Guatemala's
rainbow! The strikingly colorful and artistic traditional dress of
the Mayan indigenous population is one of major visual attractions
of the country. These intricate hand-woven creations are most
prominent among highland populations while most Guatemaltecos have
conformed to Western wear. Ironically, we have the horrors of
colonialism to thank for the rich diversity in the patterns of the
typical 'trajes.' Variation in patterns were forced upon the Mayans
by landowners who wanted to be able to account for their workers
easily with uniformed patterns varied according to region. We
visited two Mayan textile museums/showrooms in Antigua much to my color-fancy delight!
