Alta Verapaz – Coban – Semuc Champey
Guatemala
2025

In the misty highlands of Alta Verapaz, jungle and community life are deeply connected. Cacao trees grow in gardens as naturally as oaks in the north, forming part of a landscape where subsistence and abundance coexist. The rhythm of the region is set by steep mountains, rushing rivers, and the dense green canopy that shelters both people and their traditions.

Here, life is marked by both fragility and resilience. Ceremonies blend Catholic rites with Mayan spirituality, creating spaces where memory and devotion intertwine. A funeral in a humble hut, illuminated by candles and filled with music, reveals a profound intimacy between the living and the dead, a cohesion that extends across generations.

Along roads and marketplaces, on crowded buses or in processions through Coban’s streets, everyday moments mirror the strength of a people bound to their land. Despite the pressures of deforestation, poverty, and growing tourism, the communities of Alta Verapaz hold on to a knowledge of nature and of humanity itself. A wisdom often lost elsewhere.