We Are Chajul: Exploring Identity & Voice
In March, visiting high school students from Catlin Gabel School and Oregon Episcopal School (OES) engaged our middle school scholars in an exciting Photovoice project. Photovoice, or Fotovoz, combines photography with community action by encouraging participants to explore themes, tell stories, and express themselves through photos. With helpful photography tips, suggested themes, and the enthusiastic support of the high school students, our Youth Development Program scholars had free reign to photograph their community and capture what Chajul means to them.
Where the US youth saw poverty, our scholars saw their friends playing. Where the US teens saw novelty, our scholars saw the rhythm of daily life. Through observing what their counterparts deemed worthy of photography, students from Catlin Gabel and OES gained unique insight into how Chajulenses define themselves.
After two fun sessions exploring the community and snapping photos, the groups gathered for a discussion and slideshow. They spoke of the rich paradoxes of Ixil daily life (natural vs. artificial, modernity vs. tradition, etc.) and discussed what images and symbols represented their community (corn, friends, traditional dress, daily rituals of washing and weaving). The students from Oregon observed that their counterparts were drawn to deeply familiar images and scenes. We learned how our scholars conceptualize their experiences and see their culture.
Some images were deeply personal — Gaspar described the bond h
e shared with his grandfather, and Juana Susanna showed us a photo of her kind and generous neighbor.
The group also explored controversial topics, as they reflected on the problems of irresponsible and exploitative photography. Francisco discussed the perception that photos are a way of stealing a part of Ixil culture when images of Chajul are sold without the community’s permission.
They were used to being the subjects of photos and gazes of visitors, but with the cameras now in their hands, our youth now had the power to decide how their community would be presented.
We are confident that both groups of students will have lasting memories of their cultural exchange and the themes of the Fotovoz project.
Student Spotlight: Rosa Micaela
Our community center is louder and livelier since Rosa Micaela joined us as one of our new interns! This year, we are providing four capable and ambitious Limitless Horizons Ixil graduates with training, income, and a year of professional work experience as part of our pilot Internship & Training Initiative.
Micaela also attends night classes at Panamericana University Chajul, where she is pursuing a degree in Secondary School Education.
There is still plenty of time 
to sign up for our Community Engagement Trip from July 31 to August 9!
Boxbol is a nutritious traditional Ixil dish prepared with cornmeal and squash leaves, and served with a delicious squash seed sauce an
d tomato salsa. Ixiles typically use güisquil (small green squash) leaves, but Swiss chard or spinach leaves are both great substitutes.
The corn is soaked and cooked in water with mineral lime and a little ash to produce nixtamal, which is then ground into masa (cornmeal dough). Masa is expertly wrapped in the güisquil leaves and boiled for 10 minutes.
Typically, Ixiles serve boxbol with a sauce made by grinding seeds of the chile cayote (an enormous squash). Pumpkin seeds work just as well!
The seeds are ground into a paste with a splash of warm water and a dash of salt. The fresh tomato salsa is made using a piedra de moler (similar to a mortar and pestle) with tomatillos or vine tomatoes, chili, and salt.
Make your own boxbol at home! Be generous with the sauce and imagine you’re in the misty highlands of Chajul.