138 



CONSUMER GOODS 



Most commodities are, however, sold by the piece, 

 by the dozen, by the bunch, or, so many for a cent. 

 Among articles, sold by the piece (so much each) 



are: 



Bread (rolls). 



Chocolate (tab- 

 lets). 



Soap. 



Cigars. 



Candles. 



Grinding stones. 



Tamales-with- 

 beans. 



T a m a 1 e 8 - w i t h - 

 pork. 



T toposie. 



Sea fish (also 



weighed). 

 Sausages. 

 Fowl. 

 Eggs. 

 Squash. 

 Cabbages. 

 Kohlrabi. 

 Pineapples. 

 Large mangos. 

 Watermelons. 

 Sugarcane. 



Cross-sapodillas. 



Plantains. 



Petaxtee. 



Toronjas. 



Cidras. 



Sapodilla plums. 



Melocotones. 



Papayas. 



Cocoanuts. 



Pears. 



Produce sold so many for a cent (or half cent) are: 



Green peppers. 

 Tortillas (of all 



kinds) . 

 Oranges. 

 Sour oranges. 

 Limas. 

 Limes. 

 Apples. 

 Guavas. 



Coyoles. 



White sapodillas. 



Rose-apples. 



Avocados. 



Bananas. 



Maicenas. 



Spanish plums. 



Mangos. 



Passion-flow er 



fruit. 

 Cuchinas. 

 Vegetable pears. 

 Pepinos. 

 Cuajiloles. 

 Peaches. 

 Prickly pears. 

 Membrillos. 



Commodities sold by the bunch^so much a 

 bimch, or so many bunches for a cent, are: 



Articles sold by the dozen include carrots, turnips, 

 cabbages (wholesale), cucumbers, eggs (to bakers), 

 small lake fish, roses, and other flowers. Crabs are 

 sold in fours. Panela is sold wholesale by the 

 mancuerna of two large balls, or by the ball, or 

 the tapa (half ball) ; retail by the tapa, or in small 

 pieces by the penny's worth. Outside the market, 

 firewood and fodder are bought by the load, bees 

 by the hive (hive and all) , rabbits and live pigeons 

 by the pair. 



It may be taken for granted that prices change 

 over the course of time. It is a tradition among 

 the Indians that "long ago" times were better 

 because there was more money and because 

 bu3dng prices were lower and selling prices higher : 



When, in the last century, silver money was used, a man 

 with a peso felt rich. One could with a peso or two go to a 

 fiesta and buy enough mesh bags, ropes, small bags, a 

 length or two of woolen yard goods to make gabanes, 



baskets, gourds, pots and dishes, cookies, and various 

 sweets, and still have enough left to spend a night or two 

 drinking and dancing (for a large gourdful of chicha cost 

 but an eighth real, and two or three intoxicated the strong- 

 est man). Even if one wished to bring home a calf, 

 which cost at most a peso, the entire fiesta would take only 

 3 or 4 pesos; the richest needed no more than 10 pesos to 

 go to the fair. Four rolls (bread) cost a quarter of a real; 

 a piece of meat 8 inches long and 2 or 3 inches thick cost 

 an eighth of a real; sausages cost a quarter of a real a yard. 

 The finest straw hats were a real, or at most 2. A bottle 

 of liquor cost a real. Corn was sold in measures of 12 or 

 15 pounds for a half-r^aZ or, when it was most expensive, 

 for one real. [In terms of today's Quetzal currency, the 

 peso was worth 1% cents; the real was an eighth of a peso.] 

 At the same time, laborers earned a real or a real and a half 

 daily, plus food. Large onions sold at 2 or 3 reales a 

 hundred; oranges and limas were a real and a half a 

 hundred. 



If one should take this information at its face 

 value, it would be notable that wages were slightly 

 higher than today, while corn and bread were a 

 little cheaper, meat and liquor much cheaper, 

 fruit about the same, and onions much more 

 expensive. Times for the Indians would have 

 been, as the Indians say, considerable better. In 

 any case it is evident that prices in relation to 

 wages or of one commodity in relation to another 

 have varied considerably. In more recent times, 

 it is apparent that world economic conditions have 

 affected local prices. There were times when 

 coffee brought $20 and $30 a hundred pounds, 

 after which, in the lean thirties, the price dropped 

 to $2 and $3. Although specific information is not 

 available, such a change must have had its effect 

 on other prices, as well as on wages. 



Reliable information on annual price fluctua- 

 tions in Panajachel over a period of years is non- 

 existent. However, such fluctuations in Guate- 

 male City (table 51) were probably reflected — for 

 important staple commodities, at least — in similar 

 variations in the country as a whole, and hence in 

 Panajachel. 



Prices of corn, beans, and eggs, and most fruits 

 and vegetables change seasonally; those of meat, 

 sugar, salt, and most dry goods do not. In some 

 cases local prices are affected by the seasons 

 indirectly ; thus when corn is high and work scarce 

 in the rainy season, women offer chickens at prices 

 they consider too low. Prices vary also with 

 personal factors. A family in need of money 

 (usually because of sickness or a death) may offer 

 commodities at a low price to sell them quickly. 

 More usually, however, prices are determined by 



