The ownership and usage of land has been the main source of conflict not only in Guatemala, but throughout Latin America since the arrival of the European conquistadores more than 500 years back. The following is a compilation of photo-essays relating the events which took place in the municipality of El Estor, department of Izabal, Guatemala, during the months of December 2006 and January 2007. At the orders of a Canadian mining company, five Maya Q’eqchi’ indigenous communities were violently evicted from what they claim to be ancestral lands.
James Rodriguez: Mexico-US independent documentary photographer and photojournalist. Available For: Long or short-term assignments in North America or abroad. Spot News, Editorial, NGO/NPO project documentation, Travel Photography, Events, Sports/Action. Primary Focus: Exposing and documenting social justice issues, particularly those involving land tenure, human rights abuses, post-war processes, negative effects of globalization. Contact me: email@example.com
Guatemala: 2004-2010 Published December 22, 2010
Patron Saint Day in Todos Santos Cuchumatan:Migration and Cultural Syncretism Published November 26, 2009