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Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez is a prolific Mayan author and intellectual who has contributed several books and articles on topics related to Mayan culture. An official for the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture, he is also an instructor at the University Mariano Galvez in Guatemala, where he lives. He has been honored by officials in the Mayan Q'anjob'al linguistic community and has presented at international events including the conference of the Latin American Studies Association and UNESCO. He has been invited to speak at over twenty universities throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Translator Robert Sitler is a professor of modern languages and literature at Stetson University, where he serves as director of its Latin American Studies program. For more than three decades Robert has worked with over a dozen different indigenous groups in Mesoamerica, especially with the Mam-speaking Maya of northwest Guatemala.
Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez's 13 B'aktun offers something unique: a contemporary Mayan intellectual's passionate inquiry into the meaning of the end of the Long Count calendar that interweaves ancient cosmology with modern history. Gonzalez proposes that the completion of the cycle will be the opening of a new era for human growth and renewal, as our species reckons with the horrors we have unleashed and embraces a deeper purpose. In Robert Sitler's compelling translation, 13 B'aktun offers a valuable addition to the literature around 2012: what it portends and what may soon follow. -Daniel Pinchbeck, author of Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl This is an important offering from a contemporary Mayan philosopher and scholar who uses the classical format of a dialogue to engagingly convey his insights into the vital and relevant worldview of his culture. A thorough foreword by Robert Sitler, the book's translator, puts Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez's unprecedented contribution into proper context, identifying it as a much needed Mayan perspective on 2012, a subject that has become confused by an exploitative marketplace that has very often disregarded its authentic Mayan origins. Here is a voice that unites ancient wisdom with modern concerns. -John Major Jenkins, author of The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez harnesses the ancient Mayan cosmo-vision regarding 2012 into an impassioned plea for world transformation. -Mark Borax, author of 2012: Crossing the Bridge to the Future 13 B'aktun is an open door to ancestral knowledge, a sacred ceremony with the fire of wisdom from one of the most luminous civilizations in the history of humanity. It breaks down [doomsday] fears and provides an explanation of Mayan prophecies through the oral tradition.... It is a jewel for those who love the truth and respect cultural identity. -Marco Antonio Sagastume Gemmell, Human Rights Advisor, University of San Carlos, Guatemala
