Maya – Fake Flamenco

archeology, Architecture, history, Indigenous Peoples, photography

Throwback Thursday: Tik’al in Guatemala

My friend and I woke at four am to see sunrise over Tik’al. Once inside the park walking the jungle path, a roar worthy of a jaguar froze us in our tracks and we started in fear. “Es un jaguar?” I squeaked at the guide.He chuckled. “No, sólo son monos.”Teresa and I confirmed in a […]

Gardening, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Nature, photography, Spanish Culture and Language

Butterfly on Purple Aster

This was the last monarch we saw in our garden this year. They are flying south to Mexico now, to make their date for the Día de los Muertos, 2 November. Day of the Dead is similar to All Saints’ Day, a Christian holiday honoring those who have passed on. However, parts of Día de […]

Afro-Latinos, history, Spanish Culture and Language

5 Articles to Celebrate Latino and Hispanic Heritage Month

Five articles with a diverse view of what it means to be from Latin America and Spain, on Fake Flamenco. Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month is September 15 – October 15. How will you celebrate; with food, music, a book, a film perhaps? I will celebrate by researching women playwrights from Latin America; a subject I realize […]

book review, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

3 Maya Reading Adventures

JC Cervantes makes learning about the Maya pantheon part of the fun in her Zane Obispo middle grade series. The first book, The Storm Runner, answers the question: What would you do if you just found out you were the half human son of the Maya creation god Kulkulkan? JC Cervantes brings alive the Maya […]

archeology, Architecture, history, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Spanish Culture and Language

Throwback Thursday: 5 Best Sights at Chichen Itza

Throwback Thursday takes us to the magnificent Chichen Itzá, our destination in 2005 days after our Ruta Puuc tour. (Click name to see the earlier August post.) The site is four square miles, so give yourself a full day to look around. El Castillo – Temple of Kukulkan (Quetzalcoatl) This tremendous monument was built in […]

archeology, Architecture, Indigenous Peoples, The Americas

2000 Year Old Water Purification System

Perhaps no one noticed before, because Western technology had to catch up for the rest of us to comprehend what we were seeing. A study made last year by researchers from the University of Cincinnati demonstrated the science behind one Native technology. In present day Guatemala, at the city of Tikal over 2000 years ago […]