Photo: Courtesy of Mara Hoffman
It's hard to imagine a world with more colorful and eye-catching fabrics than the signature Technicolor-esque patterns of Mara Hoffman's ready-to-wear and swim (plus home goods, bridal, and more) collections. But the designer, 37, who founded her line in 2000 (it is now sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Anthropologie, among others), met her match in Guatemala—one of the most biologically and topographically diverse countries in Central America, with 14 distinct eco-regions, from tropical rainforests to mountain ranges.
On the designer's first visit there, she went to the cities of Antigua, Chichicastenango, and natural wonder Lake Atitlán during an eight-day New Year's vacation with her three-year-old son, Joaquin; her collage-artist husband, Javier Piñón; and her mother-in-law. On the agenda? "To get inspired and to shop," she says. As the country recovers from decades of political discord, the government has made an effort to boost tourism, one of its fastest-growing industries (the number of U.S. visitors is on the rise). Guatemala is only two hours behind Eastern Standard Time and thus makes for an easy getaway for the New York–based designer. "It's not such a far trip," she says, "so that's kind of awesome."
Hoffman fell in love with the people, textiles, rainbow-blocked belts, and huipils—"the traditional woven tops that the women wear in Central America." The Guatemalan artisans' meticulous weaving and embroidery techniques echo Hoffman's design sensibilities. "It's packed with culture, and I'm so textile driven, so you can go nuts there," says Hoffman. "I would go back in a heartbeat." Here, her tips for exploring the region.
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Photo: Courtesy of Mara Hoffman
STAY
The city of Antigua (not the Caribbean island of the same name) is perched in the highlands. It boasts stunning Spanish baroque architecture and a charming plaza called Parque Central ("Central Park") where local musicians deliver impromptu performances. Hoffman's family lodged 10 minutes outside the city center at a hotel with a 250-acre working coffee plantation, the Filadelfia Coffee Resort. "You can ride horseback through the fields," she says of the 150-year-old farm; she also raves about the delicious food and, of course, the excellent coffee. "Antigua is such a beautiful city with amazing culture, history in its ruins, and artist markets. It easily became one of my favorite cities."
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EAT
If you're a fan of Latin-American flavors, prepare for gustatory bliss, as the local cuisine features "beans and rice, a lot of guacamole, fish, and a lot of seafood," says Hoffman, who advises a pit stop at Flor de Lis, where you can enjoy tomates confitados (sweet tomatoes), mushroom carpaccio, and spicy chocolate mousse. "It's a good combination of Central American [cuisine] but modernized as well."
Photo: Courtesy of Mara Hoffman
SHOP
For a feast for the eyes, Hoffman adores the open-air market in Chichicastenango, which hosts dazzling food and fabric displays. "It's one of the largest flea markets in Latin America, and it happens on Thursdays and Sundays. People from all over the different regions of Guatemala come there, and there's textiles and [local] art and everything; for a textile head like myself, it's heaven," says Hoffman, who stocked up on patterned cloths and bedspreads.
DO
Hire a boat and driver to explore the towns and rocky landscape around Central America's deepest lake. "Lake Atitlán is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's surrounded by volcanoes, it is turquoise colored, and it's really otherworldly." She explored San Juan, which is home to "a large community of weavers, so you can visit women weaving the textiles," she says, and San Marcos, which Hoffman, a longtime yogi and daily meditation enthusiast, describes as "kind of like the New Age hippie area—a fantastic spot to watch the sunset."
