Leticia Álvarez

San Juan La Laguna, Sololá 

Leticia Álvarez is a weaver at Casa Del Tejido, a collective in San Juan La Laguna, a village on the shores of Lake Atitlán. She uses the backstrap loom to create traditional telas, or textiles.

Leticia follows a process rooted in tradition and symbolism. First, she thins out natural Guatemalan cotton, called ixcaco (meaning “saved seed” in Tz'utujil language) and attaches it to a drop spindle, called a malacate (meaning “bad bug” in Spanish). Her speciality is crafting natural dyes to impart vibrant colors. For example, she creates a carmine red dye by crushing and boiling insects called cochineal, which live on cacti in Sololá. For blue, she gathers zacatita, or wild indigo, during a full moon, when the sap rises to the plant’s leaves. Other formulations include carrot and annatto for orange; charcoal for black; bougainvillea and hibiscus flowers for pink; and rosemary and rue for green.

Alongside the other women weavers of Casa Del Tejido, Leticia uses a backstrap loom to weave the dyed cotton into fabrics that contain ancestral symbols. Each village encircling Lake Atitlán has a distinct motif. For example, fabric of San Juan La Laguna features red squares, symbolizing blood and sacrifice, while that of Santiago Atitlán features birds, reflecting a strong connection with nature. Leticia explains, “Each embroidery tells a story.” Although fewer and fewer local women continue to wear the traditional dress called a huipil, Leticia works to continue upholding their significance.