A Cultural Primer

The real title of this section should be Guatemalan cultures. The nation is both a melting pot and a salad bowl -- and in some places maybe even a melting salad bowl -- in terms of its offerings in architecture, art, literature, and music. Its Maya, Spanish, and Garífuna heritages have ensured the existence of a wide array of crafts, architectural styles, and musical rhythms, as well as festivals and religious customs found nowhere else on the globe.

Architecture -- In Guatemala City, colonial buildings coexist with skyscrapers and tin-roofed slums. The Plaza Mayor, Catedral Metropolitana, and Palacio Nacional are all impressive colonial structures. You might call the architectural style of the Children's Museum "colonial" as well -- that is, if you're referring to a lunar colony. Also check out the vermilion, neo-Gothic Iglesia Yurrita in Zona 4, which tips its hat to Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.

Antigua is a fabulously preserved colonial city, and many of its colonial-era churches and buildings have fortunately survived several major earthquakes. Those that didn't fully survive still add to the city's ageless air of grandeur. The Palacio del Noble Ayuntamiento and the ruins of the Convento de las Capuchinas are two of its many highlights.

If you're looking for classic monumental architecture in Guatemala, you're in luck. The creative Maya masons who constructed the stone pyramids built them to last -- they've even survived the daily swarms of tourists who scamper all over them -- though it's not clear how long they can endure an existence unprotected by guide ropes.

The most famous Maya ceremonial city in Guatemala is Tikal. With more than 3,000 mapped constructions to date and a score of impressive excavations and reconstructions, a visit here gives you the sense of visiting a vibrant ancient city. Smaller architectural marvels dot the country, including giant stone stelae at Quirigua, and new sites are being discovered and excavated all the time. Those looking to see perhaps the finest example of Classic Maya hieroglyphics should head to neighboring Honduras and the ruins at Copán, where you'll find a staircase that holds the distinction of being the longest book written in stone.

Art -- Guatemalan artists range from folk artists and artisans working in a variety of forms, materials, and traditions to modern painters, sculptors, and ceramicists producing beautiful representational and abstract works.

The best-known crafts are indigenous woven tapestries and clothing. Artisans use natural dyes extracted from the clavel and heraño flowers, then mix in the crushed bodies of mosquitoes to keep the colors from running. The fabrics are woven on huge looms or simple, portable backstrap looms. Traditional dress for women includes a huipil (blouse) and corte (skirt), often fastened to the waist with a rope belt.

In recent years, mass-produced machine-woven fabrics have started appearing in markets. To spot a fake, look for gold or synthetic threads woven into the cloth, and for overly neat stitching on the back.

Other common handicrafts found in gift shops and markets across Guatemala include carved-wood masks and carved stone and jade.

Handicrafts are far from the only art in Guatemala. Mural painting is a growing form, especially works depicting emotional subjects. See the murals representing Guatemala's war-torn past and peaceful future in the church in Rabinal for an example.

Several galleries in Guatemala City and Antigua carry a wide range of locally produced art.

Literature -- Guatemala's literary tradition dates back to pre-Columbian Maya civilization, when Ki'che authors wrote the holy book Popol Vuh. The book traces the history of the Ki'che people beginning with their creation myth, linking the royal family with the gods in order to reaffirm its legitimacy. The book's exact age is unknown; the Spanish first recorded its existence in Chichicastenango in 1701.

Apart from the Popol Vuh, Guatemala's most famous literary works come from the Nobel Prize-winning poet, playwright, and ambassador Miguel Angel Asturias. Considered one of the fathers of magical realism, Asturias authored such works as El Señor Presidente (1946), Viento Fuerte (1950), and Hombres de Maíz (1967). A cultural center in Guatemala City bearing his name is home to chamber and open-air theaters, as well as a military museum and small art gallery. The Miguel Angel Asturias Cultural Center (tel. 502/2232-4041) is located at 24 Calle 3-81, Zona 1.

Literature can't be discussed without mentioning Maya activist Rigoberta Menchú, who won international acclaim with her autobiography, I, Rigoberta, first published in 1982. Other Guatemalan authors to look out for, both in Spanish and occasionally in translation, include the wonderful short story writer Augusto Monterroso, as well as the poets Luis Cardoza y Arragon, Otto Rene Castillo, and Humberto Ak'Abal.

Music -- In Guatemalan folk culture, both mestizo and Maya, the marimba is king. Mestizo forms reflect their Spanish roots with marimba bands and Spanish-language folk songs influenced by the mariachi and ranchero traditions. Maya music may also prominently feature flute and drum, as with the Ki'che and Cakchiquel, or violins and harps, as with the Kekchi.

Discotheques still spin salsa and merengue, though a brash style called reggaetón is starting to dominate. Reggaetón is a combination of hip-hop and Jamaican dance-hall reggae, whose firmest roots are in Panama, though the music was popularized in Puerto Rico. In recent years it has skyrocketed in popularity in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, most Central American nations, and among Latinos in the United States. Its biggest stars are Puerto Ricans Daddy Yankee and Don Omar.

City bars feature those rhythms as well as rock en español. The current darling of the genre is the Colombian-born Juanes, but not long ago, one of the brightest stars of Latin rock was the Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona, whose hits "Si el Norte Fuera el Sur" and "Ella y El" continue to grace bars' playlists.

Among the Garífuna along the Caribbean coast, you'll likely come across punta and punta rock. Punta is similar to many Afro-Caribbean and Afro-pop music forms, blending traditional rhythms and drumming patterns with modern electronic instruments. (Punta is usually more rootsy and acoustic than punta rock, which features electric guitars and keyboards.) Punta music is usually sung in the Garífuna dialect, though the latest incarnations feature lyrics in English and even Spanish.

Traditional Maya Textiles -- Some say that it's possible to take great photographs in Guatemala with your eyes closed. This is largely due to the beauty of the fabulous textiles woven and worn by Maya women, and to a lesser extent, men. The most distinctive piece of traditional clothing is the female blouse known as a huipil -- a large shirt made of two rectangular pieces of heavy cloth, which are sewn together with no tailoring or shape other than a simple hole for the head. Huipiles are usually worn about waist length, but they are often significantly wider at the shoulders than the actual shoulders of the Maya women who wear them. Huipiles are traditionally woven on a simple backstrap loom, and feature intricate patterns and designs that may be a mix of loom technique and embroidery. These patterns and designs range from the entirely abstract to figurative, with people, animals, flowers, celestial bodies, and gods and goddesses all finding their way into the fabric of this distinctly Guatemalan art form.

It's still common to see women attend weaving classes. One of the most fascinating aspects of the huipil is that dozens of villages have their own style of design: Nebaj in the Ixchil Triangle of villages in the Central Highlands is famous for its tight, intricate hand embroidery with figures of horses, birds and people; the weavers from Chichicastenango embroider the neck, shoulder, and center of the chest areas with predominantly abstract designs; and those in San Lucas Toliman are known for their unique representational embroidery that resembles stick figures.

The huipil has been worn since long before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century. However, it was the Spaniards who instituted the concept of specific village-related huipil styles to establish class and slave organizational structures. During the civil war of the last century, the army followed the conquistadors' lesson and used the huipil and other items of indigenous dress to identify people from villages thought to be sympathetic to the guerrilla cause.

Other pieces of traditional Maya dress that you will see include the corte, which is a large, long rectangular piece of cloth worn as a wraparound skirt. Cortes usually feature bright colors woven into complex patterns. Women often also wear a tocoyal, or headdress. These can range from pieces of cloth to long, narrow ribbons wound in a tight spiral and adorned with tassels. Highly figured and embroidered men's shirts are called trajes.

Today, Maya textiles are displayed on the walls of hotels and restaurants. They are sold on the streets of cities, villages, and in souvenir shops (where you'll find dolls dressed in typical dress, purses, and other accessories made of the beautiful work). In your search, it's well worth a visit to a bustling market, such as those found in Guatemala City, Antigua, Chichicastenango, or Santiago Atitlán.

Note: Please show respect for the Maya culture and remember that only women wear huipiles, while many of the embroidered shirts and pants are meant specifically for men. In fact, most traditional Maya are offended by any Westerner wearing traditional garb, even if it is gender correct. In many cases, the best policy is to wait until you get home before donning your huipil or embroidered jacket.