Artisans

Chichicastenango is one of the most important villages in Guatemala. Home to the Quiche Maya civilization, one of the largest ethnic groups on country, this place epitomizes the Mayan culture, history, and traditions of Guatemala. 

Every Thursday and Sunday, the locals flock to what has been deemed the largest market in Central America. Here they sell their products - ranging from traditional crafts, table runners, bags and purses, paintings, and Mayan masks to fruits, vegetables, and other foods to the sale of animals such as chickens, goats, and pigs, among others.

Chichicastenango is a municipality in the department of Quiche; it is made up of 86 villages, one of them being Quiejel. This is where 41-year-old Yolanda is from. She is a married mother of two, ages 18 and 22.

Yolanda remembers a childhood that was filled with love and affection from her parents. Still, as she was the oldest child in the family, Yolanda had to work in agriculture and learn artisan work in order to support the family with additional income. She also helped with household chores and with taking care of her four sisters and brother. Yolanda grew up in a humble family, in a small home with adobe walls, a dirt floor, and a tile roof. Thanks to Yolanda's hard work, her siblings were able to receive a formal education.

52-year-old Marcela, who today is an empowered woman who has overcome much adversity, remembers the extreme poverty of her youth. At the age of 10, she was sent to school, but due to being in a large family (she was the fifth born of ten children), Marcela was only able to complete two years of studies. One of her brothers sadly died of measles when he was five years old; the remaining siblings are close-knit and support one another. Back then and still today, Marcela's father earns his livelihood by selling traditional Guatemalan clothes in the market of Sololá. In his spare time, he grows and/or harvests vegetables and basic grains. Marcela's mother takes care of the housework and also produces traditional Guatemalan weavings such as huipiles.

Elena lives on the other side of the majestic Lake Atitlán, in the Department of Sololá, in the western highlands of Guatemala. Her house is located on the outskirts of San Juan La Laguna among coffee plantations, in a very humble but picturesque place. She belongs to the Friendship Bridge trust bank “Guadalupe”. Moreover, she is from the Tzutujil Mayan ethnic group.

Santos Quisquina Churunel, resident of the community Caserio Chuacruz, Sector Cipresales has faced many hardships and overcome significant obstacles in her 48 years of life. She recounts that her father suffered from diabetes, and unfortunately passed away 26 years ago. Santos has five sisters and one brother; she is the fourth born. She was only able to complete one year of formal education; she needed to work, instead in order to help put food on the family's table. Together with her grandmother and other sisters, Santos made and sold all kinds of colorful traditional textiles. She enjoyed learning about the fabrication of these textiles, and this skill would proven invaluable to her over the years.

Magdalena lives in the mayan language Kakchiquel-speaking town of Santa Catarina Palopó, a quaint and picturesque place on the shores of the magnificent Lake Atitlán in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. She has lived there all of her life. Her childhood was very difficult, as her parents could not afford to take care of her. Until she was 13 years old, Magdalena lived with her grandmother, who held the old-fashioned belief that girls did not need to go to school. Instead of attending school, Magdalena learned to weave on a backstrap loom. By age eight, she was a talented weaver! Then, when she was 13 years old, she moved to her parents’ home. Her parents were of the same belief that that did not need an education; thus, Magdalena learned to farm.

Peña Blanca is a small town in the department of Sololá. Here, majority of the population work as day laborers to earn a living. Candelaria, currently 36, lived there until she was 34. She remembers her childhood in which she was raised with love and care by both her parents and grandparents. She is the fourth born of 11 children (five girls, six boys). Candelaria's father was always attentive to her and her other siblings. Candelaria's mother dedicated herself to the home as well as making the traditional textil blouses called huipiles, while her father worked as a bricklayer. Her parents worked hard so that they could provide for their 11 children.