Threads of Pride

One of the defining characteristics of the Mayan culture are the trajes tradicionales, or the traditional clothing, that are worn. The traje consists of the huipil, the blouse, the corte, the skirt, and the cinturon, the belt. Each of these are covered in designs/colors that correspond to a town here in Guatemala. For example, the traje from the town of Santa Catarina is typically different shades of blue, with designs resembling the lake, volcanos, and mountains surrounding the town.

The trajes now a days are typically only worn by women. The reason for that being that in the 70s, a civil war broke out between the Mayan people and the Spaniards who had arrived here many years ago. The Mayan people were heavily discriminated against, and thousands were murdered throughout this time. Throughout this time, wearing their trajes could cost them their lives.

Still today, women and men who wear trajes are heavily discriminated against. I have a friend who was told she could not enter the lobby of a fancy hotel because she was wearing her traje. While this discrimination breaks my heart, as well as the hearts of many others, most people still wear their trajes with pride, which brings so much hope. Guatemala, like every other place in the world, still has social transformation waiting to take place. However, every voice, every action, every march/rally, and every advocacy group assembling is slowly but surely pushing Guatemala in that direction, and it has been inspiring to witness this process.