Miguel Garcia Granados, President of Guatemala, made a law in 1871 establishing the Quetzal as part of the coat of arms, as symbol of the indepedence and autonomy of the nation.

Due to the fact that the Quetzal can't be kept captive, this bird represents one of our maximum principles: Liberty. The Quetzal is considered one of the world's most beautiful birds. The mayas considerd that its feathers were more precious than gold. In some legends it is told that it was Tecun Uman's guardian animal. He was a great hero that died fighting the spaniards during colonization.

The Quetzal lives in some regions of the Departments (states here) of Huhuetenango, El Quiché, Alta y Baja Verapaz, Zacapa, El Progreso and Izabal.


In 1895 general Reyna Barrios, president of Guatemala, made a decree protecting the national bird. Law punishes its capture or the death of one of them.

Unfortunately the destruction of big parts of it's habitat have made it and endangered species :(

In 1934, general Jorge Ubico, President of Guatemala, declared the Moja Blanca the national flower of Guatemala.

The Monja Blanca was worshipped by the Kekchies of Coban, they called the flower Sak-Ijish; others natives say that there is a myth to the Monja Blanca. In their origin there was a indian princess that was very pretty and she was transformed into the flower.

In 1880, George Ure Skinner discovered the Moja Blanca in the high mountains of Verapaces, El Quiche and Chiquimula. Skinner sent it to Europe where the flower won many prizes.

Today the Monja Blanca can be admired in the mountains in Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango, El Quiche and Izabal. In 1946 president Juan Jose Arevalo prohibited the export of the Moja Blanca.

Its history keeps a profound religious sense for all the native races in Guatemala. The maya worshipped the ceiba Yaxché, for them it simbolized the sacred tree of life. They believed that it was the axis of the world and that its strong roots sustained the Earth so that it would not fall. Inside the roots was Xibalba, which was Hell for them. Four great branches served as pilars to the universe where Corazon del Cielo (Heart of the Sky) and the four gods ruled from the cardinal points.

I'll write more about this instrument in the next entry.