12
Feb
We went to Chichicastenango a couple of weekends ago. The town is known for its colorful market with stall after stall of handicrafts. But what I’ll remember most are the things that I couldn’t buy or take pictures of.
The inside of La Iglesia de Santo Tomas, built by the Spanish 400 years ago atop a Mayan temple, mixes the spirituality of both cultures. Grand shafts of light pierced through gaps in the ceiling arch, so strong they seemed solid except for the plumes of incense smoke swirling within them. The beams fell on praying individuals, lighting white candles. As a woman in her traditional dress inched down the aisle on her knees towards the figure of Christ, a group of Mayan spiritual leaders entered humming and chanting, followed by a trail of spicy smoke.
I’ve never had such a pleasant time bargaining (I’m terrible at it and perhaps I enjoyed it because I wasn’t effective) but I picked out unique masks and vibrantly stitched chumpas (jackets) while talking to sweet, funny Mayan families. I shared my juice box and took pictures with the 3 generations of family often present. My souvenirs will not just be of Guatemala, but of these people and their colorful lives.
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