Petrona Moran Suc and Sebastian Xona, Defenders of Indigenous Land Rights in Guatemala - Portrait 2

pen and pastel on paper by Liz Peterson, study for acrylic painting

Day 2 – Patrona Moran Suc and Sebastian Xona

Patrona Moran Suc, 72, and Sebastian Xona, 82, were the memory keepers and oldest members of the “La Primavera” community of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, according to a document by Guatemalan writer Alessandro Di Battista. This community includes 400 families of indigenous pocomchi who have occupied and farmed the area for over 100 years, but are currently threatened with eviction, harassment and intimidation by the private security guards of businesses that have interest or dubious investment in the land. Mrs. Suc and Mr. Xona were killed in the middle of the night of Jan. 26, 2012. Though there were no witnesses, community members believe they were murdered by a hitman hired by one of the companies. Di Battista notes that contract killing in Guatemala is easy money for some in a land struck by poverty and impunity of crimes (98% of murders are unsolved)

The drawing above is a quick conceptual study which will be the basis for an acrylic painting. Below is a photo of Patrona Moran Suc and Sebastian Xona.

Sources:

http://www.pbi-guatemala.org/los-proyectos/pbi-guatemala/noticias/spanish-news-holder/?no_cache=1&L=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3302&cHash=0df06cb73a25a4353bb73ac0d8948d74

http://www.beppegrillo.it/2012/07/il_mestiere_del_sicario_in_guatemala.html