Honduras and El Salvador

Dorothea Lange Fellowship Submission

2011-12-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

These are the photos I submitted for the 2012 fellowship. For one day I followed Marco Tulio Ramirez, a rock carver from Copán Ruinas, Honduras. Like Ramirez, the Maya of Copán Ruinas were once prolific rock artisans. Today there are only a handful of them.

The following is what I wrote for my project proposal.

Land reform is taking center stage in northern Honduras. As of August 22, 2011, the Honduran newspaper, El Heraldo, reported 37 murders along the Bajo Aguan River Valley. The problem—a landowner with over 3,000 hectares with armed security removed nearly 4,000 families to cultivate and export palm oil.

Honduran land distribution isn’t just about pitting the rich against the poor. Seven hours west along the Guatemalan border, members of the indigenous Maya Ch’orti’ have split into two opposing factions—they can’t agree on how to manage their 30-hectar community parcel. The land in question supports nearly 55 families and sits near the UNESCO World Heritage site Copan Ruinas.

One Ch’orti’ group, CONIMCH, wants to keep the land intact, while the annex group, CONADIMCH, wants to subdivide and privatize it. CONIMCH claims that if the land is privatized, it could be sold to non-Maya Ch’orti’ prospectors, thus redirecting food and profits from the community. Tension between the two groups has led people to flee their homes for fear of being murdered.

If given the opportunity to travel to Copán Ruinas, Honduras, I would embed myself from August to September and document the Maya Ch’orti’ way of life. My strategy is to document one family from both CONIMCH and CANADIMCH. My objective is to understand how indigenous land reform can mutate from good to bad intentions, and how that affects food and social survival.

I’m interested in Honduran news because I’m half Honduran. My grandfather was born in Copán Ruinas and was the country’s first director of the Institute of History and Anthropology. He brought archeologists and anthropologists from the United States to help preserve the Maya culture and ancient ruins.

Walking Around The Market

2010-09-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras -

Phone Man

2010-06-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Herman Armando has worked for Hondutel for four years.

Leche Anyone?

2010-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Something romantic about a place that still delivers milk by an albino mule. I guess that is a mule and I guess it's albino.

Flooding

2010-06-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - The aftermath of a flood. What is normally nothing more than a big flowing creek morphed into a Nile-like river damaging lots of property and agriculture. Fortunately no homes were ruined along this part of the river and road.

From An Art Town

2010-06-01T07:28:00.001-07:00

Valle De Angeles, Honduras -

From The Cloud Forest

2010-05-31T19:15:00.001-07:00

La Tigra National Park -

From The City

2010-05-31T18:41:00.001-07:00

Tegucigalpa, Honduras -

From The Island

2010-05-31T14:28:00.001-07:00

Roatan, Honduras -

From The Ruins

2010-05-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras -

Splashing Houdini

2010-05-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - When it is hot sometimes one just has to disappear!

Light

2010-04-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - When times are slow the best thing to do is look for light. All images were taken at Hacienda San Lucas.

Tortillas and beans over an open fire.

A couple having dinner in the same kitchen as the tortillas and beans.

Again the same kitchen but this time in daylight.

A pillow and bedspread.

The Copan valley.

A bowl of huge lemons that was sitting in the kitchen I have been talking about.

Rooftop and tree as seen through a screen window.

A wooden handrail.

A bowl of onions that was sitting in that colorful kitchen.

K Through Six

2010-04-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Nohemi Lopez, 21. A one room elementary school.

Pottery By

2010-04-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Pottery by the Pottery Girls.

Wood By

2010-04-23T19:31:00.001-07:00

Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras - These are pieces made by Miguel Angel.

(Grand)Mother Teresa

2010-04-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Doña Teresa, 50, is a tortilla maker. She heads a household of 10. Her sister is Aura.

Women Of Clay

2010-04-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Santa Rita de Copan, Honduras - These women work at a co-op and their work is mostly sold in Copan Ruinas.

Nancy Patricia

2010-04-22T07:36:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - This is Nancy Patricia. She is two months old. She is with her grandmother Doña Teresa.

Don Damacío

2010-04-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - When Don Damacio is not fixing his house, he makes a living by gardening.

Wood Carver

2010-04-21T13:00:00.001-07:00

Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras - Miguel Angel.

Master Rock Carver

2010-04-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Marco Tulio Ramirez is also known as The Rock Hunter.

Judge Karen

2010-04-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Karen Villela, 33.

Young Man Holds Beans

2010-04-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Manuel Lopez, 18.

Rock Carver

2010-04-21T08:22:00.003-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - J. Marcelino Valdez.

Elementary School Teacher

2010-04-21T08:16:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Miss Suyapa, 21.

Hotel

2010-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Elda Ramirez, 23, arranges flowers to be placed in a hotel lobby.

Mrs. Martinez

2010-04-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Mrs. Martinez, 38, is another over worked, stressed out teacher. The dog did not seem stressed out though.

Pottery Girls

2010-04-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – Got to spend nearly two hours with these amazing women as they showed me their pottery livelihood. It is inspiring to see what can be beautifully done with so little.

My Son's First Pair Of Shoes

2010-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Honduras/El Salvador - Those shining moments between crawling and walking. Needless to say he is always on the run now!

Doña Teresa

2010-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Copán Ruinas, Honduras - Doña Teresa is a wonderful woman but she makes a mean tortilla.

While Traveling

2010-01-27T15:33:00.001-08:00

El Salvador - Things found while roaming the country with my family: (A) Gourmet goat cheese; (B) Colorful walls; (C) Relief paper

Numbers, Colors and H2O

2009-12-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

Antigua, Guatemala - Just some things that struck my fancy.

Honduran Elections

2009-11-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - A military-backed coup removed former president Zelaya from power. Hours later Congress swore in Micheletti as Zelaya's replacement. Five months later this was the democratic election declaring the political show must go on.

The Rock Hunter

2009-11-30T21:46:00.000-08:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Marco Tulio has been carving rocks non-stop for eight years. I have never seen a more dedicated man in my life.

Jesuit Martyrs

2009-11-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

San Salvador, El Salvador - This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Jesuits murders in San Salvador. The horrific act in 1989 brought international condemnation to end the country's civil war that took over 70,000 lives. These images are from the University of Central America where the murders took place. Although painful memory it is a celebration of life.

Day Of The Dead

2009-11-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - A few days after Halloween everyone went to the cemetery to remember and celebrate loved ones. What surprised me most was hearing stories of women being murdered.

This gentleman's daughter and granddaughter were murdered. For 20 minutes he followed me around like a ghost.

This guy just broke my heart. His mom was murdered during a robbery. He no longer lives in Copan but traveled several days early so that he could paint her tomb.

This family was interesting for they were cleaning their relative's graves all the while standing in their own mausoleum.

The cemetery is running out of burial space hence the new mausoleums.

This gentleman was upgrading his sister's wooden crucifix with a concrete one.

Cemetery entrance.

A Graduation First

2009-11-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Suyapa and Noami, 21, are twins. They are the first in their family to graduate from high school. Their parents Doña Mikaela and Don Mauro were over the moon with pride. Afterwards they bought a big bottle of soda and celebrated. As a photographer's fate would have it my camera battery died at the beginning of this great day.

Little Fishermen

2009-10-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Saw these two boys hunting for fish as I was taking pictures for my rock sculptor essay. I have no idea how they caught fish barehanded but they did - they caught two!

Walk About

2009-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras

Doña Aura

2009-10-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - This was the most difficult thing I have ever taken a picture of: to be with someone when the doctor said, "This is very bad. This is cancer."

Doña Aura Lopez is only 30 years old and has one eight-year-old child. She said her first symptom was six years ago when an itchy mole appeared. She said she scratched it and then her eye progressively got worse.

The hardest part of this experience for me was when the doctor made Doña Aura cover her good eye and asked her if she could see. Crying she responded "Yes" as she pulled her hand down to look with her good eye. It was so painfully obvious that she had no vision.

The only thing the doctor could offer was to take a biopsy and pray for the best. If our prayers are answered this medical brigade can perform reconstructive/plastic surgery this coming April 2010.

Fruit Gang

2009-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Walking to a soccer field I stumbled across these kids climbing trees collecting fruit. One kid saw me from about 40 meters and stashed his fruit in the tall weeds as if I was going to report him to the fruit patrol. I told them I was not the fruit police. They were thankful and proceeded to show me how good they could climb trees.

Shoe Endorsment

2009-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - As with most athletes the shoe makes the man or woman. I went to a soccer field hoping to catch a game. My objective was to take a photo of their cleats and an accompanying portrait. Because rain was in the air no one showed up except Toño.

Soccer on a Wide

2009-10-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - One camera, one lens: 17-35/2.8.

Country Club Food

2009-10-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

San Salvador, El Salvador - Family and friends were invited to a country club for lunch. This is what we ordered.

Around the Block

2009-10-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

San Salvador, El Salvador - Some of the things I see when I walk around the block.

Hammerhead Fate

2009-10-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

El Zonte, El Salvador - Suddenly our family day at the beach stirred with commotion and blood. The fishermen told me they sold for one dollar a piece. As fate would have it they never stood a chance.

No Coup

2009-09-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - On Sept. 12 the Maya Chorti Indians held a peaceful rally agains the de facto president/government. On Sept. 21 ousted president Zelaya snuck back into the country and sought protection in the Brazilian embassy.

The Bean Jeweler

2009-09-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - This man makes jewelry using beans and seeds.

The Farmer and Hotel Owner

2009-09-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - The farmer provides corn to the hotel owner's kitchen.

Three Folks You Cannot Live Without

2009-09-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - A barber, a handyman and a nurse.

Olivia and Lico

2009-09-17T20:52:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – Olivia is an artisan and Lico is a taxi driver. Olivia makes these great stella statues for fifty cents and necklaces for $1.50. Lico will drive you a quarter mile for fifty cents.

Sports Shooter Article

2009-09-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Several weeks ago I was asked by Sports Shooter if I would like to share what it's like to work in Central America. I told them, "Heck, yeah!"

Maya Project

2009-09-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

San Pedro Sula, Honduras - Cerro Palenque National Park is a post-Maya archaeological site. To my understanding it was fort-like and had a 360-degree view of the valley.

Frida and I were asked to help create interpretive signage for the recently created nature trails that meander up the mountain.

Because of lack of funding the project never got off the ground.

The images you see are of sculptures that are housed in a museum in San Pedro Sula. The silhouette image was of our expedition team.

My Local Newsstand

2009-08-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

San Salvador, El Salvador - The idea of this project was to document how El Salvador was covering the Honduran coup chaos.

My intention was to walk to the neighborhood newsstand every morning and take a picture of the front page. Because I was unable to do this every day it became more of an A-1 project.

For your reading pleasure I took the liberty to translate the lead headline.

The newsstand.

Country Alert for the Pig Flu

Police Admit They Helped the Drug Smugglers

Justice Tells the Organization of American States Zelaya Cannot Return

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front Vetoes Temporary Solution in Court

Two More Children Die Because of the Pig Flu

Chavez Weakens the Intent of the Dialogue

A Better Economic Forecast for 2010

Organization of American States Asks to Capture the Drug Trafficker

Home Construction Plan at $232 Million

Spa Ixchel

2009-08-16T19:52:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - My wife and I were asked to help promote Spa Ixchel. The spa is smack dab in the heart of an organic coffee farm.

One picture was even picked up by Central America’s version of Women’s Health.

The Future of the World Cup

2009-08-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - I have always wanted to do this: to go to some remote barrio and take soccer portraits. I wish I could take every team's photo.

Bird on a Wire

2009-08-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

San Salvador, El Salvador - These are the early birds: the ones that catch the worm.

Monday Night Futbol

2009-07-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – Soccer in Central America is a big deal: especially when it is a World Cup qualifying game and it is against the United States.

On the other hand, not many people in Copan have television so they have to resort to watching the game wherever they can.

Mountain Ball

2009-07-06T21:00:00.001-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras - Soccer in the hills of Honduras must be like basketball in the hills of Kentucky: remote and played with a passion. What amazed me most about this day was the game itself and the field full of rocks and hard dirt.

100 Yards for Earth Day

2009-06-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

San Salvador, El Salvador – Earth Day came and went. As with most every year the day snuck up on me like a last second field goal to win the game. Heartbreak.

To commemorate the day I created a photo project for myself called 100 Yards of Earth Day. The idea was to find things at home or down the street that reminded me of conservation.

All photos were taken with a point-and-shoot digital camera.

Drying clothes on a laundry line reduces electrical use.

Eating foods that are grown locally reduces transportation fuels.

Watering houseplants late in the afternoon increases soil absorption efficiency.

Washing plates and forks in the sink, if done properly, reduces water consumption and electrical use.

Properly inflated tires increases gas mileage efficiency.

Throwing trash in a trashcan is a start: separating and recycling is the next step.

No need to bag yard clippings. Compost.

School Dazed

2009-05-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – These images are outtakes from my Little Indiana Jones post. The pictures do not have anything to do with the archeology program but rather show life around a rural school.

Cobblestone Resurrection

2009-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – These images were taken the Thursday evening before Easter Sunday. Several city blocks were roped off for this wood shaving art ceremony.

The process of transforming these rocky streets was amazing to see: taking cobblestone and making them look smooth as silk with colored wood dust.

One unique thing about Copan’s Easter street scene is that it incorporates Christian scenarios with Mayan hieroglyphs.

Little Indiana Jones

2009-05-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – La Pintada is little neighborhood nestled several kilometers from the famous ruins of Copan. Many neighborhoods like this know very little about the exciting archeological discoveries that take place within their own back yards, not to mention the know-how or career path to these great adventures.

Archeologist Argi Diez, of Spain, and artist Carin Steen, of Holland, have created a curriculum of simulated digs and discoveries for school-aged children that help illustrate the technical know-how of becoming an archeologist and the cultural importance of preserving history.

These images are part of an ongoing story.

Carin, left, and Argi walk towards La Pintada carrying their archeological discoveries workshop.

While Argi leads a class discussion some students are still a little shy to enter the room.

Class begins with each student “unearthing” an archeological discovery.

One of the first steps upon a discovery is to carefully brush off any dirt.

Then one tags their discovery for proper identification.

Argi leads a class discussion.

Students pay attention to Argi’s explanations.

Carin laughs with a student as he turns in his archeological art project.

Argi and Carin with their students. I am not sure all these children were part of the class but they wanted their picture taken anyway!

Wedding Bells

2009-05-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

Atitlan, Guatemala – These images are from my first wedding assignment. The bride was my cousin so that made the day that more special. Then next best thing about the day was that I got to take Frida and my son to this magical and ecological wonder called Lago Atitlan.

The weekend was not all fun and giggles though for on the way home my computer crashed (I lost all the pre-wedding images) and some bandits tried to hold us up on the highway two hours from the El Salvadoran border – shooting pistols at us as we Indy 500 them.

Shaman

2009-05-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – Aumrak, a shaman from Guatemala, needed a headshot for a website and other promotional work she is doing throughout Honduras.

One of the cool things about Aumrak is that she performed a Mayan fire ceremony for my wedding. If you would like to see some of these amazing photos you can contact wedding photographer Joshua McCoy via Facebook or http://www.joshuamccoy.com

For this photo shoot all I did was stand her within a covered patio’s doorframe.

April 10, 2009

Down in the Dumps

2009-04-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Copan Ruinas, Honduras – The day started off simple enough: get rid of the hacienda’s garbage.

There are two options for the hacienda to get rid of its garbage. The first option is to take the garbage into town and find the roaming trash-collecting truck; the second option is to take the garbage all the way to the dump.

Needless to say we went all the way to the dump.

All images taken with a D200, 17-35/2.8

Like phantoms dogs appear from nowhere. They do not bark or breathe but float on air.

Unexpectedly the gate to the dump is locked. One suggestion is to throw the garbage over the fence and leave.

Instead we head back to find the garbage gatekeeper.

This is the gatekeeper’s neighbor. The neighbor says the gatekeeper is out of town but his two daughters will open the gate.

Finally we unload our garbage. Smelling the horrendous stench of a cornucopia of melting plastic the first thing I think of is lung cancer.

These are the two girls that opened the gate for us. They waited for us to leave so they could rummage through our stuff. I could have taken their photo as I was walking around but they were painfully embarrassed that someone had a camera. I snapped this photo as I was driving away because I wanted to show that people do live and depend on other people’s garbage.

April 18, 2009