Guatemala: ¡PODER!, Tale of Two Girls · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Stories are powerful. They define who we are and what we care about. When the stories that are told about us are positive, they can empower us. When they are desolate, they can make us feel insecure or question ourselves.
¡PODER! (Spanish word that means power) is a docudrama film, directed, written and edited by Lisa Russell, Emmy-winning filmmaker. This film tells the real life story of Elba Velasquez and Emelin Cabrera, two indigenous girls from Guatemala, who challenged the mayor of their small town of Concepción Chiquirichapa to create girl-friendly municipal public policies. These public policies ensure that the local government addresses girls’ unique needs in the areas of health, education, HIV prevention and culturally-relevant family violence prevention. According non-profit Let Girls Lead, only 10 percent of Mayan girls finish primary school and nearly half have babies before they turned 18.
On March 12, ¡PODER! had its world premiere at the United Nations 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York City.