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Black Sand Beaches is a collection of short stories drawn from the colorful and authentic people who inhabit the more than 100 small fishing villages lining the beaches of

Guatemala’s Pacific Coast. While these stories describe the universal themes of family, fear, adventure and survival, their texture and tone are definitely unique to the culture and lives of the people who inhabit Guatemala’s black sand beaches. 

It is amazing to observe how the people of this region remain devoted to their uncomplicated way of life despite pressures from outside influences as tourists, international drug trafficker’s, and natural evolution.

“Aldea Hawaii” is a beach area of about 8 kilometers in length and, on average, about one kilometer in width and is located directly parallel the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Chiquimulilla canal to the east. This unique area has approximately 500 inhabitants who live in more than 60 small homes that are scattered along the beach and Mangrove forrest. The locals live in simple huts and sustain themselves on fishing (either in the canal or the ocean) and simple agriculture. With very little exception, these families have lived along these beaches for more than 100 years. For most of these early decades, this coastal area was reachable only by boat. 

However, in 1996 a bridge and the first road were constructed that connected Iztapa to Monterrico, and consequently the interest in the area abruptly increased. As a result, larger summer cottages and hotels emerged and electricity, roads and other infrastructural improvements evolved.

Since 2000, the region had definitively has developed to a national and international tourism destination with currently over 30 hotels and almost as many restaurants, groceries, clothes shops, a bank, and churches. Still, the people, customs and community spirit have been reluctant to change. 

Since the 1960s, affluent families from Guatemala started buying land that was situated near or on the beach and began to build so-called summer cottages. At the same time, the first simple hotels started to emerge, originally only for locals by the 1970s these rustic hotels also attracted backpackers who were interested in the rustic beauty of the deserted volcanic beaches and the rich wildlife.