ANTIGUA: Don Rogelio, when and where did you grow up?
DON ROGELIO: I grew up not far from here, in Ciudad Vieja. I was born in 1946.

ANTIGUA: How long have you worked as a carpenter?
DON ROGELIO: I started out as a very young man carving imágenes and máscaras (figurines and ceremonial masks) for local rituals and then moved on to work in a small carpentry shop where I learned how to make all sorts of things. everything from little wooden toys to chairs, tables. even coffins!

ANTIGUA: How did you like making coffins? Wasn't that a bit strange?
DON ROGELIO: Well, yes, making coffins was a bit odd, especially in the beginning since I lived in such a small town. you usually knew exactly who you were making it for. But then the business grew and we started making most of the coffins for people in the city (Guatemala City). I didn't know any of them so I guess I got used to it and in any case that's the way you learn.

ANTIGUA: What did you do next?
DON ROGELIO: I don't know how it happened but people started coming to me; they would ask me to make things for them, a table or a carved mirror frame, all sorts of things. That type of work has kept me busy for most of my life.

ANTIGUA: How did you end up working as an ebanista at ANTIGUA?
DON ROGELIO: I have always wanted to learn new things… A friend of mine had started working at ANTIGUA and he seemed to like it and the pay was pretty good and stable, too. It is not like working in a typical factory because even though it is industrialized, I am encouraged to use the skills I have acquired during my lifetime of woodworking.

ANTIGUA: If you were to say something to the people who buy this furniture, what would it be?
DON ROGELIO: I don’t know… Take care of it! It is 100% Chapin! (100% Guatemalan!) This furniture has some Guatemala in it… It is the pride of Guatemala!