�Oye Guapo!

Guapo, a Spanish term that means handsome, is the title Debra chose to show how beautiful typical Latin American attires can be. In many cases, attires are made from local fabrics and materials that make them inexpensive and representative of the weather and customes people carry in a particular region.

The men of Santiago, Guatemala, take a lot of gusto in looking good in their traditional street wear attire. I was impressed at their ease walking around town wearing what appeared to be a costume, but in fact, the short stripe pants, red shirt, sash around the waist and straw hat is the traditional attire in this small Mayan village on Lake Atitl�n.

In these modern times, not all the men in Santiago wear the traditional costume, but much to my surprise many still do. The man on this photo was the first man I'd seen dressed in this manner.

At first I thought he'd just attended an event where the costume was required, but soon realized many men throughout the village were wearing exactly the same outfit. It was lovely to see the sense of pride in their traditions and culture.

This scene caught my attention and I was compelled to take the photo, as it captured the mood of that lazy hot sunny day when we strolled around the village observing the people of Santiago and their way of life.

El Guapo is one of my best selling cards in my Fotograf�a of America Latina Cult�rame Greeting Cards Collection. The card reads: "�Oye, Guapo! It must have been quite a party! Se me olv�do� Sorry I missed your birthday."

Debra Del Toro-Phillips is the founder of Cult�rame�� a fresh new innovative bilingual greeting card company. The cards promote cultural connections by encouraging everyone who loves Latino culture to express themselves with a mix of English and Spanish.
Cult�rame� unique products will benefit bicultural youth art educational programs.