David McNaught

Many people in Guatemala have been reflecting on the value of life this week, following the incident on 4 October in Totonicapán (western Guatemala) when eight protestors were killed following clashes with security forces. It’s a theme that also resonated on 10 October, World Day against the Death Penalty. The death penalty is an emotive […]

If you’re in Guatemala City, or nearby, and not completely wrapped-up in the London Olympics (if not, why not?!) then consider popping into the Guatemalan International Book Fair (FILGUA). It’s on until July 29th. We’ve been supporting it, and earlier this week a Brit living here, and linguist, Dr Neville Stiles MBA PhD BA, gave […]

Security and justice have been prominent themes this week in Guatemala. On 9 July the International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG) launched their new work-plan for 2012/13, its Head, Francisco Dall’Anese, flanked by Guatemala’s heads of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial powers, as he described how CICIG intends to continue tackling impunity. Then a day later, […]

“Going for Gold”, by Shed Seven if you remember them? A British indie band that was part of the Britpop scene back in the 90s. They’re still going strong, but “Going for Gold” was arguably their most successful song. It’s relevant this week because we’re gearing up to send off Guatemala’s Olympic athletes with a […]

I hope you’ve all tried Guatemalan coffee! If not, do: Guatemalans will tell you it’s the best in the world, they would, I suppose, but they’re probably not far off the mark. But Guatemala’s coffee plantations have been under threat, and that’s why DEFRA – the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs […]

“Guatemala is important to the UK”. Not my words but those of Jeremy Browne, the UK’s Minister for Latin America, after he met his Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Raúl Morales, in London on 7 June. I of course wholeheartedly agree, and Jeremy Browne’s statement goes on to describe how the UK’s relations with Guatemala have gone […]

One of our key aims to strengthen commercial links between the UK and Guatemala takes a step forward today with the release of a report by the Caribbean Council on the UK business opportunities in Guatemala. The report, funded by the FCO Commercial Diplomacy Fund, follows a scoping visit to Guatemala in March by the […]

Last week it was my pleasure to host an event to hand over the funds we raised – an impressive US$32,800 – at our charity events during British Week 2012, the British Ball and a Beatles Concert, to two deserving Guatemalan charities. To tell you more about it is our latest guest blogger, Paola, our […]

Our last blog previewed our visit to Guatemala’s second city, Quetzaltenango, or Xela as it’s also known locally, to participate in their First International Festival, “Xelaju es un Lugar Diferente”. Now that we’re back, we thought that we would share with you what a successful and fun time we had, disproving the theory that you […]

Two months ago we were in the middle of British Week 2012, and 10 events in 9 days aimed at raising further the UK’s commercial profile in Guatemala. Two months on and we are returning the scene of one of the Week’s major successes, Guatemala’s second city, Quetzaltenango, or Xela as it’s also known. To […]