My Story

Pasojoc is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world.  It is more than a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa.  Pasojoc is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major corps.  The Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak an Indian dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common.  Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello, my name is Rolando Daniel Elias Garcia Garcia. I was born on October 7, 2010, and I am 11 years old. I am a healthy boy, and I am in second grade this year. I love playing with marbles in my free time. I love yellow, and I like rabbits. My favorite food is grilled meat. I have two brothers and four sisters; two sisters work in a tortillas business in Guatemala City and they help my father financially. I live about 45 minutes away from the feeding program, and I always walk to the program accompanied by my sister. We are attending the Catholic Church. Thank God, my family is in good health.

My father’s name is Sebastian Garcia Pastor, and he works as a farmer and day laborer; he sometimes goes to work in the coffee plantations at the coast for one month. My mother’s name was Juana Garcia Morente, and sadly, she passed away about seven years ago. My oldest sisters do the household chores and cook. Our house has two rooms made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor; our kitchen is made of sticks with a tin sheet roof. We do not have electricity. so we use candles at night. We use hoses to bring home water from a natural spring; it is located on one of our neighbor’s pieces of land, but we do not have to pay him to take it. This is my personal information, and I hope you can find it interesting.

With much love

Rolando Daniel Elias Garcia Garcia

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio/AAC Secretary, Antigua