English Recordings

The photo shows a man standing in front of many people. The presence of the American flag indicates that the scene takes place in the USA.
The scene is set in a big park. I can see a gigantic pond and a very tall monument in the background. I think the scene takes place in Washington: it is the Washington Monument.
The man is seen from the back, so that we can see the huge crowd of people standing opposite him. He is probably delivering a speech since he is standing at a pulpit, above everyone else, (except for some VIPs, journalists and photographers) which gives an impression of power. He is addressing the crowd.
Although we can’t see his face, we realise he is an important figure, someone who is able to draw attention and persuade masses. Therefore all these people are his audience. They are listening to him. The man seems to be black. He is dressed in black, he is wearing a gown, like a priest. His arms are open, and his gesture suggests he is inviting people to do something, to act/ he is welcoming them.
There are three vertical lines: the man who is standing, the monument and the flagpole: the two vertical lines on the right convey ideas of strength, dignity and stability. Indeed, the Washington Monument and the flag are powerful symbols of American institutions and the values of the USA. As a result, we are made to think that the speaker also stands for these values and that he is strong and reliable. The viewer is made to associate the orator with these ideas.
Moreover, George Washington was the first American President and the Washington Monument is situated on the Mall, with The White House just a few hundred metres behind it. This place is the heart of the nation and the seat of power. The flag on the right stands for the republic and its values: life, liberty and justice for all. The photographer chose to include the flag in the picture, that’s why the orator is not in the middle of the photo! The black man chose to deliver his speech in this symbolic place to remind everyone that all Americans are equal and that he believes in American values. His “dream is deeply rooted in” these values.
You can guess that this is one of the most famous/iconic photos of Martin Luther King. in Washington. We can’t see the statue of Abraham Lincoln behind him, but the artist probably made other shots with this highly symbolic figure a few years later, on the day Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a Dream” speech! (August 28th, 1963)
Not only is MLK addressing the crowd, but he is also addressing Congress and the President of the USA “give us the ballot” = the right to vote. Therefore it is logical that the Washington Monument should appear in the background at the far end of the Reflecting Pool.
The 1957 civil rights demonstration, Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, at the Lincoln Memorial, drew 27,000 people to mark the third anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling and to protest the slow progress in School desegregation. On theis phot, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is shown as he delivers his "Give Us the Ballot" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Dr. King, the last speaker, gave his first national address on that day.
There is a photographer kneeling on the right. He is capturing the moment just as the artist who took this photo did, but from another angle and point of view... Can you imagine the result of the other photographer’s work?...

record
address
decrease
contract
object
produce
present
increase
reject
refuse
project

underdevelop 20010

inconceivable 20100

extraordinary 20010

unprecedented 01020

unemployment 2010

economic 2010

organizational 200100

advantageous 20100

opportunistic 20010

legislative 1020

a rare breed of cattle

I could be benched all year.

Let's take the 4:10 train.

Girl, 8, is among at least 18 people killed in horrific hit-and-run in Guatemala after tractor trailer mows down bystanders gathered at scene of fatal crash just minutes earlier

. At least 18 people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed Wednesday night when a tractor trailer plowed into a group of pedestrians
. The group was at the scene of another fatal crash just moments earlier
. Bystanders gathered on the side of a road in Nahualá after community leader Juan Chávez was instantly killed in a hit-and-run incident
. Tractor trailer driver Pedro René Lorenzo López, who fled the scene in south-western Guatemala, was arrested by the Guatemalan National Civil Police
. President Jimmy Morales declared the Central American nation will be holding three days of mourning as of Thursday

By Adry Torres for Dailymail.com

At least 18 people, including an eight-year-old girl, have been killed and nine others injured in a horrific hit-and-run crash in Guatemala.

The tragic incident took place late Wednesday night when the driver of a commercial tractor trailer slammed into a group of people that were gathering on the side of a highway in the indigenous town of Nahualá.

The residents had rushed to the scene of a previous hit-and-run accident which left beloved community leader Juan Chávez dead, shortly before 11pm local time.

According to witness, the driver’s visibility could have been impaired by lack of lighting in the 18-kilometer stretch of the InterAmerican Highway.

On Thursday, the National Civil Police announced the arrest of Pedro René Lorenzo López, 28.

According to Guatemalan news station TN 23, Lorenzo López passed all of his field sobriety tests. No charges have been filed yet.

Authorities, however, gave no details on where the detained suspect would be transferred to amid fears of a revenge attack.

Before tragedy struck the unsuspecting bystanders in the town, with an estimated population of 65,000, a bystander recorded the alarming moment a cargo truck and a pickup truck rolled over Chávez’s lifeless body.

Numerous people were spotted in the video trying to warn incoming traffic with the flash lights of their cell phones.

Antonio Tomás, who was injured, said it just took a matter of seconds before the previous traffic accident site became a chaotic scene.

“My cousin says he only heard screams, crying and how people were lying on the floor,’ Tomás said according to Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre.

Among the victims that died were two minors, eight-year-old Cristina Katerin Perechu Cotil, and Cesar Miguel Ajqui Tepaz, 16.

The other victims were named as: Cristina Cojti Guarchaj, 40; Antonia Carac Ixtas, 45; Juana Juliana Lopez Castro, 19; Diego Geremias Balux, 26; Catarina Tay Guarchaj, 56; Salomon Sipac, 19; Maria Tzoc Tambris, 34; Diego Hernesto Ixmata Xocol, 22; Cristobal Tuhul Xocol, 60; Juan Chavez Ajqui, 57; Antonio Jamines Tahai, 64; Miguel Perechu Tambris, who was in his 40’s; Micaela Lopez Sac, 58; Cristobal Tulul Xocol, 60; Jose Benito Tambris Perechu, 19; Manuel Flabiano Tzoc, who was in his late 40’s.
President Jimmy Morales declared the Central American nation will be holding three days of mourning as of Thursday.

As of 5am local time Thursday, the bodies of most of the victims were returned to their respective families for burial services.

Guatemala’s National Civil Police arrested Pedro René Lorenzo López, the suspected driver of a truck who ran over and killed 18 people on Wednesday night

Investigators and residents huddle around the bodies of 18 people, including an eight-year-old girl, that were killed by a hit-and-run truck driven in the south-western Guatemalan indigenous town of Nahualá

A person records the moment a truck runs over the lifeless body of Juan Chávez. Residents were trying to warn incoming traffic on a highway in Guatemala when the driver of a tractor trailer hit 27 people, leaving 18 dead

Pallbearers carry the coffin of one of the 18 people that died in a horrible roadside accident in Guatemala late Wednesday night. President Jimmy Morales declared the Central American nation will be holding three days of mourning as of Thursday

The tractor trailer (pictured) that ran over 27 people in Guatemala had extensive damages to its front bumper

Authorities gave no details where the detained suspect would be transferred to amid fears of a revenge attack

Yellow police tape and a shoe lay on the ground in the place where an accident occurred

Guatemala in mourning after 18 die in hit-and-run

SOLOLÁ (GUATEMALA) (AFP) – A truck ploughed into a crowd of indigenous Guatemalans gathered on a highway, leaving 18 dead as it drove off without stopping and plunging the Central American country into an outpouring of grief on Thursday.

The government announced three days of mourning after the incident late Wednesday in the western town of Nahuala, whose population of around 65,000 are mostly K’iche’ Maya.

A group of people had converged at the entrance of the town, at the scene of another hit-and-run in which a local community leader was killed, when they in turn were hit by a truck with its lights off on a road without street lighting.

Chilling images from the scene showed the victims’ bodies in their brightly colored clothing laid out in a line on the asphalt, as relatives cried out in anguish.

“In total, there are 18 deaths that have been counted in this tragedy,” fire department spokesman Cecilio Chacaj told AFP, revising down a previous toll of 30 that he attributed to early chaos on the scene.

“The place was in chaos and there were corpses piled on top of other corpses.”
Three of the dead were children, Chacaj said. Another 20 people were injured in the accident, several seriously, and were being treated in hospitals.

The truck driver initially got away but police spokesman Pablo Castillo told reporters a patrol caught up with him.

“After a chase, police officers managed to capture a man allegedly responsible for running over several people with a truck that was travelling at excessive speed in the municipality of Nahula,” Castillo said.

The alleged driver of the yellow-striped black and white vehicle was identified as 28-year-old Pedro Rene Lorenzo Lopez.

“For reasons unknown, he ran over several people, leaving 18 dead, including a child under eight years of age,” Castillo said.

A photo released by police of the recovered truck shows dents on the cab, likely to be from the impact of the collision with the crowd.

NATION IN MOURNING

The government said the mourning period would start Thursday, while President Jimmy Morales tweeted his condolences.

“We are currently coordinating actions to provide all the support to the victims’ families,” he said.

The United States embassy in Guatemala expressed its “deepest condolences to the families of the victims.”

“We sympathize with the injured, their families, and the families of the deceased, hoping they will recover from this tragedy,” a statement released on Twitter said.

Authorities set up a morgue in the local community hall where family members arrived to pick up the bodies of loved ones and take them back to their homes before funerals later Thursday.

Hundreds of people crowded around the morgue, located near a market, as heartbroken families took possession of coffins and bore them to a fleet of nearby pick-up trucks and cars.

Castillo said investigators were initially prevented from getting to the scene by angry residents and relatives of the victims, and were given access only after several hours of talks with community leaders.

Local reports said the man killed in the first accident was president of the state Council of Urban and Rural Development, though authorities have not confirmed this.

The semi-trailer did not have its lights on when it struck the group of people, which may have been why the driver did not spot them, while the highway was also unlit, according to local media.

Traffic rules are frequently ignored in Guatemala, a nation of some 16.5 million people.

Relatives of one of the victims of a deadly hit-and-run accident in Guatemala’s western Nahuala municipality (AFP Photo/JOHAN ORDONEZ)

The belongings of some of the 18 people killed after a truck ran them over are strewn across a road in Nahuala, Guatemala on March 28, 2019 (AFP Photo/JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Relatives of one of the victims bring a coffin from a makeshift morgue set up in Nahuala (AFP Photo/JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Hundreds of people crowded around the morgue, located near a market, as heartbroken families took possession of coffins and bore them to a fleet of nearby pick-up trucks and cars (AFP Photo/JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Map of Guatemala locating Nahuala, where the crash took place (AFP Photo/AFP)

Guatemala hit-and-run crash kills 18 bystanders

(BBC News) – At least 18 people have been killed after a truck ploughed into a crowd in Guatemala.

The victims were looking at the scene of a previous accident in the western town of Nahuala when the truck struck them late on Wednesday. The driver then fled the scene.

The ministry of health said 19 people had been taken to hospital with injuries.
Guatemala’s government has declared three days of national mourning.

Images from the scene show emergency services lining up the victims’ bodies on the road.

The truck driver escaped the scene after the incident, but police spokesman Pablo Castillo said the authorities managed to capture a suspect following a high speed chase.

A 28-year old man identified as Pedro Rene Lorenzo Lopez was in police custody, the spokesman added.

Guatemala’s president Jimmy Morales wrote on Twitter: “At this time we are co-ordinating our response to bring full support to the relatives of the victims. My heartfelt condolences.”

The country has seen several major accidents on its roads in recent years. In 2013, 43 people were killed when a bus plunged 200m (660ft) into a ravine.

The pedestrians had been looking at the scene of a previous hit and run when the truck ploughed into them CECILO CHACAJ/MUNICIPAL FIREFIGH

Bystanders inspecting fatal car crash in Guatemala killed by truck on highway

(ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - A large truck has slammed into a crowd gathered on a road in western Guatemala, killing 18 people and leaving bodies scattered on the roadway, firefighters said.

* Key points:

. The crowd, which included a number of children, had gathered to inspect an earlier fatal car crash

. Between 18 and 32 people are believed to have been killed, with nine more in hospital in critical condition

. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has offered his condolences and promised “full support to the relatives of the victims”

The semi-trailer struck a group of people who had gone onto a dark highway to inspect another person who had been hit by a car, said local fire department spokesman Cecilio Chacaj.

The number of fatalities has been reported at 18, with at least another nine people admitted to hospitals in a critical condition, Public Health Minister Carlos Soto said on local radio.

Mr Chacaj said confusion during the early response to the accident had initially led his department to incorrectly count the number of casualties.

It has been reported that an eight-year-old girl is among the deceased.

“With the confusion, people initially said 30, even more, dead, but once we cordoned off the area we were able to count the bodies properly,” Mr Chacaj said.

The accident took place in the municipality of Nahuala, west of Guatemala City.

“At this time we are coordinating our response to bring full support to the relatives of the victims,” President Jimmy Morales wrote in a post on Twitter. “My heartfelt condolences.”

A video circulating on social media showed bodies strewn on the roadway while several people cry and shout for help.

The crash is one of the country’s worst traffic accidents in recent years.

In 2013, a bus plunged off a cliff in rural Guatemala, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens.

Emergency services respond to one of the worst traffic accidents in recent years in Guatemala. (Reuters)

Authorities have been working through a highly graphic and distressing scene on a highway in west Guatemala. (AP: Sandra Sebastian)