Quetzal, the God of Air

This sequential illustration narrates the story of Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. The beautiful bird is the symbol which identifies the country as it can be found in the flag and it’s the name of the country’s currency.

Quetzal is an important divine bird to the Maya culture as he was the guardian bird of Tecun Uman  (the Maya leader and warrior). I decided to focus on this specific moment where the Quetzal was sitting on top of the tree as Tecun Uman was fighting against the Spaniard conquistador Pedro de Alvarado in the highlands of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The Maya warriors had the disadvantages as the Spaniards soldiers had modern weapons such as guns and knives, thus, Alvarado shoot Tecun Uman on the chest and he fell to the ground. As the battle continued, the bird landed on top of Uman and rested on top of the wound in sign of protection and spend the last moments with the warrior. 

As the bird was sitting on his chest, the bird got the stain of the warriors’s blood under his feathers belly. After the warrior died, the bird flew-off with the stain of crimson blood and from there, all male Quetzales were born with their underbelly colored crimson red. 

Finally, the Quetzal’s long tail and crimson underbelly makes the bird unique and it represents the spirit of Tecun Uman and how the Maya spirit will never be destroyed.