A vendor in Santiago, Lake Atitlan, who sells local dress.
It's Saturday and the vendors are out hawking their goods to tourists. After nearly a month in Guatemala from the highlands to the lowlands, I'm looking for something unusual, but didn't find it today.
Guatemala is known for it textiles, but upon closer inspection they are basically all alike. One table runner I inspected in Tikal, hundreds of miles northwest of Antigua where I am now, is identical to one I saw this morning splayed on the road in front of a cathedral.
Now the one in Tikal was handmade by the vendor's mother. It took her four weeks to make. The one I saw today was made by the vendor herself, but only took two weeks to make. Amazing that they are the same color and same pattern.
Typical "handmade" goods sold throughout Guatemala by the thousands, all alike.
I've also seen the same runner in a multitude of shops. (Why does country of origin, China, keep popping into my mind.) Everyone claims to have handmade all their goods, but in reality it would be nearly impossible given the large inventory they all carry.
Plus, I'm perplexed as to why they all sell virtually the same goods, table runners, handbags, earrings and belts. Very little variety when you get down to really looking.
I'm guessing that most tourists are on a fly by vacation and don't really notice the redundancy. Guess that's a plus if you're a shopper and just want to pick up something "handmade" by the person selling it.
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