Zona 12 in Guatemala City in Guatemala Department, — Central America
Martyrs' Plaza of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala
de San Carlos
de Guatemala
A sus heroes
y martires
20 de octubre de 1979
Marcador adicional en la reversa:
Retazos de Viento
Hay que desnudar la memoria…
para liberar las manos
de quienes regaron las milpas
y empuñaron claveles
para escuchar a cientos de ruiseñores
que atricheraron su canto
en un viejo cipres
Hay que desnudar la memoria…
para liberar el llanto, la voz, la mirada
de miles de victimas que esperan la lluvia
para continuar la siembra
para reconocer los diferentes caminos
que legitimaron nuestros hermanos
cuando escapaban del ventarron
Hay que desnudar la memoria…
para recuperar el maiz
que desgranaron con el poder
de metralletas
para desenterrar el baúl de sueños
y recuperar las huellas de nuestros martires
hay que desnudarla
desnudarla
desnudarla…
para reconstruir la verdadera historia
y despertar esas luciérnagas dormidas
en los ojos de nuestros hijos
para prepararle una emboscada rotunda
a la tristeza e invocar la fuerza
de quienes se atrevieron
Norma Murillo (Guatemalteca)
Defender la Vida.
A nuestros mártires universitarios
No fue tras la muerte a lo que fuimos…
fue tras la vida.
Asociacion de Estudiantes Universitarios
“Oliverio Castañeda de Leon”
Agosto de 1999, año de Esclarecimiento Historico.
of Guatemala
To its heroes and martyrs
October 20, 1979
Additional marker on monument reverse:
Scraps of Wind
You have to unmask memory…
so as to free the hands
of those that watered the cornfields
and pointed carnations
so as to listen to hundreds of hummingbirds
that entrenched their song
in an old cypress
You have to unmask memory…
so as to liberate the crying, the voice, the look
of the thousand of victims that were waiting on the rain
to continue with the plantinga
to recognize the different paths
that legitamized our brothers
when they escaped from the whirlwind
You have to unmask memory…
to recover the corn
that they took off the cob with the power
of machine guns
and to dig up the trunk full of dreams
and recover the steps of our martyrs
You have to unmask it
unmask it
unmask it…
so as to reconstruct the true history
and awake those sleeping lightning bugs
in the eyes of our children
to prepare a profound ambush
against sadness and invoke the strength
of those that dared
Norma Murillo (Guatemalan)
Defend Life
To our university martyrs
You didn’t go after death…
you went after life.
Association of University Students
“Oliverio Castañeda de Leon”
August 1999, year of Historical Understanding.
Erected 1979.
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Wars, Non-US.
Location. 14° 35.262′ N, 90° 33.104′ W. Marker is in Guatemala City, Guatemala (Guatemala Department). It is in Zona 12. Memorial can be reached from Boulevard Universitario. This marker is directly in the middle of the Martyrs' Plaza, south of the main Administration Building of the USAC. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Guatemala City, Guatemala 01012, Guatemala. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Assassination of Mario López Larrave (within shouting distance of this marker); 300th Anniversary of the Founding of the San Carlos University of Guatemala (within shouting distance of this marker); Oliverio Castañeda de León (about 210 meters away, measured in a direct line); Dr. Carlos Martínez Durán (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Carlos Merida (approx. 2.7 kilometers away); Mario Dary Rivera (approx. 3 kilometers away); Irma Marina Flaquer Azurdia (approx. 3.3 kilometers away); Captain General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (approx. 3.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Guatemala City.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 26, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 15, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. This page has been viewed 319 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 15, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.