Chichicastenango Sunday Market

One of the top attractions in Guatemala, according to the guidebooks, is the Sunday Market at Chichicastenango (Chichi). We've been to quite a few weekly markets in our travels so we couldn't pass up Chichi; in fact, we arrived one day early to snag a good hotel room and check out the pre-market action.

Our room #6 at El Arco was maybe the best hotel room in Central America so far: balcony, roomy, tastefully decorated with local textiles and crafts.

Saturday afternoon and evening we checked out the churches, the cemetery, the sacred hill and stone, the comedors, the papas stands; and watched the vendors in the plaza set up very tall stalls, hung with textiles that are sold mostly to tourists. Sun-Ling observed that the many articles for sale are expensive as most are intricate handmade pieces, and there is hardly anything that would "fit" our home or ourselves. That's a common problem with third world markets; that is, the colorful articles look beautiful (often amazing) and are well made, but what do you do with the the jaguar mask, the red and purple hand-woven tablecloth, the local blouse or hat, when you get home?

Sunday morning, we hit the streets of Chichi at 8:00 AM. Most of the action was not buying and selling but porters unloading and hauling, vendors continuing to set up, buses and vans picking up nad dropping off, men and boys crowding the barberias, and shoe shine boys competing for business with ambulatory vendors.

Sun-Ling bought a wool shoulder bag and by 9 we had spotted a few foreign tourists. By 10, many groups of tourists arrived and there was an increase in action all around.

For us, the market was ho-hum. Just another market for tourists. The one thing in Chichi that is unique is the blending of Christian and Mayan religions, but the locals don't seem to be vigorous in preserving that. True, we did see a Sunday morning procession of Mayan elders and Mayan ceremonies at the cemetery, but Santo Tomas church on Epiphany Sunday was 99.9% Catholic. Older guide books say that the front steps and front doors of Santo Tomas are sacred and reserved for elders. Not so any more it seems as locals and tourists led by local guides parade in and out of the front doors in a steady stream, often ignoring the "please no photos" signs inside.

And by noon, we were packed up and on a van to El Quiche.

Chichicastenango, Guatemala, another picturesque village in the mountains.




Setting up starts the night before the Sunday Market.


The stalls in front of the church. The tallest market stalls I've ever seen.


Stalls fill the plaza.


Barberia.


We chowed on pupusas the evening before the market.


Hauling turkeys.


Moving chairs.


Our hotel room and balcony at El Arco.




The market is lively and crowded after 10 AM when tourists arrive.


Interesting cemetery in Chichi with some graves just a mound of dirt and others tombs that resemble Mayan pyramids.

Laomeng - Part Two

So, was the Laomeng Market worth the time and effort? Yes!

Lots of local color. Almost all the ladies were wearing their traditional clothes and the variety of costumes and color was amazing.

We spent about 3 hours strolling around. Bought some bananas and some cross-stitch cloth. From our experience in South America we knew to look for the animal market which was across town and full of ducklings, chicks, squealing piglets, and stoic water buffalo.

We checked out of the hotel at noon, and walked up through the animal market to the main road to wait for a through bus to Lvchun (the v is not a typo btw), but encountered massive gridlock due to market traffic and driver stupidity. So we walked to the front of the westbound jam and walked backwards asking who is going to Lvchun and ended up catching a lift all the way to Lvchun with a lumber dealer from Kunming who was on a business trip buying timber; a sharp guy with a wide world view.

Here are the market photos starting with one of the lady who sold us bananas:

Tarabuco festival: Pujllay

Tarabuco is known for its Sunday indigenous market. Since we really liked the markets in Ecuador, we decided to push onto Sucre from Uyuni, even though it means backtracking to Potosi. A closer look showed that this Sunday was to be the annual Pujllay festival. We had to think for a second. Festival means probably no large animal market. While we did not expect this one to be a drunken party, we were not sure whether it would feel authentic.

Considering the crowd situation of a festival, we took the easy route via a tourist bus. There was much security on the road. When we arrived in town, we found out that the President and Vice President of Bolivia were going to be there. A viewing stand was set up in the town square -- clues of a parade. Many of the indigenous people were dressed in traditional costumes, men and women. There were several distinct styles of headgear, ponchos, and skirts, indicative of different groups.

After some browsing various souvenir stalls and sampling tasty street food, the parade started. Some of the costumes were very impressive. The most unusual were the ones with special footwear with cymbals. After the parade, we continued to wander through town, not bothering to follow the parade to the grandstand. Much later we remembered that we were missing the main symbol of the celebration, the Pukara (altar with offerings to Pachamama, Mother Earth). We started to make our way to it. The VIPs were leaving just as we arrived. More dancing ensued around the Pukara and all over, with gusto.

As magnificent as Pujllay was, it took me a while to warm to it. The presence of the politicians was a turnoff for me. Parading in front of the grandstand made it seem like a pageantry. But in the end I was convinced at heart it was a true festival.

Here are some shots from the festival in Tarabuco.

Locals in their traditional festive clothes. Check out the head gear.








A hard boiled egg, "wrapped" in mashed potatoes, coated with egg then deep fried and served with a spicy onion salsa. Yummy!


Heel cymbals!




Various shots of the local groups in the parade. All groups consisted of marchers/dancers plus muscians.










The Pukara surrounded by dancers and musicians.




And a few more shots.

I have a new hat

Panama hats are historically made in the greater Cuenca, Ecuador area. As they were worn by workers for the Panama Canal, the name was forever stuck. I had always loved them and used to buy one after another from REI until they stopped carrying them. I was very happy to be able to acquire a new hat so close to the source. [Hat was actually bought in Chordeleg, a town about 40 kms east of Cuenca.]

Sun-Ling's new Panama Hat as seen at the Mirador Turi above Cuenca.


Sun-Ling checks out a hat at the Hat Workshop and Museum in Cuenca.


More photos of Cuenca and surrounds.

20th century modern Art Deco architecture in Cuenca with parade in foreground.


Same parade looking down Calle Simon Bolivar to Igelsias San Blas.


Another Art Deco (or Tropical Deco) building in Cuenca.


The iconic tile domes of the Catedral Nueva in Cuenca.


Colonial building with bus - Cuenca.


A building in Sigsig - about 60 kms east of Cuenca.



Main Parque in Sigsig with contemporary statues.


Mercado - Chordeleg, Ecuador - about 30 kms east of Cuenca. Sun-Ling bought her new Panama Hat in Chordeleg at a shop on the main square.


Animal Market - Gualaceo, Ecuador - about 35 kms east of Cuenca.

About taking photographs at markets

Unless people have obscure beliefs, which is not the case with the indigenous people here, we approach with the same respect that we would expect for ourselves. This means

1) Feel free to take shots of crowds and animals
2) Never stick the camera in someone's face as one would with, say a hummingbird.
3) When there is a purchase with a vendor, the relationship changes.
4) Never pay for photos.

Markets are difficult to photograph. But John has an awesome technique. He takes photos from the hip with a small point-and-shoot, making him inconspicuous if that is at all possible for us. No matter where we go around the world, we always stick out. :( It also helps that our camera has a wide angle lens; sometimes the woman next to the llama also gets in the frame.

I think our respect for people comes through. There is rarely any pushback.

Sometimes the woman next to the llama also gets in the frame.