- Santiago Atitlán
Santiago Atitlán is a
municipality in the Sololá department ofGuatemala . The town is situated onLago de Atitlán . The majority of the residents are indigenous Mayans. It was the capitol of theTz'utujil people inpre-Columbian times and its name wasChuitinamit .The "Cofradías" (religious brotherhoods), manage a parallel power and are the guardians of the modern and ancient religious practices, most notably the cult of "Maximón" to whom they offer
liquor andtobacco in exchange of favors.Santiago Atitlán is the home of the Cojol Ya Association Weaving Center and Museum, founded by the Cojol Ya Association of Mayan Women Weavers. The museum shows the history and process of backstrap loom weaving, and the evolution of the traditional costume of the Tzutujil, the indigenous people of Santiago Atitlán.
Santiago Atitlán was the site of considerable state-sponsored violence during the country's civil war. Some of the most notable incidents that occurred during the war include the assassination of U.S. priest
Stanley Rother by right-wing death squads on 28 July, 1981 [http://www.catharchdioceseokc.org/history/Murder.htm] , and the massacre of 14 people (and wounding of 21 others) when theGuatemalan Army opened fire on a crowd of unarmed civilians on 2 December, 1990 [http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=917http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=917] .External links
* [http://www.mjs.typepad.com/bridges A blog from a Digital Story Telling Workshop with Bridges to Understanding and Fotokids in Santiago Atitlan]
* [http://www.atitlan.net/video/santiago-video.htm Santiago Atitlan video]
* [http://www.authenticmaya.com/Chuitinamit.htm Chuitinamit History and description]
* [http://www.authenticmaya.com/guatemalafolk.htm Guatemala folkore Photos]
* [http://donmoore.tripod.com/central/guatemala/atitlan.html A visit to Santiago Atitlan]
* [http://www.phogle.com/en/browse/283.html Photos from Santiago Atitlán]
* [http://www.puebloapueblo.org/ Hospitalito Atitlan]
* [http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=917 Massacre in Santiago Atitlan: A turning point in the Maya struggle?] fromCultural Survival magazine
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
