the schools are set up with home stays which will force you to speak with your family. Additionally, the Spanish courses in Xela are usually cheaper than the ones in Antigua.

For a one-week trip in Guatemala, consider starting in Antigua for a couple of days followed by Lake Atitlan. If you like hiking, we highly recommend the organization Quetzal Trekkers in Xela. They have a great, but strenuous. three-day trek from Xela to Lake Atitlan.

The colors of the vendor's clothes seem to match or compliment the vegetables she's trying to sell. Taken near the cemetery and Flores Market in Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala.

Have you visited any places in Central/ South America that are off-the-beaten path that you think more people should know about?

Livingston, Guatemala is certainly not off-the-beaten path, but most people come for a day trip. It’s very pleasant to stay a few days and get into the laid back pace.

In Ecuador, we really enjoyed going to the villages and weekly markets along the Quilatoa Loop. Our favorite weekly market is in Zumbahua. In Peru, we really enjoyed spending time in Chachapoyas and Cajamarca in the north. Tarija in Bolivia’s wine region in the south is a relaxing place to spend a few days. There are no major tourist sights here, but the reward is the friendliness of the people. In Paraguay, there is an interesting tourism farm run by a German guy outside of Concepcion.

It seems like from your blog and tweets that at times you live very frugally–buying fruit from an outdoor market in Guatemala. But other times, you seem to splurge. You were tweeting about how great the steak was in Argentina not too long ago. How do you find the right mix?

Anyone who follows our website or our tweets knows that food is very important for us. Our goal is not to find the cheapest food possible nor the most expensive food possible, but rather to find the best value (quality for price) food. It’s all about balancing your priorities with choices.

Follow Audrey and Daniel on Twitter at @umarket

As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite music genre is Alternative–in both English and Spanish. So for the 2010 Grammy Awards on Sunday the category I was focusing on was Best Latin Rock, Alternative, or Urban Album.

As might be expected, it was rappers Calle 13 who walked away with the prize. (They came away from the 2009 Latin Grammy’s with a wheel barrow full of trophies).

It’s too bad they lump three distinctive types of Latin music (Rock, Alternative, and Urban) all into one category. It’s like deciding between They Might Be Giants or Kanye West.

Oddly, there are separate categories for “Best Tejano Album” and “Best Regional Mexican Album.”

If it were up to me, I would have focused on the more Alternative-sounding choices:

• Natalia Lafourcade (Mexico City), or
• Aterciopelados (Colombia)

This is “No Viniste” (you didn’t come) from Lafourcade’s 2009 album Hu Hu Hu:

I don’t understand why Aterciopelados (means “the velvity ones” in English) was even up for a Grammy for their album Rio, which was released in 2008.

But this man-woman duo from Colombia is worth a listen. They were the gateway drug that got me hooked on the alternative Latin music scene.

Their best album was Gozo Poderoso (2001), which had them performing in mainstream U.S. venues like the Tonight Show. Aterciopelados caught the attention of NPR’s Studio 360, when it did a radio segment and blog post last weekend on Colombian music.

One of the things I like about Latin Alt. is that sometimes I detect English Alt. influences. But the recently released Vampire Weekend album suggests that things are starting to come full circle.

The first track of their album is entitled “Horchata” —a traditional Mexican drink. On the Ritmo Latino Facebook Fanpage, Neil Hohmann observed that another song on Vampire Weekend’s album–”Diplomat’s Son”– sounds suspiciously like the Mexican Sound Institute.

You can listen to Vampire Weekend’s entire album on their website for free.

Got any Latin music recommendations?

In this guest post, Lauren Quinn –the creator of Lonely Girl Travels –shares her experience traveling alone in Colombia at a time when most tourists were afraid to go there.

Lauren was one of Lonely Planet’s Featured Bloggers for 2010. Besides being an intrepid traveler who has also made sola visits to places such as  Venezuela and Morocco, Lauren is an engaging and emotionally honest writer. But there’s more to her work than captivating prose. Lauren’s recent series on Cuba is full of practical tips for independent travelers.

By Lauren Quinn

The luggage carousel groaned under the humming neon lights. A squat man struggled with a cardboard box held together with rope; a blond woman in a cowboy hat intermittently yelled at her two sons in Spanish, and spoke English into her cell phone. Outside the glass, beyond the line of sullen-faced security guards, the Bogota morning sat grey and heavy.

An anxious fist squeezed my stomach. I’d arrived. And I was sola.

I’d done my research, booked my hostel, reassured my mother. Friends, travelers and chat-room denizens had told me that Colombia was definitely the place to cash in my rewards flight. But the reality of traveling alone in the notorious Latin American came cascading down as I watched my flight’s luggage topple and spin around the lonesome carousel. I was there. And there was no turning back.

Maiden Voyage. It was a ballsy move. I was a 5’10” tattooed gringa. It was my first solo trip; I’d left the US for the first time only one year prior. I wasn’t exactly the ideal candidate for backpacking solo around a country rife with machismo, infamous for paramilitaries, guerilla warfare and cocaine.

It was all waiting, outside those glass doors. I hoisted my backpack over my shoulder, passed through the security checkpoint, and went to a booth to arrange a ride in an official taxi. I looked longingly at the bilingual woman in the cowboy hat, cursing myself for having slept through high school Spanish classes.

Windshield wipers swatted back and forth as the cab glided through the somber morning. I took in the sights: suited men bustling down sidewalks, school kids waiting for buses, shopkeepers hosing down sidewalks, women carrying checkered-bag bundles. It didn’t look too dissimilar to any other city. I relaxed a little.

Beyond the Comfort Zone. I ended up learning a lot on that first solo trip. I learned self-reliance: how to get myself out of jams and communicate with a toddler’s vocabulary. I learned how to push myself beyond my comfort zone, to trek six days through the jungle and force myself to talk to strangers when I got lonely. I learned that asshole guys cover the world ‘round, and sometimes you just have to break down and cry.

But most of all, I learned that the world’s not something to be afraid of. Wide eyes and shocked mouths will tell you all the reasons you should stay home, where everything is safe and expected—especially when you’re a solo female.

Dangers abound and risks shouldn’t be taken lightly; men will sleaze on you, touts will harass you, pickpockets will pickpocket. But there’s too much beauty in the world to let any of that hold you back. It can wear you down at times, but it’s part of what it means to be female. And traveling, for me, is part of what it means to be alive.

Bogota became more human as we drove its streets that morning. When the cab pulled up beside the brightly painted “hostel” sign, I stepped out, ready for the adventure.

Follow Lauren on Twitter at @travelerlauren

Do you have any solo/sola travel experiences in Latin America?

WHERE: Panama

WHO: Dixon Hamby, a freelance photographer based in Seattle, Washington.

WHEN: My first trip  to Panama was in 2006 because a dear friend of mine had moved there for the winter and loved it. At first I was a bit hesitant as wondered if it would to too hot and humid, but decided to go and see what she found interesting about it.

I REALIZED I WOULD LOVE IT WHEN: I saw the wonderful variety of environments in Panama. You can travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic in a little over an hour. Be in the Pacific ocean and in a Caribbean culture all in the same day.

Then there are the beautiful jungles and rain forest with their sweet smells and songs of birds and howler monkeys. It’s no wonder there is a large number of expats in Panama from all over the world. Many of them settle in Boquete because of its milder climate. It’s a good idea to connect with the expat community to learn the ins and outs of getting along in Panama.

ONE THING I WOULDN’T MISS FOR ANYTHING: is carnival. It must be seen in Las Tablas.  A party that won’t be soon forgotten and nearby Santo Domingo and its amazing displays of Polleras – traditional Panamanian dress.

Stephanie Elizondo Griest has mingled with the Russian Mafiya, polished Chinese propaganda, and belly danced with Cuban rumba queens. These adventures inspired her award-winning memoirs Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana; Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines; and the guidebook 100 Places Every Woman Should Go.

She also edited Best Women’s Travel Writing 2010. Griest has won a Richard Margolis Award for Social Justice Reporting and a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Prize. Visit her website at www.aroundthebloc.com.

In this interview, Stephanie explains her decision to go back to school after her literary successes. She shares her viewpoints on the Mexico’s drug war and the hazards faced by journalists working in the country. Stephanie also describes the investigative piece she is writing about “colonias,” which are unincorporated and impoverished communities that straddle the U.S.-Mexico border.

You’ve written four travel books and numerous posts on well-known sites such as World Hum. What prompted you to go back to school to attend the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program?

The only aspect of the writing biz that seems remotely secure these days is academia, so I thought it prudent to pick up teaching credentials. Now that I am here, however, I am really enjoying it. There is an entire nonfiction universe out there that I didn’t know existed, so I’m exploring and experimenting. It’s rather glorious to have three whole years to dedicate exclusively to my craft, free from worry about deadlines or bills.

Your book “Mexican Enough” was about your travels in Mexico. But it also told the story of how you got in better touch with your Mexican heritage. At times, it seemed that the book was more about social justice issues in Mexico than describing what it’s like to travel there. This got me to thinking that  “travel writing” is kind of a narrow description of what you do in Mexican Enough. Do you agree?

Thanks for pointing this out. Both Mexican Enough and my first book, Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana, blend three forms of nonfiction: journalism, travelogue, and memoir. The most accurate term for what I do is probably “essay,” in that I invite my readers to take a little journey that is simultaneously interior and exterior in nature, and I have no idea where we’ll ultimately wind up. It’s much harder to sell a “book of essays” than a “memoir,” however, and harder still to sell a “travelogue.” Yet “travelogues” have much more marketing potential than “memoirs” or “essays,” due to all the great travel blogs, websites, and magazines out there. As a writer, you quickly learn to size up a situation and call your work whatever best fits the occasion. I don’t care where my books are shelved, as long as people can find them.

Some of the issues you covered in Mexican Enough were gay rights, government corruption in Oaxaca, and the heavy toll that immigration to the United States is taking on family life. If you were to write a sequel to Mexican Enough what are some of the problems that you would cover?

I could write a whole volume on the devastation wrought by the Drug War in recent years. It is shocking how anarchic the situation has grown during Felipe Calderon’s presidency. According to the Juarez newspaper Norte, more than 2,600 people were murdered in that one city last year. And not just murdered, but beheaded and dunked in barrels of acid. The US Drug Enforcement Administration needs to launch a publicity campaign equating the consumption of illegal drugs to the slaughtering of Mexicans. Smoking pot needs to be considered as morally degenerate as wearing fur coats made of baby seals. Either that, or we need to legalize drugs. Now.

One of the lesser-known problems of the drug-cartel crisis in Mexico is how dangerous it is to be a journalist there. Some have said that this has caused many journalists there to self-censor when reporting about what’s going on there. What do you think is the best way for journalists to deal with this situation?

Mexico is now one of the deadliest news assignments in the world, up there with Iraq and Afghanistan. The only real solution I see (besides legalizing drugs) is granting political asylum to journalists who are threatened, and allowing them to relocate to Canada or the United States and cover the war from there. Otherwise, media democracy in Mexico is threatened to perish.

Do you have any projects involving Mexico or other Latin American countries in the works?

I am currently writing an investigative piece about colonias, the unincorporated plots of land found on either side of the U.S. – Mexico border. Hundreds of thousands of people (the bulk of whom are Mexican or Mexican-American) inhabit these communities, which often lack electricity, running water, and sewage. I am focusing on the colonias around my hometown, Corpus Christi, Texas. Not only do the residents there live in abject poverty, an unusually high number suffer from cancer and asthma, and the birth defects there rate among the highest in the nation. I’m trying to determine why, and have a sneaky suspicion that the nearby refineries, prison, and radioactive waste dump have something to do with it.

What are some of your favorite books about Mexico?

Aye, there are so many! I must start with Mexican authors Alma Guillermoprieto and Elena Poniatowska. Everything they write is genius, but I especially admire Guillermoprieto’s essay collection The Heart That Bleeds, and Poniatowska’s novel Tinisima. I’m also a big fan of Chicano authors who write about Mexico and/or the borderlands, including Luis Alberto Urrea, Ruben Martinez, Sandra Cisneros, and Gloria Anzaldua.

Suzy DiSanto–a 45-year-old wife and mother in Durango, Colorado was feeling bored and uninspired.

But attending a Salsa dance retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico put the spice back into her life.

THE TRIP: Salsa Retreat, an 8-day dance vacation and Salsa workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico.

WHO: Suzy DiSanto –45 years old, married for 20 years, and mother of a teenager. I love to dance more than anything in the whole world.

I moved to Durango, Colorado 12 years ago from San Francisco.  I’m a dance instructor and I enjoy teaching Salsa.

I grew up in southern California, and I have been very influenced by latin culture especially Mexican culture.  I have traveled throughout Europe and Mexico, and every time I travel to Mexico I come home trying to figure out a way to live there I love everything about Mexico!!!!!

WHEN: December, 2009.

WHY: I found out about the Salsa Retreat from a my friend Ann who I traveled with to the retreat.  She found the Retreat on the web.

I went on this trip at a time in my life when I was bored with my life.  I felt old and uninspired. I needed to be pumped up.

OAXACA IS:  easy to get to. Also, it’s a big enough city to have a metropolitan feel but it feels and is incredibly safe.

The dance scene there is second only to Mexico City. Also found out that there was about 20 dance studios there.

I WAS REALLY SURPRISED BY: the quality of the dancers and the instruction. I was skeptical that the dancing would be not so great, but it was very professional.

I think any one who loves dance would find the experience valuable.

ONE THING I REALLY LOVED: was how the dance instructors made me feel.

In Mexico older women are respected and looked up to for knowledge. The dance instructors, who were younger than me, valued my opinion about dance.

They made me feel important and they made me feel beautiful.

Plus, they taught me new things that I can use as a dance instructor. I’m planning a workshop for my students to share the new material.

THE ACCOMMODATIONS WERE: like an oasis in the middle of the city. It was stepping into a Frida Kahlo painting– loved it.

The retreat was the perfect blend of Yoga, dancing, and food.

The the meals were amazing. The Yoga sessions in the morning were the perfect way to begin the day.

I also enjoyed the guided tours and the  few hours of free time we had each day too.

The only thing I would have added was a cooking class. So next time I will stay a few extra days to get that in.

IF I HAD TAKEN A CRUISE OR STAYED AT AN ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORT I WOULD HAVE MISSED: the culture in the streets, talking to the people. You would not get that on a cruise. Plus the food was incredible and LOCAL!!!! I loved that.

WHAT I GOT OUT OF IT: I left Oaxaca with my sexy back!

All told, this was one of the best trips of my life. I had a hard time coming home and can’t wait to go again.

Thanks to Salsa Retreat for sponsoring this blog post. Information about the dance retreats, including a schedule of activities and a listing of upcoming retreats is available on Salsa Retreat’s website.

Last night, my friend was telling me about his recent trip to Costa Rica. During his time there he and his family rode ATVs, glided down ziplines, and took guided tours of the forests.

But he said what fascinated him the most were the few glimpses he had of how people lived in the rural areas of the country. If he ever returned to Costa Rica, he’d like to visit a farming community.

This got me to thinking about how most tourist sites reveal little about the people who live nearby.

People and Culture. Wouldn’t it be great if tourists could plan trips in which the native people and culture are part of the main attraction?

Well, according to this interview on Planeta.com with guidebook writer Beatrice Blake, you can.

The Costa Rican Rural Tourism Association (ACTUAR), is a community-based full service travel agency that offers its own eco-lodges, forest reserves, and adventure attractions.

Instead of pressing local residents into service as maids or gardeners, ACTUAR encourages them to be entrepreneurs on their own land.

ACTUAR. Blake, the author of the New Key to Costa Rica who has served as a sales representative for ACTUAR for the past five years, tells Planeta’s Ron Mader:

for most of the travelers who visit ACTUAR’s community-owned ecotourism destinations, the experience is the highlight of their trip, offering them real interactions with Costa Rican people who are creating healthy communities by conserving their forests and rivers, and attracting tourism in a responsible way.

She added that:

On ACTUAR tours, you get to know the cultural diversity of Costa Rica, experiencing indigenous, Afro-Caribbean and campesino cultures. You can travel by dugout canoe to the indigenous community of Yorkin, and learn how they process the fruit of their sacred tree, the cacao, to make chocolate. You can walk on a suspended bridge near a 175-foot waterfall at Los Campesinos Reserve, and swim in pristine waterfall pools.

ACTUAR offers a wide variety of trips and price points. Offering range from a 15-day family tour for about $2,800 per adult or $600 per child to one-day tours for as little as $30.

Count me in!

Have any tips for enjoying the people and culture in Latin America?

By Lisa Munro

Unlike its Mexican counterpart, Guatemalan rock music has not achieved critical acclaim, despite its widespread appeal.

Guatemalans proudly proclaim their national artists as “puros Chapínes” and one can find Guatemalan rock music blaring from the makeshift speakers on any public bus.

Alux Nahual,  one of Guatemala’s oldest rock groups continues to enjoy widespread popularity.  The band recently played venues in Xela, Huehuetenango, and La Antigua Guatemala to celebrate their 30 years of success.

Government Suppression. But in its early years, the band struggled against a backdrop of state-sponsored violence.  During the 1980s, the virulent government suppression of public expression it considered to be subversive or even slightly political nearly extinguished the nascent rock movement before it had even begun.

Guatemalan rock appealed mostly to mid- to upper class urban youths in the capital city, many of whom were students at the University of San Carlos.  Many student leaders disappeared and faced military sanctions for their vocal stances and activism against the rising violence in the country that targeted both urban leftists and rural guerilla leaders.

For this reason, rock music became associated with student movements and radical politics that made many people wary of listening to it for fear of raising the army’s suspicion.

Alux Nahual. Alux Nahual began playing rock music at a time when many people viewed rock music as nothing more than an exotic import from the United States that Guatemalan musicians blatantly imitated in sound and style.

In other words, early rock chapín struggled against perceptions of its inherent inferiority, political associations, and the sense that Guatemalan rock contained no elements that ordinary Guatemalans could relate to.

Rather than abandon the rock format, Alux Nahual made sure that its music contained heavily nationalistic elements that emphasized the authenticity of rock chapín and its local roots.  The band’s name, in particular, remains immediately recognizable as Guatemalan, as the words come from the K’iche’ Mayan language.  The word alux is the verb “to be born,” while the word nahual refers to a person’s Mayan spiritual sign.

Even for residents of the capital, most of whom disparage Mayan languages, the band’s name immediately links it to a distinctly Guatemalan element that references a local context. Its most famous song, “Alto El Fuego” became the anthem of a generation faced with unimaginable levels of terror and violence in everyday life.  Additionally, El Salvador and Nicaragua both found themselves embroiled in their own conflicts during the 1980s, adding to the impression of an entire region in crisis.

Common Ground. The lyrics of “Alto El Fuego” evoked a sense of solidarity, as the chorus repeats, “…alto el fuego, cese el fuego, en todo el territorio Centro Americano!” The acknowledgement of similar violent conflicts throughout the region drew a symbolic border around Central America and raised awareness of the common experiences between the five nations.

Finally, “Alto El Fuego” gave voice to sentiments that people dared not speak aloud during the conflict.

Rock chapín has evolved from an obscure, local brand to an internationally marketed, easily recognized label that continues to evoke an imagined musical community that now extends globally.

It represents a genre that promises to inspire local musicians to achieve not only local recognition, but also to meet an international demand for further development of the style.  Rock music may end up being the nation’s most successful export product and its success is one that ordinary Guatemalans can also be proud of.

For more on Alux Nahual, check out the paper Lisa wrote about it.

Lisa spent two years in Guatemala (2004-2006) as a Peace Corps volunteer. She’s currently studying 19th Century Guatelmalan cultural history. She started researching Guatemalan rock for a class project for a Latin American music class.  She will present the full version of this paper at the conference for the Southwest Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology in April.