Welcome to

 HispanoMaya - School of Spanish and Mam

Todos Santos, Cuchumatan, Guatemala

Four of our teachers: Desiderio, Nora, Raul, and Lidia   

Todos Santos - the town:

    Location:

     Todos Santos is located in the heart of the Cuchumatánes mountains, 50 kilometres from the departmental capital of Huehuetenango, and approximately 350 kilometres to the northwest of Guatemala City. Situated at close to 3000 meters above sea level, the land moves downward in elevation as one goes westward towards Chiapas, and climbs sharply out of the Limón River valley to the north and east, leveling out into a high plateau at over 3,500 meters in elevation. Temperatures are often cool in the evenings and nights, with temperatures generally mild and pleasant during the daytimes. There is a distinct rainy season that usually lasts between May to September. 

    Language/Culture:

     The municipality of Todos Santos is predominately (95-99%) populated by the Maya-Mam ethnic group.  Although Mam is their first language, bilingualism is increasingly common.   Todos Santos is known as one of the most traditional communities in maintaining Mayan customs. Women still weave the traditional dress for the whole family that is used by both men and women daily within the municipality. In other areas men no longer wear traditional dress, and increasingly young women are adopting western attire. As in most Mayan communities, the traditions that continue to have a strong influence today are: Holy Week customs, All Saints Day celebrations, the election of community authorities, and the presentation of traditional dances, music and legends on special days during the year.

       Economy:
    Economically, the people in Todos Santos depend on agricultural production for their sustenance. They cultivate primarily corn, beans, and potatoes and in recent years with technical assistance and irrigation, an increasing number of market crops including broccoli, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes, green beans, radishes, carrots, cabbage, and wheat. At lower altitudes in these municipalities, coffee is grown. Fruit farming is practiced on a very small scale at present, however there are apples, peaches, avocados, plumbs, bananas, lemons, and oranges available in small quantities.

        Education:
    In Todos Santos, an estimated 70% of the population is illiterate, especially adult women. Due to the lack of economic resources children are required to leave school at about grade 3 to help with family work. Many men need to work on coastal farms outside of the region to earn money when their crops are inadequate for the economic needs of the family. In order to pursue higher education, children need to leave the region, which the majority of families cannot afford.

        Local Infrastructure:
    In the town of Todos Santos, the population has basic services of potable water, electricity, a central sewage system and latrines. A market, post office, schools, regular transportation services (passenger buses and cargo trucks) and a main dirt road that connects the municipalities with their Department capitals also serve the town. The road conditions vary during the year, and are especially difficult to travel in the rainy season. Cellular telephones provide communication opportunities however the service is still quite unreliable.

                                        Todos Santos from above.                                                                    The 2nd grade class in the Escuela Urbana of our teacher, Nora.

The School: HispanoMaya

   We offer one-on-one classes of Spanish and Mam, the local Mayan dialect, 5 hours/day, Monday-Friday, taught by teachers native to Todos Santos.  Teacher change weekly, unless a student prefers to remain with the same teacher.  Although students may bring their own materials, the school has plenty of textbooks and other materials for use in class.  Additionally, in the school's library, we have a number of books in Spanish and English regarding Guatemalan culture and history as well as lighter fictional novels.

   Students typically live with local families - either Mam or ladino - in order to fully experience the reality of daily life in Todos Santos.  Homestays are arranged according to a student's specific needs and include: sleeping arrangements, three meals/day, as well as 2 special chujs/week.  (Chujs are sauna baths that are the traditional way of bathing here in Todos Santos.)

   In addition to classes, there are weekly activities including: conferences, hikes (the most famous is La Torre, one of the highest points in Central America excluding the volcanoes), visits to nearby towns, movies, and salsa/merengue lessons.  Weaving lessons, which provide an opportunity to become more submerged in the culture here, can be arranged on an individual basis with a skilled Todo Santera woman.  Conferences have a range of subjects including: the effects of the war on the town, systems of education, issues regarding the refugees/returnees, the town's history and migration to the coast, natural healing (las curanderas), and traditions and special ceremonies of the town.  Of course, we always try to respond to the interests of our students at a given time and students are welcome to request specific activities.  Each week concludes with a special dinner in the school where all the teachers and students are able to unite informally and enjoy the good company and relaxed atmosphere of Todos Santos. 

      The price for this experience: $115/week.  *We do also offer mixed packages for time periods less than a week.  Please contact us for more information.

The Philosophy:

   This school was formed because there was, and still is, a need in this small community.  Therefore, our founding vision was one of supporting education and development in the community.  We do this through our students.  They support us with their resources and often their direct volunteer efforts in our projects, and we support them not only in the development of their language skills, but also in the development of their awareness of the reality of life here in Todos Santos.  Together we grow and contribute to the success of all of our goals and visions.  Therefore, it is in this atmosphere of learning, development, and awareness that our school functions and our projects are supported.

An English class taught by the coordinator and our Spanish students.              The weekly graduation dinner.  

The Projects:

   Currently, we have three projects underway - all developed and implemented through the enthusiasm of our teachers, students, and  coordinator. 

   First, we offer English classes to the community, for both children and adults, that are taught by our students as well as the school's coordinator..  The response from the community has been tremendous and each class is filled with young children eager to learn and always prepared with their notebooks and pencils.  Most importantly, these classes not only offer the obvious opportunity for local children to learn English, but they also offer a structured and constructive out-of-school activity that brings  children out of the streets and into a fun, educational atmosphere.  These activities are always a favorite for all of our students: of Spanish and of English.

    Additionally, volunteer opportunities are available for willing students to teach English in the local public school, for the 6th grade class, or to help in the high school's English classes, where help with pronunciation is always appreciated.  Interested students should talk with the school's coordinator when they arrive in Todos Santos, or can ask our U.S. contact for more information.

   Our second project includes working with a small primary school outside of Todos Santos, in the community of Batzalom.  This school does not receive any public funding and, therefore, everything - the teacher's salary, the rent of the one-room building, and all materials - is entirely supported by the community itself.  As a project of our school, we are collaborating with this school in order  to help with the purchase of basic school materials and provide other educational support.  In 2001 we purchased new tables and chairs for the school, to replace the wooden planks and blocks used previously, as shown in the pictures below.  Additionally, all of our students are encouraged to volunteer to work with the kids of this school, as well as with any of the other schools in the Todos Santos area, where all of our teachers work. 

    Our third project involves monthly scholarships to local elementary school children (school is NOT free).  This is a program we hope to expand in the future as there are many needy children and families in the Todos Santos area.

                                        The students of Batzalom.                                                                       The Batzalom school board and our Spanish students.

Contact/Reservation:

We encourage anyone with a desire to learn and participate in this community to join us at the HispanoMaya School of Spanish and Mam in Todos Santos, Cuchumatan, Guatemala.  Please feel free to contact us for more information or to place a reservation.  

Write to:

  HispanoMaya: Escuela de Espanol y Mam; Todos Santos, Cuchumatan; Huehuetenango; Guatemala, C.A 

Or email us at:

Hispanomaya@hotmail.com

The children of Batzalom with the school board and HispanoMaya teachers. 

For more info on Todos Santos see:                                    

www.stetson.edu/~rsitler/TodosSantos/