Paau was born in this Maya-Q'eqchi jungle village of 300 people perched above the verdant banks of the Chixoy and Copón rivers in northern Guatemala. Fields of cardamom and corn surround several dozen palm-thatched homes, which are accessible only by boat or foot.
Alejandro Che Paau and his fields of cardamom and corn are threatened by the proposed Xalalá Dam in Guatemala. (Photo courtesy Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project) But the junction of these two jade-colored rivers, a 20-minute descent from Paau's home, is also the proposed site for the nation's second-largest hydroelectric project -- the Xalalá Dam. His village is one of 18 communities that would become a 3-square-mile reservoir.
Alejandro looks out over the rivers that are the site of the proposed Xalalá Dam, Guatemala's second-largest hydroelectric project. If allowed to be built, the project would inundate 18 villages, including his. (Photo courtesy Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project)Hilly McGahan served for a year as an accompanier sponsored by the Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP).
She lived with Mayan people like Alejandro, people who are resisting the destruction of their homelands by corporate interests. Hilly wrote those words above for an article which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on June 8, 2008. You can find a link to the article and a letter Hilly wrote from Guatemala last summer by visiting the CCGAP Web site.
Hilly McGahan and Sue Ellen Kingsley, CCGAP executive director, in San Lucas Sacatapequez, Guatemala, July 2007. (Photo courtesy CCGAP.)Hilly McGahan will be visiting the Copper Country to share her experiences with groups and classes October 25 - 29. She will be giving a public presentation at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, following a potluck at 6 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Hancock (beside City Hall). If you would like her to speak to your group, please call 482-6827 or 483-0260.
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