Tag: traditional dress

El Diario de Guatemala DIEZ

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DIA Diez

Oops, I did it again.

I blew another fuse! But this time, both appliances were not plugged in at the same time. Even though I have been drying my hair here for a week, something had obviously changed with the electrical system. Determined to not contact my host, I tried to find the caretaker and when I was unsuccessful, I left a note on my door (in Spanish) hoping she would spot it before I returned for lunch.

Honestly, I was getting a bit tired and hadn’t slept much the night before. I wasn’t in the mood for school today and was counting down the minutes until we were finished, as I was ready to do something a little different today. But the bright spot was that it was a beautiful day and when I mentioned to my teacher that you could see the volcano so well, she suggested we go to the roof and take a look. It was a spectacular view!

Upon my return to my apartment after school, I found the note still on my door and the lights still dark. So that I didn’t return to a dark apartment tonight, I had to swallow my pride and contact my host once again, to confess my sin, praying that he would not yell at me, or rather, send me a very strongly worded response about my personal appliances!

The plan for the afternoon was to make my way to the main building that houses my school, for one of the cultural events they host each week. Only about a twelve-minute walk, I left a little early to make sure that I remembered which door it was, as none of them are marked. Thankfully, a couple of other girls were arriving when I did, so I found the entrance and ventured inside. Taking a seat, I discovered that it was my teacher that was doing the presentation on traditional wedding attire.

During class, she had asked me about attending and asked if I would be her model, however, I thought I had misunderstood her, although of course my answer was “Si” (my favorite Spanish word!). When the presentation started and she asked for a model, she went straight to me! So, she really was serious!

The clothing that she was describing is the traditional dress of the local pueblos. These amazing pieces are constructed by hand and take about six months, with young girls helping from the age of seven. First, I donned the “guipil”, the blouse, which was embroidered with colorful birds. The girls in the class were remarking that it looked really cute with my jeans and sandals! Next, she placed “el sute es la pieza de tela”, fabric wrapped to make a skirt, around my hips. Finally, she cinched the “cinturon” or “la faja cuesta qinientos” around my waist. As she pulled tightly, I thought maybe I should wear this all day long to remind me not to eat so many tortillas! Lastly, an embroidered mantle was placed around my shoulders. She described how a young woman would wear this on her head for her wedding and then later tie it into a basket or into a sling to carry her baby.

All of these pieces were remarkable and obviously a lot of time and patience went into their creation. When asked how much these would cost if having to purchase them, the total was staggering…about $13,500 Quetzals…approximately $1800 USD…a fortune in Guatemala!

After another couple donned outfits for their pseudo wedding and the festivities were described to us, we were offered pepian, a traditional Guatemalan dish of Mayan origin.

This was a fun diversion from my usual routine, and I enjoyed meeting some of the other students. What I discovered that I was missing while having my class just across the street from my apartment, was the camaraderie many of them shared during their breaks.

I walked home with two other students and decided to get my homework done before dinner and then I took a walk.

Finding myself at Tanque La Union, the historic place that people gathered to wash their clothes during colonial times, I grabbed a seat and of course a few photos. The park that fronts this spot is a popular gathering place for locals and it’s great for people watching.

Tanque La Union

I found myself wanting to go out this evening and ended up at the pizzeria that I had gotten takeout (para llevar-important word for those who want food-to-go) from last week. Vice Pizzeria has an amazing rooftop bar, fun music and spectacular views. This time, however, I didn’t care for my choice of pizza…chorizo…the bar next door’s was way better and way cheaper…like half the price! Still, I had a great view of the goings-on on the street and the full moon and that’s always interesting!

My last day of school was tomorrow, and I wasn’t sure what to feel. Excitement and sadness all rolled into one…I’ll have to deal with that…manana.

What I learned today: Because of the design of the traditional clothing, there is lots of room for expansion…hint, hint…lots of tortillas and pepian and your skirt will still fit!

Photo of the day: Tanque La Union

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Vice Pizzeria