Just after midnight on Monday morning, the BECA 580 - Media and Community Service - students landed at SFO after nearly a month in Guatemala. The students spent two days at the Mayan ruins in Tikal, climbing the structures and viewing the flora and fauna in the lush rainforest that covered Tikal for a thousand years, until the middle of the 19th century, when it was "discovered" again. Then after an overnight stay in gritty Guatemala City, they flew home, nursing their mosquito bites and sunburns. This morning, the group turned in their equipment to the BECA Cage.

The BECA 580 class, now in Guatemala making a video for the women's weaving collective, Trama Textiles, has encountered some challenging shoots. This week, we captured typically Guatemalan marimba music at a music conservatory in Xela (the Mayan name for Quetzaltenango). A professor allowed us to record his students - and capture them on video. Imagine about 10 musicians, two large marimbas, a bass, maracas, a drum and a percussion instrument constructed from a turtle shell.

Lest you think the BECA 580 trip to Guatemala is all work and no play, consider what the students have been doing in their spare time. The first week we were in Guatemala, we climbed Pacaya, an active volcano. It was what might be described as a medium climb to Bay Area hikers. At the top of the mountain, we saw huge lava fields. We were able to walk out on the black, rough lava. In the distance, we saw several red hot spots. All of a sudden, one of these - about 100 feet from us - began to flow with red lava. As we watched, the lava became a flowing river!

When you are out on a shoot, how many languages do you use?

Students in BECA 580 - Media and Community Service are preparing to depart for Guatemala on June 3rd. The students will produce a video for Trama Textiles, a women's weaving collective in Quetzaltenango in the Guatemalan highlands. The nine students have been preparing for the trip during the Spring 2008 Semester by hearing a series of guest speakers talk about different aspects of the country and, simultaneously, producing a video for the San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC).