Sorosoro with the Mayans
After the first film crew returned from Gabon, José Reynès, another head cameraman headed for Guatemala on February 14, 2009. Perfectly fluent in Spanish, he will be assisted by two Guatemalan linguists, Juliana Sis’Iboy and Juventino Perez, from the OKMA Centre (Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’), specialized in documenting Mayan languages.
As did Muriel Lutz in Gabon, José will spend 3 weeks in the field to film two languages: Tektiteko and Kaqchikel. The goal here too was to bring back roughly 50 hours of rushes that will be used in scientific study as well as the base for the short films to be broadcasted in the future on the Sorosoro site.
Jose Reynès’s trip will take place in two phases. He headed first for Tectitan, a region west of Guatemala near the Mexican frontier. In this mountainous zone, at an altitude of 3000 meters, only several thousand people still speak Tektiteko. The film crew filmed traditional narratives and myths, rituals such as marriage proposals, healing ceremonies or daily activities such as weaving and basket making. The program was intensive and according to the team’s first impressions, the collected material is excellent, even exceptional.
The next phase took them to the surroundings of Chimaltenango, one of the more western of the central departments, at an altitude of 1800 meters. José Reynès is there now to film one of the four most spoken languages in Guatemala after Spanish, the Kaqchikel, with about 450 000 speakers. 
On February 22, at Iximche’ (photo opposite), capital city for the Kaqchikel Mayas until 1524, ceremonies were held to celebrate the Mayan New Year, a major event in the lives of the indigenous populations of Guatemala. Crafts, traditional music, tales and legends, local pharmacopeia, hunting and gathering are also part of the program of the upcoming days.
Two other filming sessions are planned for May and November of this year. They will enrich the audiovisual collection. Sorosoro hopes to film 6 Mayan languages in the first year and 6 others the following year so that the program will have documented 12 out of the 22 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala.
