I just finished my translation of our interview with Don Luis Raymundo Batz Solis.  When we asked about changes he had witnessed and formative events in his life, he spoke of the 1944 overthrow of the US backed dictatorship by leftist populists who were subsequently overthrown in a US backed military coup because United Fruit didn’t like paying a fair price for land or bananas.  We pretty much did this all over Latin America under the guise of fighting Communism.  It is a shameful part of US history.  It is worth noting that the middle initials of George H. W. Bush stand for Herbert Walker, who, as United Fruit’s representative, overthrew the government of Honduras and declared himself King.  To learn more about this period in Guatemala’s history, I recommend reading the Wikipedia pages about Jorge Ubico, Jacobo Arbenz, and Castillo Armas.

When asked for advice to the youth of today, he quoted a South American Poet (unnamed), who said “Juventud divino tesoro te vas para nunca volver,” or “Youth, divine treasure, you leave, never to return.”