by Chris Bodenner
Xeni Jardin reports on the impact Obama’s victory had on a remote, mountainous village in Guatemala:
That sudden jolt of aspiration felt around the world? It struck here. Hard. … It meant a renewed belief in change, for a people who have survived natural disasters, racism, and 36 years of civil war that many describe as the Mayan genocide. If a black man can enter the Casa Blanca, they are saying, maybe a Mayan person can one day become president of Guatemala.
Don Victoriano, the local leader of an international nonprofit, wrote:
I heard the acceptance speech of Obama, at four in the morning when I turned on the little battery-powered radio I have here. … And we give a triumphant hug to each other as if we were norteamericanos, because it made us so happy in our hearts. Next Thursday we’re going to have a Mayan ceremony, with the mamas and the niños, to give thanks to the Creator for this triumph, and for his spouse and two children. … Only Ajaw could have made this possible. May the creator bless him, and guide his decisions so that he makes good ones.
The Dish 