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Solola

Solola is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Solola and the administrative seat of Solola municipality. It is located close to Lake Atitlan. Solola is situated at 2,114 m altitude on a mountainside overlooking Lake Atitlán, some 600 meters below. It is a highland market center and is the headquarters for the Catholic Bishopric encompassing the Solola and Chimaltenango Departments.

Almost all residents of Solola are Kaqchikel Maya, except in Argueta, where most are K'iche' Maya. A large percentage of both men and women continue to wear traditional Mayan clothing.

The church, the monument of Central America and the weekly markets on Tuesday and Friday are popular tourist attractions. On Sunday morning, processions of cofradías going to mass.

The village manufactures candles, wooden furniture, cotton and wool fabrics, works with leather, woven baskets and ceramics.

Atitlan Nature Reserve.
Lake Atitlan seen from the Atitlan Nature Reserve (Reserva Natural Atitlán).


Entering Solola.

Monument to the Virgin of the Assumption.
The Monument to the Virgin of the Assumption (Monumento a la Virgen de la Asunción) is located at the intersection between RN-1 and the 6th avenue.


Walking up to the market.
Walking up 6th Avenue (6 Avenida) on the way to the market.


Chicken buses.
On the way to the market we find many chicken buses.

  • Some English speaking tourists call buses "chicken buses". The word "chicken" may refer to the fact that the buses are often crammed with passengers not unlike a truck load of chickens, or to the fact that Central Americans occasionally transport live animals on such buses – a practice that visitors from other countries often find remarkable.
  • The buses are often called by the Spanish terms "camioneta" or "trambilla", the latter a hypercorrection of "tranvía". The buses are sometimes modified and colorfully decorated. They transport goods and people between communities in various Latin American countries, especially Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
  • The base vehicle is usually a retired North American school bus on a light or medium truck chassis.
  • See more at Bus transport in Central America - Wikipedia.

Entering the Solola Wholesale Market.
Entering the Solola Wholesale Market (Mercado Mayoreo Sololá ).

  • The municipal market of Sololá is located in the vicinity of the central park of the urban area of the departmental capital of Solola, it occupies the entire surface of the block located between 5th and 6th avenues and 11th and 12th streets.
  • The market site has an approximate area of 60 m x 70 m (197 ft x 230 ft), and there are around 310 shops and 40 warehouses of different sizes and surfaces.
  • On the outskirts of the municipal market there is a street market, called the plaza floor (piso de plaza), which, on market days has a maximum of 1,500 merchants on Fridays and a little less on Tuesdays. It permanently occupies 6th avenue, between 10th and 11th streets (in front of the municipality and the Central America tower) and 11th street, between 6th and 7th avenues (in front of the cathedral), hindering traffic to Panajachel.

Visiting the covered part of the market.

Visiting the uncovered part of the market.

Typical male costume.
The typical male costume consists of hat (sombrero), shirt (camisa), sash (faja), rodillera on the waist, trousers (pantalón), sandals (caites or sandalias) and a cloth bag (morral) in hand.


Street vendors.
Some vendors sell their wares on the street outside the market.


See also

Source

Location

Location: 0 calle, entre 6ta. y, 7 Av, Sololá, Guatemala