Amy Bracken (Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management – SATIIM): Amy is a long-time journalist with a passion for exploring the natural world, learning about different cultures, and sharing her craft. After graduating from Columbia University’s School of Journalism in 2003, Amy moved to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she spent two years reporting for Reuters, the Associated Press and other outlets. She then split her time between Haiti and her hometown, Boston, where she worked as a freelance producer at the public radio program The World. She also spent a year in Valdez, Alaska, running the newsroom of a small radio station and reporting on ongoing effects and litigation relating to the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill. At the time of her fellowship Amy was studying for a Masters degree at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. After her fellowship Amy wrote: “I learned a lot from being in a place so culturally different from anywhere I’ve ever been. I saw little racial tension, little class distinction, little materialism, but also major problems like lack of education and economic opportunities.”
Emerging from the tiny Tumul K’in radio station where SATIIM director Greg Ch’oc does his weekly Q’eqchi Mayan show, we saw the coolest thing…
It’s fire ball, a traditional Mayan sport played here by youths from six Mayan communities. It’s part of a series of summer Maya games, which also include a hitch-hiking race from Punta Gorda back to Tumul K’in.
Posted By Amy Bracken
Posted Aug 11th, 2011
2 Comments
Ann Lopez
August 18, 2011
That was amazing to see. What kind of ball do they use and how do they set it on fire.
Did you get a chance to play?
Amy Bracken
August 19, 2011
Cool, huh? Apparently it’s a ball of wire and cloth, doused in kerosene. I wanted to play but it was a tournament between villages. If I turned out to be really good, I would have thrown everything off :). Maybe we can set something up when I get back!