Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ya'. Behind the cafe/chillout lounge, low adobe blocks of dorms extend to the lake, where
a new canopied swimming pool is the focus of nightly parties. Two-night minimum stay.
Hotel Sak'cari El Amanecer $$
HOTEL
( 7721-8096;
www.hotel-sakcari.com
; 7a Av 2-12, Zona 2; s/d from Q125/225; )
On the left just
after San Pedro Spanish School, the eco-friendly Sak'cari has clean, tangerine-colored
rooms with lots of shelves and wood paneling. Rooms at the rear are best (and priciest),
with big balconies overlooking a vast landscaped lawn.
Hotel Mikaso $$
( 7721-8232;
www.mikasohotel.com
; 4a Callejon A-88; dm/d/quad Q75/195/340; )
Despite encroaching
lake waters, the Mikaso still stands proudly at Atitlán's shores. Big, colonially furnished
rooms cooled by ceiling fans ring a garden bursting with birds-of- paradise. The rooftop
bar/Spanish restaurant boasts fantastic lake views and the deck/lounge features a Jacuzzi
and pool table.
HOTEL
TZ'UTUJIL OIL PAINTING
Emanating primarily from the Lago de Atitlán towns of Santiago Atitlán, San Pedro La Laguna and San Juan La
Laguna, Tz'utujil oil painting has a distinctive primitivist style, with depictions of rural life, local traditions and
landscapes in vibrant colors.
This distinctly Maya mode is generally handed down through generations of the same family, and the leading
artists share surnames. In San Pedro La Laguna the name of note is González. Legend has it that Tz'utujil art
began when Rafael González y González noticed some dye that had dripped and mixed with the sap of a tree; he
made a paintbrush from his hair and began creating the type of canvases still popular today. His grandson Pedro
Rafael González Chavajay and Pedro's cousin Mariano González Chavajay are leading contemporary exponents
of the Tz'utujil style. The artist Emilio González Morales pioneered the motif of depicting rural scenes from
above - the
vista del pájaro,
or bird's-eye view - as well as from below, an ant's-eye view.
The granddaddy of Santiago painting was Juan Sisay; success at an international art exhibition in 1969 sparked
an explosion of painters working in his style. Their work is exhibited at the
Galería Juan Sisay
, 200m up from
Santiago's main dock, and at a number of galleries along the main street. You can even learn to paint in this style
at several studios around town. Among the leading figures in San Juan are husband and wife Antonio Coché
Mendoza and Angelina Quic, whose paintings are exhibited at the
Galería Xocomil
on the way up from the main
dock. Artists in all three communities are experimenting with new forms while continuing to explore Maya cul-
tural themes.
If you've got more than a passing interest, consider taking the 'Maya Artists & Artisans' tour offered by
Posada Los Encuentros (
Click here
) in Panajachel or visit the website
Arte Maya Tz'utuhil
(
www.artemaya.com
)
.
