Normally, you wouldn't catch us talking about the lofty crafts of 'marketing' and 'advertising' much on this blog. However, I'm going to pinch my nose and have a go. Why?

Well, according to a guy called Al Ries, whose knowledge it seems is not limited to market share and unique selling points, if Guatemala is to sell itself better to tourists around the world, it should change its name.

"How do you solve the country confusion problem? You change the name of the country from Guatemala to Guatemaya. Guatemaya would solve both problems. Guatemaya pre-empts the Maya position and it serves as a memory device to link the Mayas to the country which contains the most spectacular Maya artifacts. (It also solves a third problem. “Mala” is Spanish slang for “bad woman.”)" (see attachment)

What prompted Ries to conjure up such a masterstroke?  It's INGUAT's latest choice of slogan for Guatemala: 'Soul of the Earth'. Ok, perhaps less said.

INGUAT hasn't generally been perceived as the country's most dynamic government agency- and tourist numbers are often assumed to be well below what could be achieved (around 500,000 tourists a year). That sounds like quite a lot to me- but hey, whatever the reality, does it give a foreigner the right to suggest another country changes its name? Can we reduce countries to brands? I think if we do, it says more about our ignorance and arrogance than anything else.

But before I continue ranting, there's a bit more to this than meets the eye. The name Guatemala is curiously often the object of biting Guatemalan wit. 'Guatelinda', 'Guatechula', 'Guatepreciosa' or even 'Guatebuenita' as artist and author, Marco Augusto Quiroa, used to say.

Whatever the nickname, the point always seemed to be about turning heads towards the positive and the possible, and get away from that unique flavour of Guate-humour that quips 'de Guatemala a Guatepeor'. So should that be as a poster retorted on Blog de mi Guatemala, 'de Guatemala a Guatemejor'?

Apparently years ago, Guatemala was Goathemala from the Spanish interpretation of the word in the Maya-Tolteca language for "land of the trees". Years ago in the 1840's, John L.Stephens called the land 'Guatimala' where he searched for Mayan archeological treasures. But hey, what's in a name?

If we're about to change countries' names, why not start with that complete misnoma the 'United States of America'. Wouldn't 'United States of North America' be more accurate? Heck, then there's that tongue twister (wait while I check my passport) the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. Couldn't we make that a bit snappier? What would our marketing guru say about that one?

How about the name a Guatemalan policeman used as he diligently typed out a report of theft for me once: 'instruido, estudiante, originario de la Republica de Inglaterra'.

Now that's what I call snappy. :-)