My favorite things Guatemala

I am headed there this morning for a Liberty Fund conference.  In terms of the list, I came up with a bunch rather quickly:

1. Writer: Miguel Ángel Asturias.  I don’t see why he isn’t a bigger deal with U.S. readers, given that he won a Nobel Prize for literature.  His Hombres de maíz is a beautiful book.  There is also Francisco Goldman.

2. Blogger, tweeter, and economist: Andres Marroquin.

3. Painter: Julian Chex, from the naive school of Comalapa, and some of his relatives too.  Carlos Mérida is also Guatemalan and not Mexican as many believe.

4. Movie, set in: You’ve got Predator and El Norte, for a start.  As for filming, the Star Wars medal ceremony was shot in part in Tikal National Park, scroll all the way down here.

The country has some of the best textiles in the world and in great profusion.  It has an important university with a superb museum.  A hotel run by Frances Coppola.  And much more.