Tapesco

Definition

A “tapesco” is a rustic frame or structure made of sticks, canes, or planks, traditional to rural Guatemala and other parts of Mesoamerica. Its best-known use is as an improvised bed, but it is also used as an elevated shelf (called “vasar”) to hold utensils or food, and in agricultural work to shell corn or beans or to carry bundles.

Usage

The word applies to several traditional uses:

• Bed: “En el rancho dormimos en tapescos” (We sleep on tescos at the ranch)
• Elevated shelf (vasar): “Arriba del tapesco guardan los ayotes y los canastos” (They store the squashes and baskets on top of the tapesco)
• Grain threshing: “Trillan el maíz en el tapesco para que el viento le saque la cascarilla” (They shell the corn on the tapesco so the wind blows away the husks)

Origin

The word comes from the Nahuatl “tlapechtli”, which referred to a raised platform made of interwoven sticks. The term made its way into the Spanish of Mesoamerica during colonial times and remained alive in the countryside, where sawn lumber was scarce and sticks and canes solved the need to raise surfaces off the ground.

Variations

• Tapesco / Tesco: Both forms are heard in rural speech
• Tapesco de mecate: Improvised bed woven with rope over the frame
• Vasar: Name used when the tapesco serves as a shelf

Cultural context

In Guatemala, the tapesco is a symbol of rural life and Guatemalan ingenuity: it is built with just two forked posts, sticks and canes. It is widely used in the eastern part of the country, and for many families it is the first piece of furniture improvised when moving to the countryside, serving equally for sleeping, drying coffee or storing household items.