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Una de los lugares de
Guatemala más queridos y visitados por el turista es el pequeño
pueblo de Todos Santos Cuchumatán, situado e el espectacular
valle de montañas Cuchumatanes a 2470 m ASL. Ambos mujeres
y hombres usan distintivos. Los hombres visten colores como el rojo
y blanco, pantalones a rayas, una camisa de color completo, sombrero
de paja, y una capa negra,para para guareserse del clima frio de
las montañas. En Todos Santos, los visitantes pueden estudiar
Español o Mam que es la lengua local Maya, visitar el mercado,
ver un pequeño lugar arqueologico situado en una colina bajando
el pueblo, o pasear hasta el pueblo cercano de San Juan Atitán,
a travez de un escenario de profundo pasto, maiz y bosques de pino.
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Like
many other villages in the Cuchumatanes, Todos Santos had been isolated
until a road was built in the early seventies and recently reworked
for 2000. The mountains surrounding Todos Santos rise to 3,500 meters
and are covered with pine forests. Potatoes and apples are products
of these high altitudes, and sheep are raised primarily for their
wool that is then sold to weavers from Momostenango. Lumbering, and
pata de gallo for hats, is also a source of livelihood in the Todos
Santos area. As in other towns throughout the Cuchumatanes, Todos
Santos men often seek seasonal labor on the lowland cotton or coffee
plantations to supplement their income, and sometimes bring raw cotton
home for their wives to spin into thread. |
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Todos
santos is famous for their horse races. The annual festival is held
on November 1 the day of the dead, which cap off a week long festival.
Traditional foods are served throughout the day and mask dances take
place in the evening. |
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Nearby
villages |
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Soloma, Santa
Eulalia, & San Mateo Ixtatán
Although Todos Santos
is the most popular tourist stops in the Cuchumatanes, there are
many other beautiful mountain towns that are well worth visiting.
Along the road leading from Huehuetenango to Barillas, near Guatemala's
northern border, lie the towns of Soloma, Santa Eulalia and San
Mateo Ixtatán, with their own unique attractions.
The women of Soloma, a town set in fertile valley that was once
a lake bed, wear a long, white-lace huipil and strands of gold-colored
beads. From town, visitors may hike out to the Pajaj waterfall,
30 meters high and one of the most spectacular in the Cuchumatanes.
Further down the road lies Santa Eulalia, famed for its production
of marimbas, Guatemala's national instrument.
Finally, visitors arrive at San Mateo Ixtatán. Sitting atop
a high ridge overlooking a narrow valley, San Mateo is an age-old
site for salt production and one of the most beautiful places in
Guatemala. To this day, salt is collected in a mine below the village
and sold throughout the highlands. At the tip of the ridge is a
Maya ruin, where mounds of former ceremonial structures can be seen.
The Maya language spoken in the town is Chuj, and the women wear
a beautiful huipil, with an embroidered, star-like design.
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