Summer 2002 Research Report Gustavo Alonzo Guerra Vásquez Comparative Ethnic Studies Graduate Group "Guatemalan Textiles in the Global Market "

During the summer of 2002, I had the opportunity to conduct preliminary research on the production of textiles in Guatemala, Central America. Thanks to the Tinker foundation and the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, I was able to begin research on a topic that is directly related to my doctoral project on Guatemalan Cultural production both within the borders of Guatemala and in the diaspora. The purpose of said research was to investigate the present situation of textile producers within Guatemala as well as interview and conduct archival research in Guatemala City’s Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena and AVANCSO a social science research organization based in Guatemala City. The project went extremely well and represents a solid foundation for future work on issues regarding textiles and indigenous peoples of Guatemala. Some of the findings in the research will be presented at future conferences.

Since many textile producers specialize in particular products, it was important to interview a cross section of people working textile production. I was able to interview several producers of textile materials such as blankets, cortes and huipiles (garments used as skirts and blouses), tablecloths and napkins. Some of these items were produced for local consumption, others for export and some for both. I was able to interview both men and women who work in the production of textile products, which is important since so much of the production of textiles is gendered depending on the equipment that is being utilized to produce the textiles. I started out by interviewing a young man who works in a mill that produces blankets in the outskirts of Guatemala City.

Don Víctor, corte weaver from El Tejar, Chimaltenango, working on his foot loom.

After that, I interviewed a mother and son, of the Méndez family in El Tejar, Chimaltenango, in order to gain some insight into some of the production of textile products produced for export such as tablecloths and napkins. After that, I interviewed some of the Méndez’s relatives who had worked in thread production and tinting. In the same region, was also able to interview an older gentleman, Don Víctor, who specializes in producing cortes (the skirtlike garments used by many Mayan women) for the local and neighboring regions which, according to sources, are on their way out both because the people who produce them are not doing it anymore and because the demand has also dropped. In San Antonio Aguas Calientes near Antigua Guatemala, I was also able to interview Ms. Milvia, who is a member of a local cooperative. She produces huipiles and sells them along with blankets and other articles of clothing and decoration in the cooperative’s market. I also had the opportunity to visit the Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena and interview one of their curators, Mrs. Barbara Knoke de Arathoon, who had plenty to say about the collections and the use of indigenous garments in Guatemala both by indigenous peoples as well as by the tourism institute in order to represent Guatemala in other countries. While visiting the museum and other areas in Guatemala City, I also took advantage of the opportunity to do some archival research in the museum’s library as well as in AVANCSO (Spanish abbreviation for the Association for the Advancement of the Social Sciences.)

Doña Milvia, of the San Antonio Aguascalientes cooperative, weaving a huipil.

At the same time that I was in Guatemala during this summer, I also researched some of the newspapers and came across a recent case which related to my project because it had to do with how textiles are closely linked with indigenous identity and, in turn, indigenous peoples are treated. In a case of blatant discrimination, a Fullbright Scholar of Mayan descent was denied entrance into an eating establishment because she was wearing her indigenous dress. The case is relevant to my research because it demonstrates how textiles weaved and worn by Mayans are synonymous with indigenous identity in Guatemala. The case became public knowledge and quite a number of indigenous women protested the discrimination that this scholar suffered at the hands of fellow Guatemalans. This case became an opportunity for Mayan communities to publicly denounce the racism that exists in Guatemala since this incident was a product of a culture of discrimination and not an isolated event.

In the meantime, I was also collecting ephemera that use indigenous textiles as a symbol for Guatemala. I was able to collect a public phone calling card that depicts a colorful painting inspired by Mayan textiles. I was also able to get a World Cup 2002 commemorative water bottle from the Quetzalteca brand aguardiente which depicts a an indigenous woman in Quetzalteca dress holding a bottle of liquor which has her picture on the label. The ironic timing of the world cup and the use of the indigenous woman in a dress from the Quetzaltenango region to promote drinking liquor while a Fullbright scholar of Mayan descent was being denied entrance to a place where they serve the aforementioned liquor made for a productive research trip.

Once again, I express my gratitude to the Center for Latin American Studies and the Tinker Foundation for supporting my trip to conduct research in Guatemala during this summer. Without the support of both institutions, I would not have been able to engage in this important preliminary research on Guatemala and its love-hate relationship with textiles produced by Mayan indigenous populations. This summer’s activities are only the beginning of the road towards my doctoral research. Nonetheless, I would not have been able to embark upon that road without the Tinker Travel Grant. Thanks.