{"id":13001,"date":"2025-07-23T08:35:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=13001"},"modified":"2025-07-23T08:35:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:35:04","slug":"breaking-the-concrete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/breaking-the-concrete\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Valeria Leiva \/ <\/b>Translated by Emma Porter\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The Recovery of Green Spaces in the City of Quetzaltenango<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The city of Quetzaltenango, like many municipalities, has been the victim of irresponsible political decisions that have affected collective well-being. The felling of more than 400 trees without a long-term transition plan left the city without the shade that the people of Quetzaltenango need in both parks and streets. This action, carried out without citizen consensus, reminds us that political decisions that don\u2019t consider the public can harm the common good. The case of the tree cutting in Benito Ju\u00e1rez Park is an example of how the lack of an ecological and responsible vision can lead to the destruction of what was once a vital space for the community\u2014for citizens as well as birds, trees, and other organisms.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is essential that residents not only observe the political decisions that affect us but also actively participate in their critique, oversight, and in the creation of proposals. Citizen response cannot be passive; the power of collectivity is the engine that can change the course and the way our city is shaped. In the organization of COCODES (Consejo Comunitario de Desarrollo, which translates to \u201cCommunity Development Council\u00bb in English) neighborhoods, and communities lie the key to transforming our city. We must organize to respond to constant threats against public welfare\u2014not only from harmful political decisions but also from the greed of real estate companies that seek to seize the last open and green spaces, which they consider \u201cidle,\u201d and from mining companies that are visibly drilling into our mountains. We must defend the future we want to see!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, small actions also matter. For example, caring for and reclaiming the sidewalk in front of your home to make it feel like a friendly public space, protecting the trees on your block, creating gardens at home or with neighbors\u2014whether in pots or in available garden beds\u2014building shelters for bees; in short, we can start by being kind to the organisms that share our territory. These may seem like small gestures, but they can be collective actions that allow us to recover parks and green spaces in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

An example of what is possible through collective organization and citizen participation is the Pollinator Garden in the Intercultural Park. This living artwork by the Totonicap\u00e1n artist Balam Say is a proposal that calls us to reflect on the need to unite in the face of the climate crisis. This work reclaimed a completely abandoned space in the Intercultural Park and turned it into a beautiful garden thanks to the work and effort of a team of volunteers who came day after day to collaborate with their own hands and tools, donated plants and trees, and hauled soil, materials, and tires to protect the saplings. To this day, they take care of watering and cleaning, providing constant care given with joy and pride in seeing a small ecosystem thrive\u2014which translates into taking care of ourselves. Cultivating a garden in the middle of a concrete city is a way of claiming our sovereignty and commitment to our well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time to break more concrete to pollinate life\u2014keep planting native trees, restore soil health, heal alongside our rivers, separate our waste, and clean our water. I hope that one day you can read these articles while sitting in a beautiful park in Quetzaltenango\u2014or in your own city\u2014under the shade of a beautiful tree, beside a clean river, breathing fresh air. That is my wish for you, and I hope it becomes real in the not-too-distant future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Valeria Leiva is a designer, photographer and visual artist. Fotomaiz has been promoting fotomaiz since 2017 and currently collaborates with 01320 in curating, managing and mounting exhibitions.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Valeria Leiva \/ Translated by Emma Porter\u00a0 The Recovery of Green Spaces in the City of Quetzaltenango The city of Quetzaltenango, like many municipalities, has been the victim of irresponsible political decisions that have affected collective well-being. The felling of more than 400 trees without a long-term transition plan left the city without the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[425,453,1806,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-action-en-2","category-frontpage-en","category-social-situation","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/despues2.jpg?fit=1600%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-3nH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8840,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/trees-guarantee-for-a-healthy-city\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":13001,"position":0},"title":"Trees: Guarantee for a Healthy City","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"28 mayo, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For: Diana Pastor The Covid-19 pandemic made evident that one of the most valuable riches for human beings is the joy of being able to breathe, and in our daily lives, to breathe clean air; our most important allies are trees.\u00a0 However, it seems that the municipality of Quetzaltenango does\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEnvironment\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/181921444_3031664477053144_7517464597434960390_n.jpg?fit=622%2C819&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/181921444_3031664477053144_7517464597434960390_n.jpg?fit=622%2C819&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/181921444_3031664477053144_7517464597434960390_n.jpg?fit=622%2C819&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11592,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/our-tree-neighbours\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":13001,"position":1},"title":"Our Tree Neighbours","author":"EntreMundos","date":"19 enero, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"BY VALERIA LEIVA\/TRANSLATION BY MAX LEIGHTON\u00a0 The municipal administration of Quetzaltenango ordered the felling of trees at the city\u2019s Benito Ju\u00e1rez Park. 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