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2005 — Best Book Award – New England Council of Latin American Studies Selling handicrafts to tourists has brought the Maya peoples of Guatemala into the world market. Vendors from rural communities now offer their wares to more than 500,000 international tourists annually in the marketplaces of larger cities such as Antigua, Guatemala City, Panajachel, and Chichicastenango. Like businesspeople anywhere, Maya artisans analyze the desires and needs of their customers and shape their products to meet the demands of the market. But how has adapting to the global marketplace reciprocally shaped the identity and cultural practices of the Maya peoples? Drawing on over a decade of fieldwork, Walter Little presents the first ethnographic study of Maya handicraft vendors in the international marketplace. Focusing on Kaqchikel Mayas who commute to Antigua to sell their goods, he explores three significant issues: how the tourist marketplace conflates global and local distinctions. how the marketplace becomes a border zone where national and international, developed and underdeveloped, and indigenous and non-indigenous come together. how marketing to tourists changes social roles, gender relationships, and ethnic identity in the vendors' home communities. Little's wide-ranging research challenges our current understanding of tourism's negative impact on indigenous communities. He demonstrates that the Maya are maintaining a specific, community-based sense of Maya identity, even as they commodify their culture for tourist consumption in the world market.

Discusses the geography, history, people, and modern industrial, cultural, and economic progress of the northernmost country in Central America.

Against the backdrop of Guatemala, this book presents portraits of artisans working in the ancient traditions of the Maya paired with insights into the creation of the textiles and the events that have affected their work. Weaving, spinning, and basket making have sustained the Maya economically and culturally against the pressures of change and a 36-year civil war that decimated their population. Their persistence in continuing traditional art has created some of the loveliest, most colorful textiles the world has ever known. Artisans share their personal histories, hopes, and dreams along with the products of their hands and looms. Their stories show determination in the face of unimaginable loss and hardship which instill an appreciation for the textiles themselves and for the strong people who create them.

Known as "the Egypt of the Americas", the Maya region is not only a center of lost civilizations but is also one of the fastest growing travel destinations in the world. This guide leads to exotic resort hotels, pinpoints $10-a-night hotels, and features dozens of sidebar articles on river-rafting, horseback riding, shopping, exploring coral reefs, and more. Line drawings.

Guatemala is one of the few places on earth where traditional textile arts from ancient cultures survive: Mayan spinners and weavers still produce the traditional motifs developed by their ancestors, but modern dyes add brilliant, luminous color to their textiles. This book presents 150 superb photographs by Gianni Vecchiato, providing a magnificent view of the textiles people, and daily life of Guatemala. It is truly a feast for the eye and spirit.

"Developed by literacy experts for students in grades three through seven, this book introduces young readers to the geography and culture of Guatemala"--Provided by publisher.