I had to post this photo of a street in Solola because it shows a man in traje, the traditional dress of indigenous Guatemalans. Guatemala is divided into twenty-two “departments” or regions, and each department has its own unique design, a tradition developed hundreds of years ago. (My post on Nimpot showed examples of ceremonial traje hanging on the walls.) Although many Guatemalan women wear traje, not many men do; most dress in blue jeans or more contemporary clothes. In case you haven’t seen traje in person, here’s a photo.

Another reason I like this photo is that is juxtaposes the traditional with the modern. Especially in larger towns such as Solola, you see that a lot: a wide range of people, from school students in uniform, to farmers, to office workers. In Guatemala City, the capital, especially in restaurants and hotels, you could be in any large urban area where the men and women are extremely stylish. (I often feel underdressed, as I would in New York or Madrid.) (more…)

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