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Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala


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An indigenous family kneels before the altar at the Roman Catholic Church in the center of Xela...The religious and spiritual landscape has been changing rapidly in the years since the bloody civil war ending in the early 90s. The Catholic Church, who did much to shelter and provide literal sanctuary to indigenous people being slaughtered, are now suffering heavy losses with the rise of secularism and sects of protestant/evangelical Christianity. The Evangelical movement here is largely domestic, ie. not (or no longer imported) but spread to Guatemalans by Guatemalans. One reason for the shift may be to stem the tide of alcoholism, which the Catholic Church doesn´t necessary agree with, but it doesn´t forbid consumption as do many more recent protestant lines.
Virgen of Conception surrounded by a neoclassical cupola, common to the style of Xela. The facade that leads to nowhere. The actual church is behind this structure to the right. At night
This building is actually more typical of the architectural style of many of the buildings in the historical center. An early 1900s Neoclassicism defines much of the larger, government buildings, public buildings, and banks (oh, yes, and McDonalds).
  
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Description: (From a caption...) The religious and spiritual landscape has been changing rapidly in the years since the bloody civil war ending in the early 90s. The Catholic Church, who did much to shelter and provide literal sanctuary to indigenous people being slaughtered, are now suffering heavy losses with the rise of secularism and sects of protestant/evangelical Christianity. The Evangelical movement here is largely domestic, ie. not (or no longer imported) but spread to Guatemalans by Guatemalans. One reason for the shift may be to stem the tide of alcoholism, which the Catholic Church doesn´t necessary agree with, but it doesn´t forbid consumption as do many more recent protestant lines.
Location: Quetzalatenango, Guatemala

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