- DSC07171
St. James - DSC07173
Mural of the resplendent quetzal - DSC07175
St. James the Apostle Church, which dates back to 1568. - IMG 20180702 121529
Tyson poses with a statue of the 25 centavo coin, featuring a local woman wearing a tocoyal headdress. - DSC07177
St. James the Apostle church has a tragic history, as it is where a beloved Catholic priest was martyred during the civil war / genocide of the 1980's. Father Stanley Francisco Rother, a priest from Oklahoma, had been the pastor here since 1968. He was devoted to his parishioners. He learned the Tzutzujil language, and translated the Bible into Tzutzujil so that those who did not know Spanish could understand its teachings. As indigenous people were being slaughtered, Father Rother provided sanctuary for them within this church. He did everything that he could to protect them. Even when he received death threats, he did not back down. He would not abandon his flock in their time of need. As a result, he was brutally murdered in 1981, and is considered a martyr. Blessed Rother was beautified on September 23, 2017. There was a huge celebration in Santiago Atitlan, where he is still greatly beloved. - DSC07180
St. James the Apostle church - DSC07184
Icons of saints are dressed in traditional local clothing, with the outfits changing for various Catholic holidays throughout the year. The statues are cared for by Cofradias, or brotherhoods. - DSC07191
St. James the Apostle Church - IMG 2286
Altar, St. James the Apostle Church The main altar, installed during Blessed Rother's tenure in 1976, is made of beautifully carved wood. It is a textbook example of the syncretism which occurred between colonial Spanish Catholicism and pre-Columbian religions. In the early days of colonialism and Catholic missionaries, it was understood that the Mayans considered the mountains to be sacred. So the Catholics put crosses on the mountain peaks so that, by worshipping mountains, they were inadvertently worshipping the cross as well. This started a synthesis between Mayan traditional beliefs and Catholicism. The altar itself is shaped like a volcano. A priest ascends from one side, and a Mayan farmer ascends from the other. Mayan trees of life grow on the slopes and the peak of the volcano. Effigies of saints dressed in local clothes are displayed in niches, with a carving of God at the volcano's peak. - DSC07193
Blessed Stanley Rother - DSC07194
The sacred effigy of Maximon, the folk saint of Santiago Atitlan, is no longer allowed to enter the church. However, there are wood carvings depicting his image below the altar. During Semanta Santa (Holy Week leading up to Easter), Maximon's effigy resides in this small domed room next to the church. - DSC07195
Tyson on the steps of St. James the Apostle church. - DSC07198
View from St. James the Apostle church - DSC07199
Mural, Santiago Atitlan - IMG 20180702 124546
Chicken bus! Used school buses from the USA get a second life in Guatemala as public transport. The get their name from the fact that passengers often carry live chickens to or from the market on these buses. Some of the buses are very flashy, like this one! They are an art form unto themselves!