Chichicastenango: Market Day

Chichi, as this town is affectionately called, turns into a chaotic mass of stalls, goods and people two times per week.  The main square disappears and if you climb onto the stairs of the church, all you will see are the endless tarp or tin roofs of all the stalls.  We were warned that this market, famed as being one of the largest in Central America, is very much a tourist affair.  However, depending on what you want from such an experience, you do not have to leave disappointed.

We left San Pedro by a shuttle that took us up an insanely windy, steep and pothole filled road up over the mountains, through the highlands and eventually to Chichi. There, with four hours at our disposal we had a chance to wander through virtually every nook of the market.  The outside edges of the market tend to be filled with all the various souvenir stalls where you can buy everything from blankets, purses, sweaters, table cloths and masks.  However, the further you go towards the inside of the market, the more you realize that these market days form an integral part of the local everyday life.

The core is the place where the locals go to buy all the cloth from which they make their traditional clothes.  It is also the place where they can buy the multicolored threads and yarn used to embroider much of their dress.  It is where they stock up on various spices, beans and even live chicken or opt to buy pirated DVDs and CDs.  They will come to these markets to buy pots, pans, bowls, eye glasses, stools, towels and whatever else they may need. The inside of the market is also where all the various eateries get set up.  The smell of deep-fried chicken pervades virtually everything, but the food is nevertheless better than anything served at KFC and much cheaper.  The ladies stand over the big vats of oil, continuously submerging more or more pieces of chicken.  Others stand over the grills engaged in the eternal and monotonous motion of slapping the tortilla dough between the palms of their hands into the round tortilla shapes and then placing them on the grill.  The slapping sound they make is like the heartbeat of the market.

Yes, Chichi is definitively touristy.  Hundreds of gringos converge here every Thursday and Sunday.  Yet plant yourself amongst these food stalls or on the steps of the local church and simply watch life pass by in front of you.  Ignore the gringos; focus on all the women balancing massive loads on their heads; observe the mothers carrying babies strapped to their backs or chests, half of them suckling at their breasts while the mothers carry on with business; watch the ladies pick and arrange flower bundles to place as offerings in the church or hang on the windows of their homes; look at all the men walking by with their various goods.  These are the charms of places like Chichi.  It is not the things you buy, but rather the things you see.

We did not buy a single thing while in Chichi but loved every single moment of our experience.  The colors were amazing, the faces fascinating and the sights captivating.