Cortés, Quetzals and growing up Guatemalan

All you need to know

What the hell is a Guatemala??
My poor un-geographic amigo/amiga. You are about to get a wonderful lesson on geography and the culture of an amazing country that is not often recognized beyond it's borders.
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, Honduras to the east and El Salvador to the southeast.

Guatemala used to belong to Spain a couple of centuries ago when Mexico also belonged to Spain. These countries eventually gained independence, Guatemala being one of them.

Sadly, this country has a long history with bad leaders, corruption and violence. From the mid to late 19th century, Guatemala endured the chronic instability and civil strife that was endemic to the region. Beginning in the early 20th century, it was ruled by a series of dictators backed by the United Fruit Company and the United States government. From 1960 to 1996, Guatemala underwent a bloody civil war fought between the U.S.-backed government and leftist rebels, which included massacres of the Mayan population perpetrated by the former in the Ixil Triangle. This was the killing of my people in large numbers. Many of my Mayan friends, family members and people from my town came to The US at this point for a better life. My father and older brothers worked in the US to get money to send for us all one-by-one as coming to the US from Guatemala is a expensive and dangerous journey that often results in deportation once you get here. If you are lucky, you are able to get your citizenship after a few years of living here. Those able to get their citizenship don't have to spend the rest of their life looking over their shoulder, worried that they or their children will be deported to a country they no longer know. I am one of the lucky ones.

The currency of Guatemala is called a Quetzal hence why I chose it for the title.

Wtf is a Corté?
A corté is a beautiful skirt worn by the Mayans, I will explain it later.

That's all for now, thanks guys.

-Albin