Patzún

Department: Chimaltenango
Language Group:   Kaqchikel
Elevation: 2,213 meters
Patron Saint &
Festival Days:
San Bernardino de Siena - May 24
also Corpus Christi procession (May or June)
Market Days: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday


Located in the western highlands, on a newly paved road 12 kilometers from the Pan-American Highway, Patzún is one of the few highland towns that prefer hand embroidery to woven brocade. Patzún huipiles are backstrap loomed in two panels of predominantly red plain weave ground cloth and supplemented with dense evenly spaced groups of thin warp stripes bordered with blue and green pinstriped edges.

The huipil includes hand embroidered floral motifs and is popular with women from throughout the highlands as a more prestigious version of the ubiquitous machine-embroidered flowered blusa. The design motifs of these garments have undergone a transformation from embroidered geometric, sun/moon, and feather figures to the new floral style, an evolution that roughly parallels the rise in popularity of the machine embroidered blouse. The large ceremonial/ wedding huipil is worn over the wrap-around skirt, in pre-Hispanic style. Ceremonial huipiles can be identified by the feather motif, often extravagantly embroidered in silk around the neckline.


Old style cortes were a heavy indigo morga with a bold white plaid pattern. Jaspe style cortes have been popular since the 1960´s.

Sometimes an extra brocaded backstrap woven belt, unique to Patzun, is worn over the plain black and white stripped daily faja. Woven of embroidery floss, acrylic and occasionally Lurex on a red base fabric with warp stripes similar to that of the huipil, the design features stylized bird, zigzag, rosette and rupan plato motifs.


The traditional tzute diario is basically a huipil, although without neck opening or surface embellishment.

The head cloth, or paya, is embroidered with silk, sewn onto a gauze-like white cloth and worn only for ceremonies. It features double-headed bird, jaguar or other animal figures mixed with Christian images. Commercial copies of the paya are common.

Men's traje is very similar to that of Comalapa, in that it includes white pants, a wool ponchito (apron), and a pink striped faja typical to the central Kaqchikel region.



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