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Acknowledgments In addition to the maguey workers who welcomed me into their lives, many other people provided guidance and support, and without all of them this book would not exist. Margot Blum Schevill has been a mentor, friend, and inspiration from the beginning. JoAnne Stabb, Gyongy Laky, Barbara Shawcroft, Victoria Rivers, Susan Taber Avilla, Dolph Gotelli, and Emily Dubois expanded my textile education at the University of California, Davis. Librarians Kathleen Wiechelman, at the University of Alaska Southeast , Ketchikan, Alaska, and Michelle Rosensteel, at the College of the Redwoods , Fort Bragg, California, were very helpful. Karen Searle and Wendy C. Hodgson read sections and provided input. Marilyn Anderson, Adele Zang, Mary Jo Turek, Jackie Wollenberg, Janferie Stone, Jill McCaughna, Jim Widess, Anne Wilson, Anne Rock, Ingrid Crickmore, Gary Lybrand, and my parents, Azaria and Saundra Rousso, many of whom read the manuscript during various stages, all gave valuable insight. Parisse A. Stewart drew the map of Guatemala. Thank you also to the University of Arizona Press, especially Allyson Carter. In Guatemala, the cultural affairs personnel at the United States Embassy provided assistance, as did the curators and staff of the Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena, in particular Rosario Mirablés de Polanco, Bárbara de Arathoon, Kennis Kim, Anne Girard, and Violeta Gutiérrez Caxaj. Bassilio Estrada Herrera, with Peace Corps Guatemala, contributed information , and Peace Corps volunteers Tahra Taylor, Brett Redwine, Seth Webb, Nicole LaMotte, and Molly Smith helped as well. Those who advised with the scientific names are Mario Veliz, Ana Lucrecia de MacVean, and Abisai García-Mendoza. Susana Heisse is an enthusiastic supporter in San Marcos la Laguna and has written about maguey cultivation and traditions (2000, 2002a–d). Hector René Pena Montes and Celeste Ramírez, of Jocotán, and María Elena Rámoz de Perez, of olopa, provided assistance. In Antigua, Roberto and Myra Spillari, David and Cynthia Jickling, and Terry Kovick Biskovich have supported my project for many years. Michael Warren Hopkins assisted with the Spanish translations, and various translators from the K’ulb’il Yol Twitz Paxil, Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala, provided the Mayan text. In Comapa, the families of Elvia de Jesús Gonzales Tovar, Adela Quiñoles Hernández, and María Elena Quiñoles de Martínez help me out often, as well as Pedro Macario Pérez and Higueros Emilsa Velásquez of Chichicastenango. Debra Rodman and René Benedicto Ruiz Enamorado aided in San Pedro Pinula, and María Fransisca Juárez Morrales in Tutuapa. Thanks also to those in Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama who answered my many questions about maguey, bags, baskets, natural dyes, and hats. Finally, the majority of my fieldwork could not have been accomplished without funding from a Fulbright grant. In addition to my main informants, many others offered advice and information. To give them credit without jeopardizing their privacy I have listed their names, as given to me, in alphabetical order, with no mention of where they live: José Cacho, Rosa Cal, Fransisco Chajil, Margarita Choc Gualim, Fabián Lucas Cor, Domingo (Mingo) Cruz Gómez, Vicente Cuc Caneles, Óscar Fernández, Fidelia Gómez López, Margarita Gómez López, MatildaGuaLem,TomásRámozIxtuc,JuliaLassaro,MaríaMargaritaLimico Vásquez, Juan López Rodríguez, María Isabelle Macanio Chun, Mariano, Marcos Martiz, Alfonso Morales Girón, Tomasa Morales Raimez, Carmela Morenti, Arminda de Jesús ohajaca Gonzales, Hipolito ohajaca Pérez, Gasper Pérez Agular, Alfredo Pérez Galisia, María Pu Castro, Anocleto Ramírez, Santiago Ramírez García, Andrea Rámoz Reynozo, Daniel Rosa, Ángela Sacaria García, Catalina María Sahic, Felicito Sánchez Sánchez, Rejas Sic, Dominga Sicij Sochoj, Diego Us Chic, Juan Us Lux, Gregorio Us Mejía, Eugenio Vacajole, Mariano Vásquez Quisán, Edgar Vásquez Sánsez, and Tino Xinik. Thank you and gracias to all. It should be noted that, throughout the text, I adopted the local custom of shortening names, such as Museo Ixchel for Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena, Chichi for Chichicastenango, and Cotzal for San Juan Cotzal. The spelling of Mayan languages varies and I used those of Nora C. England (2001, 17). The common names for plants, products, and techniques vary widely, and I did my best to use the most common and current ones. Iquotedpricesinquetzales(Q),thenationalcurrency,andtheexchange rate fluctuated between 7.5GTQ (quetzal Guatemalteco) and 7.8GTQ to 1.00USD (U.S. dollar) during the time of...

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