They were accompanied by one drummer that used a large wooden drum. A marimba is like a xylophone.
The most fun activity this week was attending the court hearing and ceremony for the Achí (indigenous) women in Guatemala City. These women have been the victims of rape during recent violence in the country. The people gathered in front of the building around a circular space of grass, candles and flowers. A Mayan priest spoke to commemorate the Achí women because they were victims of violence in the past. The ceremony was meant to celebrate the courage of these women and to give hope of a positive outcome in their court case. The court case that followed would decide if the Achí women could get justice, and if the wrongdoers receive a just punishment. There was a large crowd of journalists there to cheer the women on. There was an atmosphere of hope and joy.
This week I read an article about the Corpus Christi festival, that explained what Guatemalans like to do during this festival and why. I also found a very important historical document in Rabinal. This document is from 1977 and helps tell the history of Rabinal. In this old letter, the mayor of Rabinal was protesting that the government was kicking some of the Rabinal people out of their village because the government wanted to use that land for other purposes. He wanted to protect the people in the village.
