August 24, 2010

By Mark Kendall

Mile: 8175 

A few blocks from our apartment is one of the best archives in Guatemala – the Center for Mesoamerican Research (CIRMA) – and the best part is that it's housed in a beautiful colonial building with lots of open air and a big courtyard. It was founded in 1978 by two academics from the U.S. that dedicated themselves to preserving Guatemala's history.

Over the years it's grown significantly - CIRMA is now home to over 7.5 million documents and 1 million photographs. Plans for the future include the creation of “the premier photographic museum of Latin America.” Should be cool.

I showed up when they opened this morning at 9:00AM and spoke with J.T. Way, the Director of CIRMA's Study Abroad programs, about getting access to the archives to do some research on the history of camionetas. Maybe they'll have some old photographs or documents from way back when the buses first started coming around. I told him all about the project and about what we're hoping to find and he passed along the information to the archivists and set up an appointment for tomorrow to come and take a look at what they find.

I had agreed to meet Andrew at the Pollo Campero by the bus terminal when I was done, so I started heading that way and made a few calls on the way. I finally reached Lilian Perez from the Widows' Organization and we agreed to meet at her office at 1:00PM.

The capital city is still foreign, but it seems much more manageable than the first day we came. On the drive there I felt totally comfortable shooting out the window of the cab, and Neri and Rolando pulled over a few times to get some good shots of the city from the side of the highway.

It's always difficult to meet someone for the first time and just jump right into an interview, especially when you're both pinched for time. The time you spend getting to know each other inevitably cuts into the time you actually have to talk on camera. And, especially in Latin America, you need to capitalize on the time you're given because you can never be sure when the opportunity will present itself again.

We beat her to the office, so we had some time to hang out and get a feel for the space. When she came, she started off by showing me all the paperwork she was carrying with her – documents to certify that the organization was approved and recognized by the government, lists of the first 12 women to sign up, and application forms that the women are asked to fill out to take inventory of how many children they have, what their primary needs are, etc. She also had a dozen photographs of deceased drivers standing in front of their buses or at home with their families.

It was a judgement call – we had come to interview her but it was more natural to just chat and establish trust. So, we hung out for 45 minutes or so, listened to what she had to say, and set up a time for Friday to come back and talk in more depth.

Our next stop was Grand Tikal Futura – an enormous shopping mall that towers over most of its neighboring buildings. I remember being freaked out when I visited Grand Tikal Futura for the first time last January. The style and shape of the building's exterior is meant to mimic the great Mayan ruins at Tikal, but inside is a fancy hotel and a commercial shopping center.

Nestled among the most name-brand department stores that we have back in the States are modern renditions of Mayan glyphs and designs hugging the walls. Needless to say, at times it can feel surreal. Coincidentally, Grand Tikal Futura is a central part of J.T.'s dissertation, “The Mayan in the Mall,” which explores globalization, economic development, and the construction of space in Guatemala during the twentieth century.

We weren't going there for research, though – well, not really. The purpose of our trip was to meet a news reporter named Alberto Cardona, who specializes in covering stories about security and gang-related issues. I owe a HUGE thanks to journalist Julie Lopez for giving me the contact and putting us in touch. We headed up to the 4th floor of the shopping mall and the elevated let us out at the headquarters of Guatevision, one of the biggest cable networks in Guatemala.

During our wait in the reception area, we got a kick out of watching one of their programs that was streaming on a TV screen in the corner of the room. It was a “Jerry Springer” style show set in Miami about a mom who didn't want to accept the fact that her son wanted to dedicate himself to practicing santeria instead of studying medicine and becoming a doctor.

Alberto came out to meet us and brought us back into the main area to sit and talk. I told him a little bit about our project and what we wanted/needed from him. Julie gave me Alberto's name because I had expressed interest in trying to land an interview with one of the gang members that was currently in prison serving time for killing a bus driver. But who would talk to me? What do I have to offer them? And how would I even begin to get access to them to find out who'd be willing to talk?

Alberto has worked in the past with members of the MS-13 (las maras) and, over time, has developed as trusting a relationship as can be possible between a journalist and a gang member. That's why we're here.

Things couldn't have gone smoother. He was excited about our project and immediately started telling other folks in the news station about the idea – he even introduced us to the President of the company before we left. His boss gave him permission to come with us next Monday to “La Torre de Tribunales” (The Tower of Tribunals) – a large, multi-storied building that is home to a few different aspects of the Department of Justice.

Many of the maras are brought here to receive their tribunal hearing and then are brought back to prison. Alberto has gone here a handful of times before and assures us that it's totally casual and totally cool. “You just have to act like you're their homies and they'll be comfortable. Ask them questions straight up.”

What about permissions? He assured us Guatevision would take care of it. We gave him our names, local cell phone number, and a list of the equipment we'll be bringing. He'll take care of the rest.

We barely even took out the camera, but today was one of the best days of production so far.