DOI
10.32436/2475-6423.1055
Abstract
Because their parish is large, dispersed, and overwhelmingly rural, FM radio is one of the few reliable means through which the Q’eqchi’-Maya Catholics of San Felipe in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, can communicate with each other en masse. Yet, because it is a one-way medium, it is also impossible to gauge how its intended audience is responding, or if is even there to receive broadcasted messages. Drawing on ethnographic material collected in 2005 (on the use of radio broadcasting to call together ritual participants) and 2016 (on an ultimately failed attempt to launch a radio station to serve rural parishioners), this paper examines how parish lay leaders attempt to negotiate this dilemma as they work to create a unique sense of Q’eqchi’-Maya Catholic community.
Recommended Citation
Hoenes del Pinal, Eric
(2019)
"The Promises and Perils of Radio as a Medium of Faith in a Q’eqchi’-Maya Catholic Community,"
Journal of Global Catholicism:
Vol. 3:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
DOI: 10.32436/2475-6423.1055
Available at:
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/jgc/vol3/iss2/4
Included in
Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Commons, Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Catholic Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Oral History Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Rural Sociology Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons