By Ivan Cohuo.

It's difficult to find appropriate words to describe how the world around us worked, when at a short age my brothers and I realized that we where living in the heart of an ancient Mayan city in ruins. Through the experiences acquired over the years we developed a special way of seeing and understanding what surrounded us. We grew up sharing our parents' conception of reality shaped over generations, and becoming members of a society where complex rituals and colorful ceremonies played the most important role in keeping the order of our universe. We were being inherited the Maya vison and way of living.

Our life was certainly different, unlike most children our age, we had different toys. We used to play with arrow heads, pieces of pottery and some other artifacts that were once an important part in the daily life of noble and ruling families living in our particular backyard over 1500 years before us. We played with treasures full of history, but to our innocent eyes these pieces found all over the area had no special meaning.

We were never aware of time, days started at sunrise and ended at sunset. Keeping track of the days and seasons was our father's responsability and our survival depended on his accuracy. 

Money was just an abstract idea and having it or not was not really important, as long as we had health, food to eat, clothes to wear and a place to sleep, everything was fine. It was definitely a simple way of living in a world full of magic.

I remember my father as the hardest working man devoted to his corn field (milpa) and whose major concern was always our security. The surrounding jungle represented a constant danger, but worst of all, we were also sorrounded by invisible forces of supernatural origin. As a child, it was difficult for me to understand the reason why he constantly made ceremonies and placed offerings. Now I know that his intention was to keep things in balance and have the spirits of the jungle quiet and pleased. After all we were invaders of a sacred grounds. I believe all what he did worked very well, nothing serious happened to us.

One day progress reached us bringing major changes to our world. In the village electricity was the latest news, and basic education was available for most children. From that moment on, our parents didn't give up until we all were educated even if we had to leave home. Eventually we all left our beautiful backyard and moved to the city to continue with our education. As we became teenagers our vision of things changed and we became adapted to a different world where everyone rushed around and money played the most important role to satisfy our basic needs.

Our father stayed home where he lived until he died.

Now we no longer have any rights over the place where we were born. Where we spent our childhood climbing temples in ruins and spent unforgettable evenings gazing at the sky full of stars wondering how the ruins would look like if they were uncovered.

Times have certainly changed but what will never change are our memmories, the same memmories that will always keep us attached to the "ruins" as local people used to call the place that in our hearts will always be home.

Ivan, is the youngest of eight Cohuo children who were born

at the site and grew up having the ruins of Chacchoben

 as their play ground.

Today, he's a professional guide in the Mayan Territory,

  available for guided tours in Chacchoben
 Mayan Ruins and all

major archeological sites.

 icohuo@chacchobenruins.com