The region of La Democracia in Huehuetenango is known for specialty coffees in Guatemala. The high altitude, hand depulped and washed creates distinct flavours. Normally each one of these small producers, have up to 1 hectare of land and dry the coffees on the roofs of their houses. High acidity and full cups make these coffees unique.

The word huipil comes from the Nahuatl (the main language of ancient civilizations in Central America) word huipilli, which means “mi tapado” or “something that covers” in English. It is believed that the origin of this textile dates from pre-Hispanic times because some representations of high-hierarchy women using colorful robes are found in ancient ceramics.

These representations indicate that, at first, huipiles were mainly used for ceremonial situations. Later, huipiles became more popular among people of varying social status, thus becoming a type of clothing for daily use.

Huipiles are made using traditional Guatemalan weaving techniques. The art of weaving has been taught from generation to generation to maintain the heritage and pass down valuable insights about shape and designs. The elaboration process and materials used for huipiles production changed with time. However, the colors, shapes, and patterns have been repeated for centuries in an effort to maintain tradition and heritage.

Traditionally, huipiles were made using cotton and agave fibers while cochineal colorant, tree bark’s indigo, and coffee were used as natural dyes to produce colored thread. After the Spanish conquest, some elements such as silk and wool were incorporated as weaving materials. Nowadays, cotton, wool, synthetic and acrylic fibers are the most common materials for huipil production.

The production of a huipil is one of the most time-consuming activities among the Guatemalan textiles traditions. This piece of clothing is traditionally woven on a waist loom and it takes about two to three months to manufacture a single piece. Today, a foot pedal version of the loom is used to reduce production time. However, some weavers make their best effort to continue the weaving heritage by continuing to use traditional waist looms.

Each Guatemalan huipil has specific colors and designs that serve as a visual representation of the Mayan symbology and cosmovision. Weavers choose motifs and patterns that represent the history, traditions, and beliefs of specific indigenous communities. The design of a huipil is so carefully chosen that they allow you to know the indigenous community where it was made just by looking at the colors and motifs!

The most common colors in huipiles are blue, red, yellow, black, white, and green. The embroidered designs can have animal, plant, or astrology-related motifs. Interpretation of designs and color symbolism varies depending on the community where the piece was woven. It is generally believed that each color symbolizes the following:

• Blue: The sky and water
• Red: Sunrise, daytime, and energy and power
• Yellow: The sun and corn
• Black: Sunset, nighttime, death, recovery, and war.
• White: Air, spirituality, and hope
• Green: Plant life, royalty and represents the Quetzal (national bird of Guatemala)

Moreover, as part of a beauty ritual, women in Guatemala use the Huipil for clothing and beautiful ribbons for hair wrapping.  Most women wear the ribbon around the crown of the head and then wrap it around braids in a spiral shape. Hair wraps are as beautiful and colorful as huipils with different patterns and embroideries.