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| Across Lake Atitlán from San Pedro la Laguna is the Kaqchikel town of San Antonio Palopo with a population of 2650. Before the road, which was completed in 1980, access was only by boat or by footpaths. Due to this geographic isolation, both men and women still wear traje. Women wear backstrap loomed red striped huipiles, red head ribbons, and blue skirts. Men dress in similar striped shirts and pants with a small woolen blanket called a rodillera around the hips. A similar garment of cotton was worn by the ancient Maya men. Tunecos, as they call themselves, raise onions and anise in terraced fields extending up from the lake that give the landscape a sculptural form. Upon our arrival I asked where the cooperative was. One of the young women pointed to a path to the lake shore. We saw the sign, Cooperative Integral de Producion, San Antonio Palopo R.L. It was closed, but a young man named Jose soon appeared and invited us in. No women appeared inside during our stay, but the girls selling textiles waited for us outside. It was a new structure, and Jose was very proud of it. He told us that the cooperative had been going for twelve years. Now there were more than one humdred men and women participants. They have a large inventory of backstrap and treadle-loomed textiles for sale, including shawls, napkins, placemats, belts, in a wide range of colors The cooperative has its own export code, and they ship directly to Germany, Italy, England, and the United States. | |||||||||||||
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| A huipil from San Antonio Palopo in 1962. The typical corte is dark blue, not black as in the photo above. The men's shirts are similar to but more narrow than the huipil and with sleeves. The collar which is worn up can be seen in the photo below. | |||||||||||||
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To contact us write: Arte Maya Tz'utuhil, P.O. Box 40391, San
Francisco, CA 94140. Telephone: (415) 282-7654.
Email me at
All paintings and photographs Copyright © 1988–2015 Arte Maya Tz'utuhil |
