Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake: Nov/Dec’s Your Shot/Travel

Published in the November/December issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.

Photograph and text by ANTONIO BUSIELLO
Chichicastenango, Guatemala

Last February, I spent a week in Chichicastenango, which is located north of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan highlands and known for its Maya market, held twice weekly for centuries. Sleepy otherwise, the village springs to life on market days, when folks sell flowers, food, and fabric. People travel from around the valley—walking, by bus, or filling up the beds of pickups. But the best experience actually happens the day before the masses arrive. You can wander around and see how the vendors set up, how they eat and pray, how they sleep in their booths. The next day brings an explosion of color and people that by dusk will disappear. I took this picture of women making tortillas around 11 a.m. on a market day. Lunchtime is a ritual: women get together to cook and talk. My eye was drawn to the way the sunlight filtered through the roof, illuminating the beautiful dresses and casting a spotlight on the women as they worked and laughed together.

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