Guatemalan Textiles for Sale

I've created a new blog page and have listed some of the Guatemalan textiles that I have for sale.  Check it out! Click here or on the page link above.

Shopping Guatemala

Well, my Guatemala adventure is over.  I had a great time.  The abundance of fiber talent can be overwhelming at times.  Such a rich tradition!  Of course, shopping is one of my favorite pasttimes when traveling.  Here's a sampling of the markets that I visited.

The market in Solola.

Paolina and Francisca sell fabric and women's traditional cortes, skirts, in the Solola market.

A shop selling the signature pottery of San Antonio.



Embroiderers and shopkeepers in Santiago:

Vendors in Antigua:

This is a vendor at the Santo Domingo, a very old convent that has been converted into a beautiful hotel, museums, shops, gardens, and restaurants.

A market in an Antigua courtyard.

This is Nellie who runs a sewing co-op and sells the products of several families.  Most of the designs are Nellie's, and the other families do the sewing.

This is Petronila, who sells recycled women's traje, traditional dress.  Cortes, or skirts, usually ikat weaves with some embroidered decoration, are stacked to her right.  The photo below shows stacks of huipiles, or blouses.  Petronila has appeared in National Geographic.

This is Petronila's display of huipiles from Colotenango.

Here are some of the markets and vendors of Panajachel:

Francisca sells women's traje in both Panajachel and Chichicastenango.

This shopkeeper is wearing the traditional men's clothing from Solola.

And my favorite, Guatemalan Barbies.

Next Stop: Wonderland

I made it to Guatemala City without a glitch.

On the outskirts of Guatemala City.

I always dislike the actual traveling part of traveling. It usually makes me anxious. When I travel, I like to establish a base camp and make day trips from there. I really don’t care for the getting-from-one-place-to-another part. That’s a bit odd, because living in Alaska for 31 years, the journey was the destination. Most places you go in Alaska there really isn’t much to do, for a person like me who is not outdoorsy, when you get there. Driving and seeing the scenery is the main attraction of traveling. I don’t mind traveling on a tour. In fact, I’ve come to enjoy being on a tour. The actual traveling is okay when I don’t have to spend my time figuring out how to get from one place to another and what to see when I get there. Tours take away all that logistical stuff and let you enjoy your time and place.

Well, like I said, I had a smooth trip to Guatemala City. The next day, the van picked me up right on time and we went back to the airport to pick up my two friends, who were arriving on two different flights from Ohio and Utah. Miraculously, all the flights were on time, and when I arrived at the airport, there they were! Our van took us to Panajachel, to Hotel Regis, our home for the duration of our stays. Hotel Regis is on the main tourist area street in Pana, but set back from the street in the interior part of the block. Stucco cottages with red tile roofs are set in a garden with pathways, hot tubs, fountains and plenty of places to lounge outdoors. It’s a beautiful setting right in the heart of the restaurant and shopping area and about two blocks up from Lake Atitlan.

The view from our window.

Our cottage.

The grounds of the hotel.

Our first full day in Panajachel was pretty laid back. We slept in, had breakfast in our room, then strolled the street and shopped. Sondra and I had to hit the fabric stores. Here’s the selection from one store we visited.

I also purchased a couple of handwoven belts, and one older one with hand embroidery.

We watched the sun set over Lake Atitlan.

Then we ate dinner at El Bistro. Seafood fettuccini. A good end to a good day.

El Bistro, Panajachel

Mayan Students in Need of Sponsorship

Through my trip to Guatemala and working on the quilts for the orphanage at Santa Apolonia, I learned of another non-profit, Mayan Families doing work for needy indigenous families around the Lake Atitlan area.  Mayan Families provides food, medical assistance, housing needs, and student sponsorships on a very personal basis.  Donations can be made to particular people and projects.  I started sponsoring a student last year.  Francisca graduated from high school recently and will be starting university this month.

School for the children in this very depressed area starts in a few days.  Many children are still waiting for a sponsor in order to attend school this year.  It costs only $190 to send an elementary school child to school for the year.  This amount is beyond many families in the area who struggle just to feed their families.  You can check out the list of children still looking for sponsors.  Maybe you'll be inspired to help a child create a better future.

Mayan Families is an officially recognized 501.c.3 non-profit, so donations are tax-deductible. 

Easter Week in Guatemala

Easter is not one of my big holidays.  But two years ago I was in Guatemala on the Nancy Crow Textile Tour during Easter week.  The colors and pageantry were fabulous!  Every village we visited had processions and pageants celebrating Easter week.  Here are a few photos, not necessarily my best (the Mayan people are not particularly fond of having their pictures taken without their permission, so I've tried to limit most of the photos here to backs and indistinct faces).  This will give you just a hint of the richness of tradition in the Mayan highlands near Lake Atitlan.  Happy Easter!

Mayan woman and baby in tradional dress, San Andres Xecul

Women carrying a float in the Easter week pageant, San Andres Xecul

Mayan women in tradional dress, San Andres Xecul

Palm archway entrance to the church at San Andres Xecul

Onlookers kneeling in the street to pray, carrying palm fronds for the Easter week pageant, San Andres Xecul

Offering of fruit, flowers, and sawdust painting, Easter week pageant, Quetzaltenango

Hundreds of town residents turn out in purple robes to carry the floats during one of the Easter week pageants, Quetzaltenango

Men carry a float through the market during Easter week, Chichicastenango

Another view of the float, Chichicastenango market

Homes are decorated with plam fronds and purple banners, Easter week in Zunil

Zunil

Zunil

Villagers work on a sawdust painting in front of the church in Zunil