Current Status

Our highly valued collaboration with Fundación ProPetén enters its third year. During 2009, the forty episodes of radio stories about cultural heritage produced during 2007 and 2008 will be re-broadcast. Due to limited promotion, the interference by illegal radio stations, and long pauses between transmission of episodes, many residents of the Petén and Alta Verapaz have not had an opportunity to listen to the radio shows. ProPetén will transmit the forty episodes, along with earlier episodes twice during 2009 on several stations in El Petén, Alta Verapaz, and Izabal. This year listeners will be invited to interact with the story line of the novelas by calling in to offer opinions, answer questions, and win prizes.

As we begin to export and adapt the radionovela concept to other areas of the Maya region, Fundación ProPetén will assist us in providing expertise. In February of 2009, the ProPetén team will train staff members of the Julian Cho Society on broadcasting the shows and conducting evaluative surveys as well as focus groups of people who have listened to the radio stories. The Julian Cho team will supervise the transmission of adapted Q’eqchi’ episodes on the Tumul K’in radio station beginning spring of 2009. Later in 2009, ProPetén will provide training to Mayaón A.C., our new partners in Quintana Roo, México. During 2009 Mayaón staff are writing and producing a Yucatec Mayan language radio series that focuses on issues of Colonial and deeper Pre-Hispanic cultural heritage.

Listen to a recent radio show on Radio Peten that featured Rosa Maria Chan from ProPetén and MACHI’s Shoshaunna Parks as guests, who talk about this project! (En Español. You may need the most recent version of Adobe Flash Player).

Listen to two radio “spots” that advertise the upcoming show.

Q’eqchi’ voice talents in a recording session.

Flores residents lend their vocal talents to the Spanish version of the radio soap opera.

Young women look through the MACHI coloring book in the Q'eqchi' community of Kanlech, Alta Verapaz.

Soap Opera director Edy Romero interviews listeners in the village of Habanero, Peten (above and below).

A focus group in the village of Monte Rico provides feedback on the radio soap opera.