Yax Te' Books
Yax Te' Books
by Gaspar Pedro González
A novella in English and Spanish, with Q’anjob’al expressions throughout, is a powerful story describing the diasporic consequences for a man named Palas, and his wife and family left behind in Guatemala.
The story begins with a discussion of the causes behind migration, and then proceeds to Palas while he arranges his trip with the coyote, makes his goodbyes to his family and community, makes the overland passage through Mexico, and when in the United States finds many hopes and plans unrealized. Palas and his loved ones will encounter the destructive forces of family separation, and challenges to their values and the way they see the world and community. The author includes a socio-political introduction from a Maya perspective and a glossary at the end of the book for Q’anjob’al Maya references and Spanish slang.
Published by Yax Te’ Books in partnership with Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis. English translation by Hana Muzika Kahn.
For information/orders, send email to hmkahn@temple.edu
2022; $13.00 (postage included)
ISBN: 978-99939-35-03-2
**We are pleased to announce that after a long delay caused by Covid restrictions, Jonathan Holmquist and Hana Muzika Kahn, who edited this trilingual book of narratives recorded during a sociolinguistic research project, returned to Parramos, Parrojas and Chirijuyu in June 2022, and donated 500 copies to schools and organizations, in support of the multilingual, multicultural programs in Kaqchikel, Spanish and English classes. This title is now available for purchase.**
HISTORIAS DE UN PUEBLO DE GUATEMALA
STORIES FROM A TOWN IN GUATEMALA
Price: $10 (including postage)
Re wuj re’ nuya’ rutzijol ri b’anatajik, ri k’ulwachitajnäq pe pa kik’aslem ri winaqi’ kitzijon pe ri aj Parramux, Parrojas, Chirijuyu’ chuqa’ Chitab’uruy, e k’o pa rulewal ri tinamital B’oko’ richin Iximulew.
Este libro es un testimonio escrito de las memorias, las tradiciones y las experiencias narradas por miembros de las comunidades de Parramos, Parrojas, Chirijuyú y Chitaburuy, en el Departamento de Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
This book is written testimony of the memories, traditions and experiences narrated by the people of Parramos, Parrojas, Chirijuyu and Chitaburuy, in the Department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala
Gaspar Pedro González, author of many books about the Q’anjob’al Maya, has recently recorded his readings of some of his poems, accompanied by traditional local music. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear the author himself read his poems, and to listen to the music played at celebrations in the Q’anjob’al region of Guatemala.
This poem was first published in 1998 by Fundación Yax Te’ in the Q’anjob’al / Spanish collection Sq’anej Maya’ / Palabras Mayas (now out of print). It appears in the Q’anjob’al / English collection The Dry Season and the theme is developed further in the 2014 trilingual edition of his poems Xumakil / Botón en Flor / Budding(available on this website).
“Q’anej / La Palabra” is a lyrical poem addressed to “Mam Icham” (Old Grandfather) to honor the history, tradition and culture preserved by the ancestors through the Q’anjob’al language. Every word in the poem has linguistic, cultural and socio-political significance, emphasized by the beat of the drum which accompanies the speaker’s contemplation of the language from the margins of the world.
This is the final poem in the trilingual collection Xumakil / Botón en Flor / Budding, published by Yax Te’ Books in 2014, and read here by the author, Gaspar Pedro González, in Q’anjob’al and Spanish. It evokes the Maya traditions of the Day of the Dead, cleaning the house and preparing an altar with flowers and candles, sharing local food and drinks, mourning the death and celebrating the memories of the writer’s father while dancing to traditional music.
ISBN 99922-2-331-6
ISBN 1-886502-31-7
ISBN 1-886502-25-0
Spanish edition; 3rd edition, 2nd edition
Bilingual edition
English edition
ISBN 1-886502-18-8
ISBN 1-886502-65-X
ISBN 1-880834-53-7
bilingual Q'anjob'al and Spanish
Q'ANIL: EL HOMBRE RAYO: Una Leyenda de Jacaltenango / KOMAM Q'ANIL: YA' K'UH WINAJ
bilingual Popti'-Spanish
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