Today (Monday) I went to school after lunch to meet up with some friends to go to the market and use the Internet. I was surprised by a trip to the la muneca, doll factory. Apparently the people who work here are deaf and mute but they can make a living at this factory. Four other Somos girls, two other students from the school, and two members of our school family took us to la muneca. We traveled by microbus (1.25Q, $0.16 each way), essentially a minivan. We walked to the main arterial and flagged our hand as the first microbus drove by. We all piled in and away we went.
At the muneca, not actually a factory at all, there were multiple stations where the dolls were made by hand. These dolls are not the kind you play with but rather more decorative. Each doll starts as a recycled bottle. The artist uses paper mache to sculpt the shapes of the clothing. After the paper dries, the dolls are painted white. Then an artist hand-paints each doll in the traditional traje (clothing) of an indigenous community. There are some 130 different trajes. We watched them paint straight lines in brilliant colors without error or shakiness. Finally the artist added the appropriate headpiece and hair and the dolls are available for purchase. The far end of the room had completed dolls for sale in plastic wrap. I wanted to buy one because they were so beautiful and I saw how detailed the process is. However, I know that I will want to buy something at every artisan shop to support the local people. I need to limit myself to want I truly want and need.
We said our thank yous and goodbyes, flagged down another microbus, and headed back to school just in time for the sun to come out. We talked to three little girls, one of whom could have been my sister. She was the lightest skin Guatemalan I have met - adorable like the others of course.
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