San Juan la Laguna

By Lee Ann Ward

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The huipil of San Juan La Laguna was originally a white backstrap woven cotton cloth with an embroidered neckline that included small squares of varied colors in a pattern of four rows of six, centered on the front and back of the garment. The square symbolizes the Mayan number one. When German dyes were later introduced to Guatemalan textiles, the white cloth was replaced with a bright red striped cloth. The traditional corte or skirt worn by San Juaneras was a simple design of black cotton with a white stripe.

I first travelled to the Maya Tzutujil village of San Juan La Laguna in May of 1987, at the invitation of a young friend from the village, Florinda, who was attending school in Antigua, Guatemala. As I spent more time in San Juan, several of the women gave me lovely hand woven dresses and cloth. Although most Tzutuhil women in the village learn to weave at a young age, I soon realized that few weavers were able to earn a fair wage for their work, because middle people purchased their weavings for little more than the cost of the yard used in making the cloth. A group of weavers and sewers asked for my assistance in organizing a production and marketing association to produce and sell textiles for export. The group, Las Artesanas de San Juan, sought fair markets in order to avoid continued exploitation by middle people. They have attempted to provide a fair wage to weavers and sewers, and over the years they have been a force for improving the lives of their members and families. Through Las Artesanas' initiatives, a new school was built in the village, literacy classes have been offered, and other social improvements and educational opportunities have occurred. Las Artesanas, with financial assistance from UNESCO and other supporters, and the hard work of the husbands of the weavers, has built a work center in the village with includes a store open to the public most days. Visitors are welcome, and simple rooms are available for overnight stays. Interested buyers are encouraged to contact the association by emailing them at lajanelvicente@yahoo.com.

The embroidered collar above left is typical of most modern huipiles from San Juan la Laguna while the right hand huipil is of unusual coloration. The huipil being woven of white fabric with purple stripes could be older. The white huipil at the top of the page certainly is the oldest of the three and has the finest quality embroidery. It was originally a child's huipil. A machine-made piece of white cloth has been added to each side of the original hand-woven huipil to enlarge it so it could be worn by a woman.

Left: The modern man's shirt may have a figurative ikat design rather than the traditional jaspe design. The man's shirt and pants are indistinguishable from those of San Pedro la Laguna. The shirts of the young boys are most often of a sky-blue jaspe. The boy on the left in the photo at the right wears such a shirt. The boy in the center of the photo has an ikat shirt similar to the design at left.

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[ Up ] [ Books ] [ Panajachel ] [ San Andres Semetabaj ] [ San Antonio Palopó ] [ San Juan la Laguna ] [ San Lucas Tolimán ] [ San Pedro la Laguna ] [ Santa Catarina Palopó ] [ Santiago Atitlán ] [ Solola ] [ Sources ]

To contact us write: Arte Maya Tz'utuhil, P.O. Box 40391, San Francisco, CA 94140. Telephone: (415) 282-7654 Email me at