Culture of Guatemala
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The culture of Guatemala reflects strong
) who occupy the cities and surrounding agricultural plains.Cuisine
Guatemalan cuisine reflects the multicultural nature of Guatemala, in that it involves food that differs in taste depending on the region. Guatemala has 22 departments (or divisions), each of which has different food varieties. For example, Antigua Guatemala is well known for its candy that makes use of many local ingredients: fruits, seeds and nuts, honey, condensed milk and other traditional sweeteners. Antigua's candy is popular with tourists.
Many traditional foods are based on
There are also foods that it is traditional to eat on certain days of the week - for example, by tradition it is known that on Thursday, the typical food is "paches", which is like a
There are reportedly hundreds of varieties of
The ancient Mayan civilization lasted for about six hundred years before collapsing around 900 A.D. Today, almost half of the Guatemalan population is still Mayan. These natives live throughout the country and grow maize as their staple crop. In addition, the ancient Maya ate amaranth, a breakfast cereal similar to modern day cereals.
Art
Music
Guatemala also has an almost five-century-old tradition of art music, spanning from the first liturgical chant and polyphony, introduced in 1524 to contemporary art music. Much of the music composed in Guatemala from the 16th century to the 19th century has only recently been unearthed by scholars and is being revived by performers.
Textiles
The Mayan people are known for their brightly colored yarn-based textiles, which are woven into capes, shirts, blouses, and dresses. Each village has its own distinctive pattern, making it possible to distinguish a person's home town on sight. Women's clothing consists of a shirt and a long skirt. Men's clothing consists of a white shirt and colored pants with a jacket. The main source of production of textiles was by the Guatemalan women. Weaving was taught to young girls because of the difficulty of the trade. It would take years for girls to master the process of embroidery.[1] Traditional clothing, mostly worn by indigenous people, was known as "traje" and had a large Mayan influence. The other style was modern and had a western influence, also known as American clothing. Traditional Mayan clothing consisted of hand-embroidered, woven cotton or wool with complex designs. It symbolized the value of heritage and history. Westernized clothing included blue jeans and t-shirts, and symbolized wealth and modernization. Bright colors and unique designs allowed the native people to decipher which town people lived in and their social status. Textiles are largely significant in maintaining the Mayan culture.
Religion
The unique religion is reflected in the local saint, Maximón, who is associated with the subterranean force of masculine fertility and prostitution. Always depicted in black, he wears a black hat and sits on a chair, often with a bible in one hand, rosary in another, and religious food in his mouth at his feet. The locals know him as San Simon of Guatemala.
See also
- Public holidays in Guatemala
- Holy Week processions in Guatemala
- Media of Guatemala
- List of museums in Guatemala
- Guatemalan folklore
- List of Guatemalan films
- Guatemalan literature
- Mayan Deer Dance
References
- ^ Hendrickson, Carol (1995). Weaving Identities: Construction of Dress and Self in a Highland Guatemala Town.