Mayan music has maintained its essential spiritual character over the roughly 500 years since the conquest of this ancient civilization by the Spanish Empire. The indigenous music heard at Lake Atitlán and the instruments used to play it are essentially the same as found in the rest of the contemporary Mayan world. The most common of the instruments are the drum, flute, chirimía and the marimba. The first two can be traced back to ancient times, the other two arrived with the Spaniards.

Revolutionaries obey an unwritten law requiring them to be poets, or at least try. José Palma was one who succeeded. Born in Cuba in 1844, he had no shortage of authorities to rebel against; most of Spanish America had won independence, but at the rate things were going he might never see it for Cuba. It was enough to give a teenage poet a severe itch.

Under the production and direction of Stefano Poda, a cast of 1,000 will be on stage in Guatemala City performing Verdi’s Aïda. They include professional dancers, singers, actors, members of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee, members of the national choirs, the Guatemalan Ballet, schools and a local artistic group that was founded by Poda. In years past, he has brought Verdi’s Macbeth and Dante’s The Divine Comedy to the capital and La Antigua Guatemala.

At least 40 musicians are expected to perform at the inaugural Jamtigua all-day musical jam fest Sunday, May 8 at a secluded private farm just outside La Antigua Guatemala.

The Marimba. It was declared the national instrument in 1978, and in its honor a monument was erected in Quetzaltenango. In January 1999, by Decree 31-99, the Congress of the Republic declared the marimba a national symbol for its historic and cultural value and Guatemalan tradition. Quoting Prensa Libre, "For a brief moment, political differences were put aside, and they celebrated together."

So he did, and since then hormigo trees have provided the wood for the keys of the marimba. The trees must be cut with wisdom, care and passion, after invoking the permission and blessing of the gods, and under the moonlight in the quiet of night, when no disturbing surrounding sounds will be carried in the wood. The woodcutter’s family developed the marimba in the northeastern part of Guatemala, which became the major location for the industry.

“Shake down the thunder from the skies,” a phrase from The Notre Dame Victory March, was sung forcefully by the University of Notre Dame Glee Club in concert on May 26 at San Francisco Church in La Antigua Guatemala. After a typical break of electricity darkened and then dramatically relit the chorus, director Daniel C. Stowe grinned, “I think God liked it.”

When Heidi Sandoval was a young girl, she wanted to be a singer. After much practice, she went to radio station TGW for an audition, but it didn’t happen. She began asking herself if there was another way to get into the entertainment business besides singing.

During this time of year when giving is a priority, the president of Banco de Comercio, Jorge Ibarra, is honoring well-known Guatemalan singer Herman May by having May record a CD with some of the most memorable songs ever written.
Ibarra happened to hear May perform one evening at a hotel and was so impressed that he began looking for a way to promote the Guatemalan talent. Ibarra’s answer was to have May record unforgettable hits of all time, from Elvis Presley to Frank Sinatra.

Choreographer Freddy Corado has been dancing for years, but he didn’t learn how to move his feet from dance classes — he learned by watching videos. It just came naturally.
Next he began giving dance classes, and there he discovered the talented Cristina España, who soon became his partner. Now they dance together to all Latin rhythms, salsa, stomps, riverdance, plus tap callejero. They have performed in the IGA, the Club Italiano and various discos, always showing people what a group of talented dancers can do.