Nim Po't

Amongst the many, many artesania shops in Antigua, Nim Po't clearly stands out, even at the first glance inside from the street… an enormous circular kite, traditional during the Santiago de Sacatepéquez celebration of Día de los Muertos, occupies the foreground of the deep warehouse space. It is a combination retail showcase for craftspeople, retail stores, and consignment shops. Nim Po't collects their products with care, including some of the bags, wooden carvings, bracelets, and many other items that are commonly sold in town, but also including previously worn huipiles (woven and embroidered blouses), cortes (woven skirts), fajas (woven and embroidered belts), and all the other textiles making up traditional indigenous clothing. These last are remarkable portrayals of traditional life in Guatemala because the traditional garb is hand-woven in patterns unique to each town, which each woman carries out according to her individual creativity. The weaving of a huipile, unlike the multitude of items for sale to tourists, can take months of work. Nim Po't is engaged in a project chronicling the materials and design motifs of villages throughout Guatemala, and is worth visiting both to explore their samples of textile work and to find some souvenirs of your trip. Prices are set fairly, as a visit to the Mercado de Artesanias will quickly demonstrate.