Guatemala: Eternal Spring, Eternal Tyranny

by Jean-Marie Simon

"Well written, well photographed, well laid out and beautifully printed. It could be considered a landmark example of modern journalism in which eyewitness writing and photographic talent combine with meticulous research to produce a book of contemporary history."―Cornell Capa, New York Times Book Review

For twenty years government repression in Guatemala has been the most insidious and the least acknowledged in the western hemisphere. Virtually every Guatemalan has lost friends, relatives, or colleagues. There have been some 100,000 killings and 40,000 "disappearances." Still, Guatemala remains anonymous, overlooked by much of the press, and its troubles denied outright by the United States government. For the past six years, Jean-Marie Simon has been photographing people and reporting events from this hauntingly beautiful and remote land. Her text and pictures tell the story of a people imprisoned, particularly the Mayan Indians, whose lives have been so torn apart by political strife. This is a beautiful book; yet at the same time it is incredibly disturbing in its portrayal of a civilization violated by the army, police, and paramilitary government forces.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1987

Reviews

[Anne Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will start with my disclaimer -- I am a friend of the creator of this work. That said, I have a lot of friends who are writers and photographers, and I am judicious in my praise. So please take me seriously when I say this is a modern classic. It is classic in the sense of presenting truly stunning photography of a little-known and rapidly disappearing world, rooted in the Guatemalan highlands. The indigenous people there have created a cultural landscape that glows with the artistry of their traje, or native dress, and vibrates with their mysterious languages -- dozens, with names like K'iche, Kakchiquel, Ixil and Mam. As a gifted young reporter and photographer in the 1980s, Simon lived among them, and suffered with them as they endured one of the most vicious counter-insurgency campaigns in modern history. Her images survive as art of the highest order. Her sensitive and rigorously factual text records events and policies that must not be forgotten in the annals of international human rights. Her eye moves tirelessly across the faces of indigenous children, breathtaking landscapes, the wary gazes of soldiers, many of them indigenous themselves, press-ganged into a murderous military order.

Although it originally appeared over 20 years ago, it is currently informing a new generation of Guatemalans of their own history, and it spoke eloquently to my students in a human rights photography course in New York last spring. For anyone who cares about human rights, photography, or indigenous peoples, this book is to be desired and required.

[Francisco García Mejía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro crudo y doloroso. No sólo son las fotografías preciosas y desgarradoras, pero los comentarios y descripciones son el coletazo que hace que uno se transporte a la guerra civil guatemalteca.

Una lectura obligatoria para cualquier guatemalteco. Una lectura amarga para cualquiera que desee conocer la verdad de la historia de este país centroamericano.

[Edving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente evidencia del terror de la guerra en Guatemala. Muy buen libro para no olvidar, no con resentimiento, sino para evitar que se repita. Porque los demonios que cometieron abusos aún nos amenazan.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing pictures and reporting while Guatemala was still in a state is civil unrest and the era of disappearances. Very brave author

[Vivek · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are not going to be able to investigate the past. We would have to put the entire Army in jail." - Vinicio Cerezo, 11/4/1985 (a month before he was elected president)

"In 1984 a journalist asked Colonel Edgar D'Jalma Dominguez, head of the Office for Army Public Relations, how the military would react once a civilian government was installed, and the human rights organizations began to talk of military trials and retribution for past 'disappearances.' 'We'll just give the civilian leaders a little pat on the ass and they'll shut up,' D'Jalma retorted. Then he added, 'Do you think that we've left proof? In Argentina, there are witnesses, there are books, there are films, there is proof. Here in Guatemala, there is none of that. There are no survivors."

Absolutely chilling and devastating account of the Guatemalan government's extermination of much of its people during the 1980s. Jean-Marie Simon, an American photographer, was in Guatemala throughout the 80s and photographed and interviewed many people living through the massive violence. She published this book in 1987, at a time when that violence was ongoing, with photos, anecdotes and analysis of the responsibility from the army, the Guatemalan oligarchy, and the U.S government.

This was a riveting and difficult, but necessary read. Highly recommend for anyone visiting or spending time in Guatemala. It makes sense that its had a resurgence in recent years, as many of the current generation of Guatemalan youth are not being taught this important history.

[Pepe Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Aquí, en Guatemala, algunas veces usted ve algo, pero no dice nada, porque usted no se quiere morir todavía".

Colección de fotos y anécdotas del conflicto armado interno en Guatemala durante la década de 1980.

Me parece sorprendente que la autora haya tomado todas esas fotos en un contexto de represión y dictadura militar.
Aunque, a mi parecer, son las historias que acompañan las fotografías lo más fuerte del libro.

[Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takes me back to my time traveling/living in Guatemala. A beautiful and moving collection of photos and brave editorial/testimonials.

[Sofía · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo más relevante que leí este año.

[Thomas Ray]

Library-of-Congress F1466.5 S559 1988 Memorial Library

[Camimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solo, wow.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tuve que leerlo de manera intermitente. Podía leer 20 páginas en un momento y luego dejarlo en la mesa durante días.
Es una lectura difícil, fuerte y nauseosa, pero necesaria.