There are a fair number of Israelis that tour Guatemala and we saw plenty in Antigua and espically around the lake. I have not seen a ton of Israelis in Xela. Interestingly I have met a fair number of Dutch and Scandanavian travellers.
As far as Jewsish Guatemalans go I have not met many or any; however, they do exist. I know there is a synagouge in Guatemala City. I had dinner with Aaron Schulman and he has met a couple including an eccentricly dressed guy on a flight who was the whitest person he had ever met, and were of European decent.
My former host family told me there are several Jewish families in Xela and I get the impression the Jewish community here is very ladino (European decent) and muy rico (very rich)
More interstingly there are many Jewish symbols in Xela, notably the star of David which I have seen in a park, as well as a decoration on vehicles and in fencs. I also have seen menorahs as well as many businesses with jerusmalem in the name. I have heard two explanations of this. One, the star is used by Jewish owned businesses. The other explination is that these symbols are widely used by evangelical groups (Guatemala has the largest non-Catholic population in Central America.)
My favorite example of this motif is Restaurante Shalom where Gringas ( quesedillas) are 3 x 20 quetzales.
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This entry seems to be a fair and balanced summary of the your queries into Jewish life in Ecuador, but seeing as how there is no mention of food let alone BBQ I'm gonna have to say poor job Eli...Poor job :(
ReplyDeleteI mean Guatemala not Ecuador but yeah...that too!
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