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 Jose De La Cruz Garcia. I was born on November 23, 2012, and I am 9 years old. I am a healthy boy, and I am in second grade this year. I keep playing with my toy cars in my free time. I love red, and I like rabbits. My favorite food is meat. I only have 1 brother, and my mother had him with her second husband. I live more than one hour away from the feeding program; my cousins are part of the program too and I walk there with them. We are not attending a church at the moment.

I only have my mother’s last name because my father abandoned us. My mother established a new family with another man, and his name is Genaro De La Cruz Garcia; her second husband. He works as a farmer and day laborer, and he also goes to work in the coffee plantations at the coast to support us financially. My mother’s name is Petrona De La Cruz Garcia, and she is a housewife; she raises hens to improve the home income. We live in my maternal grandparent’s house, and we share the home expenses with them; their names are Jose De La Cruz and Santos Garcia. The house has one room and one kitchen made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have electricity, but we use hoses to bring water from a natural spring. This is my personal information, and I hope you can find it interesting.

Hugs and kisses

Jose De La Cruz Garcia

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio/AAC Secretary, Antigua