WINGS TO GUATEMALA

[Music] [Music] on the morning of the first day the waters were calm and the wind held its breath then the gods of the Mayan Indian began to weave and on their Loom all things were [Music] created in the highlands of Guatemala nothing has changed since that first morning when the gods invented the world on their Loom [Music] on the shores of Lake atitlan the threads of the old Legend are still Unbroken [Music] on six days out of seven the lake is the center of the world on Market Day the Waters of the lake become a highway the first stage of a journey on Market Day a man asks for three things an early start a clear sky and a dry Road [Music] an early start a clear sky and a dry Road the rest is up to himself the name of the town is chichi castango [Music] the day is still young and the marketplace is quiet not quite awake yet except in the schoolyard [Music] [Applause] [Music] the town stretches and wakes up the day [Music] begins a day of decisions a day of choices a day of minor victories for the [Music] housewife a day of small dilemas for her husband a day of decisions a day of choices no [Music] [Music] before the day is finished before they take the road back into the hills the men will go to the steps of the church and take their place in a ritual that remembers the past the time when the Mayan Gods were strong [Music] in those days the land was rich with gold and silver Jasper and Amethyst dreaming of Eldorado The Conquistadors of Spain cut their way through the jungle and discovered the Great Indian empire there was a prophecy that foretold the Spanish Conquest that warned of the day when the wild bird and the mountain lion would dwell in the ruins of the Mayan [Music] Temple the Spanish conqueror Don Pedro de [Music] Alvarado the Indian Prince tum umam in the marketplace they still tell the story of their last great [Music] battle the prophecy had warned them the Mayan Prince would die and they would be ruled by Spain [Music] the year was [Music] 1524 The Men Who Built for Spain did their job well not a desolate foreign Outpost but Santiago delos cavaleros a great capital for a new Empire [Music] behind their Garden walls they wrapped themselves in comfort and cool [Music] shade they did their job well but they built in the shadow of a volcano [Music] the year was 1773 men look for some meaning in the ruins of the city with within 2 minutes an imperial capital had fallen perhaps the old gods of the Indians still lived in the [Music] volcano before long Santiago would be called Antigua the old capital Guatemala would declare her independence and take a great step forward into the future into the present [Music] a new nation a new life the new capital of Guatemala a modern city stamped with the symbols of yesterday symbols of today and of Tomorrow you learn to conquer time going in search of those things that time has left untouched for a few days you live in the old old world of colonial [Music] Spain a quiet patio shaded against the afternoon sun in the ruins of the old capital at Antigua you find a garden The Sound of Music the sound of the marima follows you in the face of an Indian girl in the rhythm of a folk tune you begin to sense the mood of a country [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] wherever you go The Sound of Music follows you in the highlands of Guatemala on the shores of a [Music] [Music] titlan when you cross the lake from your hotel Hotel you cross a barrier in time [Music] the Lakeside Villages you cross into another world the thread of the old Legends is still Unbroken [Music] they believe that when a woman spins something of herself goes into the [Music] yarn they believe that she weaves her own Spirit into the cloth nothing has changed since that first morning when the gods design the world on their [Music] loom for as long as anyone can remember there has been a fixed hour for [Music] everything an hour set aside for Village gossip [Music] an hour set aside to prepare the family [Music] meal they believe that the gods ground corn that their ancestors were molded by the gods from corn and water corn and water are still the source of Life the hours of the day the days of the week move forward in a fixed pattern there is a time for everything [Music] once a year a day to celebrate their patron saint One Moment In the ritual procession that runs through their lives [Music] The Men Who come on Market Day to the steps at Chichi castango try to link Two Worlds in their prayers they burn their incense to the Saints of the church and to the old gods the gods of their [Music] ancestors their prayers may be divided but they ask for the things that men have always asked for a spell of rain a fine crop of beans and corn and perhaps a sun to help in the fields the world is the same today as it was on that first day when the Mayan Gods began to weave and created all things on their Loom [Music] [Applause] [Music]