The women of Candelaria

Smyth-sewn paperbound, 8 1/2 x 11 in., 128 pp.,119 color photographs and text by Mary Richardson Miller.Text: English

In the highlands of Guatemala there is a dirt and stone road that runs from the pueblo of San Martin Jilotepeque to the village of Candelaria. The road is wide but rough, and no bus travels there. On either side of this lone access are wide vistas of rolling hills, steep canyons, oak and pine forests, and, in the distance, majestic vulcanoes. It is here, in small houses made of earth and raw pine surrounded by fields of corn and beans, that the Women of Candelaria live with their families. Strong both by nature and by necessity, and deeply religious, these women are the heart of the community. Their lives, like those of women in traditional agrarian cultures all over the world, adhere to timeless patterns. Their activities - from gathering firewood and fetching water to grinding corn for handmade tortillas to weaving the colorful fabric unique to the villages of Guatemala - are performed in one long, steady motion that begins at daybreak and ends in candlelight at night...