Me voy a Guatemala

It's confirmed! Next month I'll be spending a week in lovely Guatemala, home of Rigoberta Menchu and, interestingly, the land of Lehi-Nephi, which Mormons believe something happened ala their tradition. Because you can't escape the LDS even in the darkest, densest jungles of furthest Central America.

Also something else it is impossible to escape from made an impact in Guatemala — the CIA, by overthrowing its democratically elected government in the 50s. What's a little bloodshed among the unlanded peasant class in the name of fighting Communism? I'm amazed there is no Al Qaeda-type group among the peoples of Central and South Americas after what the U.S. did to so many of those countries' governments.

However, I'll be traveling with dad for Heifer so there will be some positive karma from the North on this trip. I think. Anyway, my main mission here is to be dad's helper/translator with an extra emphasis on not pissing him off. And I am to take a lot of notes.

So I've got to bone up on my Spanish. I watched some special "Tras La Verdad" or "Primer Impacto" to start today; some kid was being exorcised and the people in the home kept pointing to the strange "symbols" left on the walls by the demon spirit in the kid. Dude, I think your sheetrock's just kind of tatty. I felt bad for the poor kid. I'm pretty sure his problem isn't that he's posessed, and I think it's exploitative of the news show to stand by while he's being held down by five people and someone waves a massive silver cross in his face. I'm sure a course of Lithium would be a better start, but no, there's a vested interest in giving the crazy a demonic face. Shudder. Not that the English-speaking media has the best judgment; I guess sensationalism translates great.

I've got "Amores Perros," which I've seen before, to watch. Any ideas on good Spanish language movies? Esp. with an emphasis on Guatemalan Spanish? I've seen "El Norte," but there has to be a native film industry of some sort there, right?

In foreign film land, I watched "Lagaan" over two days. Very good movie for a flick about a land tax with dance numbers. As much Cricket pornography as was in the film, however, I did not walk away understanding anything more about Cricket than I did when I first sat down to watch it. What I did walk away understanding, however, is that Aamir Khan is an Indian national treasure, that having one of a film's conceits is that is about a drought (and therefore no cheesy rain love dances) is a good thing and, finally, that puffy-sleeved shirts are an atrocious thing. Of course, it was in Hindi ... no more Bollywood till post-Latin America, I guess.