One day in the Guatemalan war: the rebel occupation of Nebaj, 21 January 1979

In early 1979, the Guerrilla Army of the Poor organized the occupation of Nebaj, a Maya-Ixil town located in the highly populated Department of Quiche. In Guatemala, Nebaj was one of the most important towns for coffee and sugarcane production both for highland and coastal plantations. From the marketplace and central plaza, the rebels called people to join the revolution against nonindigenous landlords and the army of the rich. This article delves into the history of this specific day in the Guatemalan rebellion through both written and oral testimonies of people who participated or witnessed the armed propaganda. It proposes to understand the guerrilla action as part of a broader and much more complex struggle taking place in the Central American revolutions. Through the analysis of the occupation of Nebaj, the article shows the complexity of the Guatemalan war from the standpoint of rebel encounters and intertwined personal stories.