by Elizabeth Wason IN THE VIOLENT CHAOS of the Guatema-
lan civil war, radio was a savior to the indigenous populations experiencing genocide. Guerilla fighters in the 1980s and ’90s established temporary radio stations by hiding antennas in the mountains. They transmitted updates on the location of military forces, along with other news about the war.
An important guerilla radio program in these efforts was Voz Popular, and recordings of its broadcasts still exist. Through the support of a Raoul Wallen-
3 station outside of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Last summer, Stromberg digitized the recordings, working with veteran guerilla fighters and younger members of the community. “The purpose of the project was to digitize and categorize the tapes so they wouldn’t continue to deteriorate,” Stromberg says. “They were literally in somebody’s basement, because the government didn’t want them exposed. As I spent time with the veterans, they started talking to me about the importance of the historical preservation project and the importance of teaching their chil-
berg International Summer Travel Award,
dren and their children’s children about
history senior Paul Stromberg helped to
the genocide, because it hasn’t been dis-
preserve these taped broadcasts during
cussed that much. The ex-guerilla fighters
his internship at an indigenous radio
understood their role in the radio station as part of the arc of history.”
PHOTO Courtesy of Paul Stromberg
And the arc of history continues with the younger generation in the indigenous community. Stromberg taught local kids basic radio techniques, such as editing audio using computer software. Stromberg drew from his own involvement at WCBN-FM, the student radio station at
the University of Michigan. “I’ve listened to public radio since I was in the womb,” he says. “[This project] was kind of too good to be true.” (ABOVE) Cassette
tapes of Voz Popular broadcasts. While studying abroad in Guatemala, LSA student Paul Stromberg worked to digitize and preserve the guerilla radio recordings. He also taught local kids rudimentary radio editing and production techniques.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) Demonstrators protesting the anniversary of a government raid that evicted human rights activists from the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala. The Guatemalan Civil War lasted from 1960 to 1996, and included brutal crackdowns and counterinsurgency missions by the military-backed government.
SPRING 2014 / LSA Magazine
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