In Caminar, Carlos is a kid who survives an act of violence during Guatemala’s Internal Conflict.
Carlos isn’t a real character. But there were kids who really did survive what Carlos lived through. Here are two stories that have made their way into the press, so you can read about their journey online.
The first story is about Oscar Alfredo Ramírez Castañeda. You can read about his journey here. You can also listen to a podcast of NPR’s This American Life here about Oscar’s life. Here’s the synopsis of that podcast:
465: What Happened At Dos Erres
MAY 25, 2012
In 1982, the Guatemalan military massacred the villagers of Dos Erres, killing more than 200 people. Thirty years later, a Guatemalan living in the US got a phone call from a woman who told him that two boys had been abducted during the massacre — and he was one of them.
The second story can be heard through a PBS documentary here. From their website:
Synopsis
When 27-year-old Iowa housewife Denese Becker decides to return to the Guatemalan village where she was born, she begins a journey towards finding her roots, but one filled with harrowing revelations. Denese, born Dominga, was nine when she became her family’s sole survivor of a massacre of Maya peasants. Two years later, she was adopted by an American family. In Discovering Dominga, Denese’s journey home is both a voyage of self-discovery and a political awakening, bearing searing testimony to a hemispheric tragedy and a shameful political crime.