Gina and Kris of San Antonio Aguas Calientes



Since returning, I've picked up where I left off and continued to visit the small local towns close to Antigua. Saturday, my new housemate, Gina, and I went to San Antonio Aguas Calientes. This is a town known for its textiles and embroidery.

You might think that since it has textile shops and is so close to Antigua that they would be used to tourists. You would be right. We barely entered the park when the children - OK, just one boy at this point, followed immediately by his friend - were climbing a cement structure in the plaza and asking to have their photos taken. Generally it's the other way around (No, I didn't mean it's usually the tourists who are climbing on the cement structures. I meant that it's generally the tourists asking if they can take the picture). I do not pass up requests for pictures since I like to share them with you. After the first picture, the rest of the kids came swarming. Kids are kids no matter where you go. They love to look at themselves in the camera.

After having a little fun with the young ones, we went into a shop and met Maximilliana. Gina and I weren't shopping but we enjoy looking at the craftsmanship and after talking with Maximilliana, she suggested that she dress us up as if we were from San Antonio and that we take a picture. This was honestly her idea, not ours. She dubbed us Gina and Kris of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. The headcloth protects your head from the sun and serves as a covering for church.

What a pleasant afternoon. In some way, I felt like the local townspeople were the tourists and we were the ones of interest. Maybe since they outnumbered us to the extent that they did on that day, things did shift a bit.



p.s. Maximiliana has six children ranging in age from 8 to 22 and every one of them is in school. That's so rare and absolutely fantastic to encounter.

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