Son of an indigenous family, Humberto Ak’abal was born in 1952 in Momostenango, a town in Guatemala in the department of Totonicapán. He was one of the best-known Guatemalan poets in the Americas and Europe, publishing his works in more than 15 languages, including K’iche’, the official language of the Mayan Quiché peoples. Throughout his career, he has been honoured and won several awards for his works which draw attention to the richness of indigenous culture.
The poet, who only had access to elementary education, had to work at an early age as a shepherd in the fields to help his family. His childhood was shaped by his indigenous roots and by being exposed to natural life, an experience that played a large role in his identity as an author. He often discusses the connection between beings and nature in his poetry. His first achievement, at the age of 25, was the publication of the book El animalero in Spanish, which, years later, would also be published in the K’iche’ language. Other achievements of his career include: the Golden Quetzal Prize with the book Guardián de la caída de agua in 1993, an honorary degree from the Humanities Department of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala in 1995, and the Blaise Cendrars International Poetry Prize in 1997. Furthermore, Ak’abal’s passion for indigenous culture and his native language earned him UNESCO’s support for the release of his bilingual book, Tejedor de palabras, in 1996.
The struggle for the recognition of indigenous peoples was so intrinsic to Ak’abal’s life that in 2004 he refused to receive Guatemala’s National Prize in Literature because of the involvement of Miguel Ángel Asturias, a Guatemalan writer and diplomat who allegedly promoted racism and offended the peoples of Guatemala, in the poet’s opinion. On July 29, 2018, he fulfilled his dream of holding a recital of his poetry in his hometown of Momostenango.
On January 28, 2019, at the age of 67, Humberto Ak’abal died due to complications following surgery. Even after his death, the poet still left his mark on indigenous poetry, contemplating the elements of nature and the universe as well as promoting the culture and language of his native people.
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