Chichicastenango

Last week, I was with the Latin Venture group and we visited the market in Chichicastenango, so here's a few pictures for you.

Outside the museum there is a whole wall of murals depicted various aspects of Guatemalan life, which is really interesting - and at times sobering.

This one shows a typical scene from the civil war (1960 -1996) when many indigenous villages were massacred and burnt to the ground by the army

This ones depicts the church at Chichicastenango -and the traditional dance / swing - when men (usually after consuming a lot of alcohol) climb to the top of the 'maypole' type thing, tie themselves on and they then swing around as they are lowered to the ground.

Maize - harvesting, roasting, grinding - before they use the flour to make tortillas.

Traditional weaving techniques. Most of the textiles here are still made by hand.