Marco Vinicio Calderon Cruz
disappeared on 20 July 1982 in Guatemala City
desaparecio el 20 de Julio de 1982 en la ciudad de Guatemala
18 July 2022
Forty years on
In the spirit of remembrance, I would like to ask you to light a candle one evening this week to keep warm and shine the path for my brother Marco Vinicio, wherever he is.
Why?
Marco Vinicio Calderon Cruz disappeared forty years ago on 20 July 1982, in Guatemala City.
Vinicio was kidnapped by three unknown armed men who put him in a small red suburban station wagon with shaded windows and no number plates after 10pm. He had refereed a game of basketball in the Olympic gymnasium and he was escorting a colleague to her car.
How come?
Vinicio’s disappearance is one of over 200,000 forced disappearances or killings which occurred during the years of conflict in Gu18atemala from 1960 to 1996.
My brother’s disappearance occurred at the peak of the conflict when the Guatemalan government, led by General Efrain Rios Montt, launched a ‘scorched earth’ operation to wipe out large portions of the country’s indigenous population and anyone who was deemed an enemy.
Remembering Vinicio
His case was widely reported in the Guatemalan media. A selection of stories run in the daily newspapers are presented here as well as a letter from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights acknowledging case Number 8077.
Feel free to send me a picture of the lit candle to add it to this website remembering him.
Thank you,
Angel
12 July 2012
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States in its 1983 reported Vinicio's disappearance. It was registered as Case Number 8077.
In case Nº 8077 relating to Marco Vinicio Calderón Cruz, Civil Engineering student, sixth Semester at the University of San Carlos, 21 years of age, Physical Education Professor and Basketball Referee, it is alleged that he was kidnapped by three unknown armed men who put him in a
small suburban station wagon, red, with shaded windows and no plates, the night of Tuesday, July 20, 1982, at approximately 10:00 p.m., on 18th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue, when after refereeing a game of basketball in the Olympic gymnasium “Teodoro Palacios Flores”, he was escorting a colleague to her car.”
See: http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Guatemala83eng/chap.3.htm
A selection of stories ran in the Guatemalan daily newspapers are presented here as well as a letter from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights acknowledging case Number 8077.
The Human Rights Centre of The American Association for the Advancement of Science also contains a reference
about Vinicio’s disappearance in this report about human rights in Guatemala:
http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ciidh/org_rep/english/appendix.html
An anonymous person has posted a picture of Vinicio wondering about his whereabouts: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cprurbana/3564825797/
I would like to ask you to light a candle one evening this week to keep warm and shine the path for my brother Marco Vinicio, wherever he is.
Thank you,
Angel
Forty years on
In the spirit of remembrance, I would like to ask you to light a candle one evening this week to keep warm and shine the path for my brother Marco Vinicio, wherever he is.
Why?
Marco Vinicio Calderon Cruz disappeared forty years ago on 20 July 1982, in Guatemala City.
Vinicio was kidnapped by three unknown armed men who put him in a small red suburban station wagon with shaded windows and no number plates after 10pm. He had refereed a game of basketball in the Olympic gymnasium and he was escorting a colleague to her car.
How come?
Vinicio’s disappearance is one of over 200,000 forced disappearances or killings which occurred during the years of conflict in Gu18atemala from 1960 to 1996.
My brother’s disappearance occurred at the peak of the conflict when the Guatemalan government, led by General Efrain Rios Montt, launched a ‘scorched earth’ operation to wipe out large portions of the country’s indigenous population and anyone who was deemed an enemy.
Remembering Vinicio
His case was widely reported in the Guatemalan media. A selection of stories run in the daily newspapers are presented here as well as a letter from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights acknowledging case Number 8077.
Feel free to send me a picture of the lit candle to add it to this website remembering him.
Thank you,
Angel
12 July 2012
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States in its 1983 reported Vinicio's disappearance. It was registered as Case Number 8077.
In case Nº 8077 relating to Marco Vinicio Calderón Cruz, Civil Engineering student, sixth Semester at the University of San Carlos, 21 years of age, Physical Education Professor and Basketball Referee, it is alleged that he was kidnapped by three unknown armed men who put him in a
small suburban station wagon, red, with shaded windows and no plates, the night of Tuesday, July 20, 1982, at approximately 10:00 p.m., on 18th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue, when after refereeing a game of basketball in the Olympic gymnasium “Teodoro Palacios Flores”, he was escorting a colleague to her car.”
See: http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Guatemala83eng/chap.3.htm
A selection of stories ran in the Guatemalan daily newspapers are presented here as well as a letter from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights acknowledging case Number 8077.
The Human Rights Centre of The American Association for the Advancement of Science also contains a reference
about Vinicio’s disappearance in this report about human rights in Guatemala:
http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ciidh/org_rep/english/appendix.html
An anonymous person has posted a picture of Vinicio wondering about his whereabouts: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cprurbana/3564825797/
I would like to ask you to light a candle one evening this week to keep warm and shine the path for my brother Marco Vinicio, wherever he is.
Thank you,
Angel
Good morning Angel,
Thank you for including me in your lovely tribute to your brother.
I remember you mentioning him in passing but there was something so raw when reading about your loss as detailed below. I printed out your email as well for my children to read. We often forget as we live in this safe, democratic society, that so many in the world aren’t provided the same securities that we are. It is also a reminder that, in today’s world, we must continue to safeguard those rights lest they be taken from us.
My thoughts are with you and your family during this anniversary day.
Kindest regards,
Julie
Lei hace unos dias tu e-mail. Desde entonces en mi cabeza han estado dando vueltas sin descanso los recuerdos de los anos de enfrentamiento entre sonadores que sin importar los riesgos de sus propias vidas, simplemente lucharon por lo que considerban seria una mejor alternativa para aliviar el sufrimiento y opresion de la mayoria de los guatemaltecos. Muchos nos involucramos sin tener una imagen clara de las dimensiones titanicas que conlleva el cambio de rumbo de la historia. Unos seguiamos a los otros. Lo que estaba en juego tenia que despertar todas las fuerzas ciegas internas y externas en contra de tal atrevimiento de cambio. Muchos simplemente eran simpatizantes, pero igual fueron removidos del derecho a la vida. Pareciera que el fin nunca llega. Pareciera que los opresores han logrado el control de la humanidad. Pero es solamente apariencia. Un dia, no muy lejano, resusitaran a nivel universal los conquistadores de justicia. Aprovecho para encender una candela por todos los olvidados y desconocidos. Edgar
This is very disturbing reading. I remember when I was at university reading about the kidnappings of innocent people and political activists in parts of Central and South America. I hope the situation in Guatemala has improved. It never ceased to distress me reading about such disappearances and acts of torture on innocent citizens. I will light a candle and hope that whatever has happened, your bother did not have to suffer or come to great harm.
A reflection - Soul candle
This is really beautiful, to see how people reach out from their different places in life to celebrate the life of a person. In the Jewish tradition we light candles when someone dies or it the time of year they did, it's called "soul candle" and meant to help the soul of the person who died to go to a higher level in the sky. the "soul candles" are defined as such and you can just use any candle.
What I really love here is first, the variety, that as i said earlier, makes me feel that people from so many different places reach out to be part or remembering him and supporting you, but even more, it made me look at lighting candles in a different way - for me it was always about remembering a person, not with elevating their souls, but when i saw these pictures it made me think about a presence- lighted candles have a special almost tangible presence (beyond the matter of the candle) that can be in a way transformed to the person who is no longer present. i don't know .. now that i think about it its quite obvious, but i never so particularly thought about it that way, so thank you for that.
I have a younger brother, we are close, although he lives in Israel. I can't imagine losing him. I simply can't. I can see how living in a place that took hm away, is simply not an option.
What I really love here is first, the variety, that as i said earlier, makes me feel that people from so many different places reach out to be part or remembering him and supporting you, but even more, it made me look at lighting candles in a different way - for me it was always about remembering a person, not with elevating their souls, but when i saw these pictures it made me think about a presence- lighted candles have a special almost tangible presence (beyond the matter of the candle) that can be in a way transformed to the person who is no longer present. i don't know .. now that i think about it its quite obvious, but i never so particularly thought about it that way, so thank you for that.
I have a younger brother, we are close, although he lives in Israel. I can't imagine losing him. I simply can't. I can see how living in a place that took hm away, is simply not an option.
Angel
Se que es una fecha muy triste para ti.
Estoy seguro que tu hermano siente tu amor y tus lazos espirituales con el.
Es importante contar su historia
No hay que dejar que estas tragedias se repitan
Victor
Se que es una fecha muy triste para ti.
Estoy seguro que tu hermano siente tu amor y tus lazos espirituales con el.
Es importante contar su historia
No hay que dejar que estas tragedias se repitan
Victor