After reading the four poems of “Here was paradise” by Humberto Ak’abal, knowing that he is from Guatemala we can infer that the historical background at that time influenced his writing.

I found it so fascinating that even when he was living in one of the most segregated countries filled with racism, violence and discrimination towards indigenous people, he self-identified with the mayan culture and he was proud and honored of his roots, the most relevant example is that he knows how to write in mayan language and his writing process involved first doing it in          K´iche´ and then translating them to Spanish. 

Quotes that the most stood out for me were in the poem: “When I woke up”; “and pull out a rib” (Line 7) and “made of mud and corn,”(Line 12) are allusion to both mayan culture (Popol Vuh) and christian religion, In the mayan culture it said that the woman was made from mud and corn grains but here he mixes it with the Bible that states that Eva was made from Adam´rib, it shows how he identifies as a mestizo, he doesn’t have anger towards his older generations or how the spanish stole their initial and real culture beliefs, he accepts both equally.

I believe the initial theme in “When I woke up” is solitude but eventually it had a “solution”, a light, that at the end everything will be alright. Humberto’s writing is filled with optimism even after his death; it still gives the hope that at some point things in his country could improve.