Market day at Chichicastenango is a riot of color as craft vendors and tourists pack the narrow cobbled streets. Amazingly, these people are even smaller than the ones in Totonicapán and are known for their special brand of religion, a combination of pre-Columbian Mayan rituals and Christianity. Today was the next to last day of the Festival of Santo Tomás, a day of dancing, parades, and fireworks. The highlight was the pairs of costumed men who climb to the top of a 100 foot high pole, tie themselves to ropes and “fly” in spirals to the ground.
Many of the crafts are fantastic, especially the embroidered fabrics. One woman told us it took her ten months to create a masterpiece that she was selling for about $100. They can’t understand what I mean when I say, “Es muy linda,” and “Si, me gusta mucho,” but “No quiero nada.” (It is beautiful. Yes, I like it very much. I don’t want anything.) We come to see and to learn but not to buy.
