San Antonio Aguas Calientes

San Antonio Aguas Calientes lies in a valley a short drive from Antigua and is known for its weaving, specifically for a demanding double-faced technique in which the pattern is worked so that both sides of the cloth are finished, with no loose threads at the back, which takes far longer and is immediately recognisable when you know to look for it. Women weave on backstrap looms in cooperatives and family workshops, and demonstrations show how the loom is tensioned against the body and how the figures are picked up thread by thread. Pieces range from small bands and napkins to full huipiles that represent months of work and are priced accordingly.

What you actually see

• Double-faced weaving - patterns finished on both sides of the cloth.
• Backstrap loom demonstrations - the loom tensioned against the weaver's body.
• Cooperative and family workshops - the places the cloth is made and sold.
• Full huipiles - pieces representing months of work.

When to go

Between November and April, the dry months. Half a day from Antigua. Workshops keep daytime hours and are quieter early. Weekends bring tour groups.

Honest expectations

Demonstrations end in a sales pitch, which is how the cooperatives fund themselves. Genuine hand-woven pieces are expensive and machine-made imitations are sold nearby. The village itself has little else to see.

Nearby

Antigua is east; Ciudad Vieja lies between them.