On the last weekend in January 2012, Cultural Survival's partner network of pilot radio stations gathered together once again in San Mateo, Quetzaltenango to participate in a workshop about the Mayan calendar and spirituality. Cultural Survival invited representatives of twenty different radio community stations to learn about the meanings behind the K’iche Maya solar calendar from two Mayan spiritual guides from the town of Momostenango, Totonicpan, who addressed in detail what the 2012 change means for the Mayans. Anselmo Xunic, manager of the Radio Project, explained to participants, “It’s important to make clear to our listener audiences what the closing of this cycle in 2012 really means, since the information has been so manipulated. As Mayans, and members of this ethnicity, it is our duty to understand.”
The workshop took place in the Mujb’ab’l Yol Community Training center. Mujb’ab’l Yol, an association of radio stations in the highland area of Guatemala, has been working on the construction of the center over the past 3 years. Slowly but surely, the center has been coming to life. This workshop was the first to be held after the new installation of bathrooms and a fresh coat of paint on the walls, thanks to local fundraising by the Mujb’ab’l Yol Association. Community radio station Doble Via, which was previously located down the road from the center, is now broadcasting from within the center.
