Patzún
Chimaltenango, Guatemala
Patzún-style huipiles or blouses are extremely popular and are sold in markets throughout the highlands. Some are machine embroidered, while others are embroidered by hand.
Gregoria Rucuch Cumes sets up her backstrap loom to weave the dark red cloth used in a Patzún-style huipil. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.
Juanita Rucuch Coyote, a nurse, wears the huipil or blouse of her community, Patzún, while her partner, Fernando Pichiyà, a chofer and guide from Patzicàa, wears a western-style dress shirt. Most Maya men no longer wear traditional traje. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.
Cristobal Rucuch, 80, watches his daughter Gregoria weave in the family compound in Patzún. He wears a rodillera around his waist over his pants, a custom still practiced by some older indigenous men in the area. Photo by Kathleen Mossman Vitale 2005.