Current Status

The MACHI-Arte Acción partnership continues to generate innovative and creative ways of communicating the value of Maya cultural heritage and is now in year three of a very successful collaboration. In 2008, the Arte Acción team reached 18 communities and nearly 350 children during its monthly workshops. In 2009, this number increases to 24 monthly workshops, thanks to the assistance of new MACHI facilitator, Elsa Morales. Elsa and her colleagues, Moises Mancia and Londin Velasquez, continue to undergo training to make their teaching workshops as effective and dynamic as possible. From evaluations conducted at the end of 2008 among students, teachers, and parents it is clear that the Maya workshops have had a significant impact. Using creativity and games, participants are learning rapidly about the prehispanic Maya, cultural identity, and archaeological conservation and genuinely look forward to the monthly workshops.

This year, Arte Acción adds a new component to the Maya program: four communities in the department of Copán have been chosen as locales at which to conduct children’s archaeological projects. With the blessing of the Honduran Institute of Archaeology and History (IHAH), students participate in the excavation of modern sites using archaeological techniques. As the program progresses, students will also have the opportunity to learn GPS mapping as they survey and record important places of cultural heritage around their communities. The pilot excavation project was launched in February with children from the community of La Pintada who are excavating the “ruins” of a traditional Chorti’ home occupied until the early 1990’s with the assistance of Spanish archaeologist, Argi Diez.