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New Voices of Contemporary Honduran Poetry

But truly now, the absence of these four writers has left a significant void in that ubiquitous ground where generations feed on each other. Surely we expected more of them, even eternity. But let us go on.

By León Leiva Gallardo
Honduras has lost three of its most loved and respected writers in recent years. The novelist Roberto Castillo (1950-2008), the historian Leticia de Oyuela (1935-2008), and the poets Amanda Castro (1962-2010) and Roberto Sosa (1930-2011). As I made it known to a friend, the same day he informed me of Roberto Sosa's death, “I feel not only a sense of personal loss but also of national, collective grief”. Because I knew them personally, the passing of both Roberto Castillo and Roberto Sosa left me stunned as an orphaned child-writer who was afflicted with doubts about his future, because he perhaps will never become a man. Yet these were not the musings of a young Mr. Kappus; they came from a man about to turn half-a-century old. Such is the frailty of one's character when confronted with death.

The Mere Formality of Marriage

“One ship sails east and another west,
With the very same winds that blow;
‘Tis the set of sails and not the gales,
That tell us the way to go.”

-Mary Rippon’s version of Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s “Winds of Fate”

By Jorge Agurcia Fasquelle
When Mary Rippon wrote these lines in her diary -- taken from the famous verse by Ella Wheeler -- she was thinking of the break-up of her marriage. She relates it to sailing. Both utilities are now perceived to have fallen behind the times. Marriage, something that was once crucial to the bearing and rearing of children, sadly is now more of an unnecessary burden than a common benefit. Sailing -- also -- has been replaced by progress; steam and power seem to go hand in hand with the disappearance of man’s need for virtue and humility. Once the rock and foundation upon which society was built -- a sacrament of Holy Union to many -- marriage has become a mere formality, to be observed more for the sake of appearances, the in-laws or the party. It is an obstacle to those who consider that in the Twenty-first Century, the intimacy, security, growth and mutual support afforded by monogamy are all suddenly irrelevant issues—sex drives but seldom keeps.

Duppy Seed

"And as to being in a fright,
Allow me to remark
That Ghosts have just as good a right
In every way, to fear the light,
As Men to fear the dark."

"No plea," said I, "can well excuse
Such cowardice in you:
For Ghosts can visit when they choose,
Whereas we Humans can't refuse
To grant the interview."

-Lewis Carroll, Phantasmagoria

By Jorge Agurcia Fasquelle
In his doctoral dissertation, The People of French Harbour (University Microfilms, 1966), anthropologist David K. Evans dedicates an entire chapter to Island folklore. My particular favorite is the part dealing with the “duppy”. What follows has been excerpted from Dr. Evans’ work, based on his research and interviews in the Bay Islands. Islanders, particularly the older ones, believe their world to be densely populated by spirits of the dead. These are known as duppies. It seems to the villagers “more natural that the duppy should be there than that he shouldn’t” (Beckwith, 1929).

The Bridge

Bueno, I was able to obtain generous international aid to build a bridge for our little pueblo. But instead of building a big expensive two-lane bridge, I built a one-lane bridge and with the excess funds, I am able to have all of this," explained Don Carlos, throwing his arms wide to encompass his luxurious surroundings.

By La Gringa
A Honduran mayor went to visit the mayor of his "sister city" in Spain. The Spanish mayor invited him home for dinner the first night of his trip. Before the dinner, which was fit for a king, he showed the Honduran mayor around his palatial estate. The house was a mansion with finely carved furnishings, thick oriental carpets, golden faucets, and servants galore, waiting to attend to their every need. The mansion was situated on several acres of an immaculately landscaped hill overlooking a river. The Honduran mayor, who we'll call Don Tomás, was suitably impressed and said, "I'm just a humble mayor from a poor pueblo in Honduras. I can only wonder how you can live in splendor like this. Spain must pay its mayors much better than Honduras does."

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Book Review: Carlos Sabillón's Wealth for All

He rejects the idea that Hondurans have a cultural inclination towards laziness, or that being a small country dooms the nation to eternal underdevelopment.

By Ardegas
Carlos Sabillón has the solution to end poverty in Honduras in just four years, as he claims in his book "Wealth for All" ("Riqueza Para Todos"). This economist says that the key to national wealth is to obtain fast rates of economic growth that would wipe unemployment and poverty in record time through a simple management of macroeconomic policy. Mr. Sabillón has dedicated his life to a quest for the formula that would take Honduras out of poverty, and having collected several college degrees and doctorates, and learning several languages, all with the goal of solving this pressing problem, he believes he has now been able to find the formula for economic growth. He calls his doctrine "manufacturism" because, according to his study of world economic history, all developed countries have in common the manufacturing sector as engine of development.

Statue of Our Lady of Suyapa Honored by Government

Honduras Weekly
President Porfirio Lobo and officials of the General Staff of Honduras' Armed Forces, along with government Ministers and managers and directors of various public institutions, yesterday attended a mass at the Cathedral of Suyapa in Tegucigalpa to commemorate the 265th anniversary of the discovery of the statue of Our Lady of Suyapa. The six-and-a-half-centimeter icon, credited with miraculous powers, is venerated in Honduras, and is the country's most popular religious image. Thousands of people make pilgrimages to visit and honor the statue on February 3, the day marking its finding by a young peasant, Alejandro Colindres, in 1747. In 1925, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of Suyapa patroness of Honduras. During the "Soccer War" between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969, the statue was given the rank of Captain by the Honduran military. (1/31/12) (photo courtesy Internet)

The Dory

Within his dory, whether in smooth lagoon or rough seas, the islander is at home. He is a master at keeping such a frail craft afloat, having learned the art as a child.

Royal Navy Monday Evening Toast: "Here’s to our ships at sea"

By Jorge Agurcia Fasquelle
I would like to dedicate this article to the Volkswagen of Honduran watercraft: the dory. According to D.K. Evans, Honduras Bay Islands anthropologist and writer, a dory is carved from a single great tree, often mahogany or cedar. Sails are made of unbleached flour sacks, or whatever else comes in handy. Completing the necessary gear we have a hand carved paddle, a calabash for bailing, and a thwart or two for sitting. The size of the craft may vary, ranging between eight and thirty feet, and will, naturally, depend on the size of the original tree. Those who can afford it will have a carpenter finish the dory and possibly add a motor. The sides may be raised, the bow and the stern decked in, and a motor box built aft, with a sliding hatch to house the small engine. Such motor dories are known in the Bay Islands as "took-tooks", because of their characteristic chugging sound. A well-finished dory does not have a single nail or screw in her hull. All her trimming and decking will be finished with wooden pegs called "trunnels" (tree nails), a time-honored method.

El Maestro Puro

He was a sad figure, but there was something noble about him too. I remember seeing him drunk under a tree or lying in the doorway of the pulpería where they sold guaro (spirits). Later in life, when drinking became a problem for me, I would think of Maestro Puro's son who died before he was thirty.

By Guillermo Yuscarán
Purificación Euceda was a teacher by profession. Until well into his eighties, he worked as Supervisor of Education for the department of Valle, Honduras. He was known by everyone as "Maestro Puro". Purificación walked with a limp. What caused it Toño Velásquez never knew, but it served to identify him as he ambled across the plaza or through the streets of Caridad. Short, nimble, and of medium build. Euceda tended toward slight corpulence, particularly around the middle. His hair was thick and white and poured out from under his straw hat, covering his ears completely. An equally thick white mustache looped out luxuriously from both sides of his straight nose. His eyes, set deeply beneath a high forehead and shaggy eyebrows, reflected what Toño called, "a child's delight".

Guillermo Anderson Will Perform at Honduras Global Event in Houston

Honduras Weekly
The Honduras Global foundation will sponsor a fundraising event on January 27 featuring Honduran composer, singer, and guitarist Guillermo Anderson . The "Grand Dinner", which will be held in Houston, Texas, at the Red Onion Seafood & Mas restaurant (12041 NW Freeway), will promote Honduran culture overseas and raise money to help fund programs and services in 2012 designed to transfer knowledge, promote innovation, and contribute to scientific, technological and business development in Honduras. The event, which will begin at 7 pm, will be organized by Honduras Global partners Stanley Marrder, Oscar Castañeda, Juan Carlos Reina, Alejandra Sorto, Angel Guzmán, and Rafael Galindo, who is also the owner of the Red Onion.

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The World Isn't Ending, It's About the Environment

... December 21 will not mark the end of the Maya or the world, but will be a moment to assess the progress made in the development of nature and humanity.

By Danilo Valladares
TThe end of the Maya long-count calendar does not predict a global catastrophe, let alone the end of the world, say native activists and elders who spoke to IPS in Guatemala. But what are coming to an end are the world's natural resources, as a result of human activity, they warn. According to the Maya calendar, December 21, 2012 will mark the end of a grand cycle of 13 144,000-day "baktuns", lasting 5,126 years. But the end of a cycle does not mean the end of the world, and the collective hysteria triggered by the supposed 2012 Maya doomsday prediction does not at all reflect the thinking of today's Maya Indians in Guatemala.