Santiago Atitlán

Introducing Santiago Atitlán

South across the lake from Panajachel, beside an inlet squeezed between the towering volcanoes of Tolimán and San Pedro, lies Santiago Atitlán. Though Santiago is the most touristy lakeside settlement outside Panajachel, many atitecos (as its people are known) cling to a traditional Tz’utujil Mayan lifestyle. Women weave and wear huipiles (tunics) embroidered with brilliantly colored birds and flowers, and the town’s cofradías maintain the ceremonies and rituals of la costumbre, the syncretic traditions and practices of Mayan Catholicism. There’s a large art and crafts scene here, too. The best days to visit are Friday and Sunday, the main market days, but in fact any day will do.

It’s the most workaday of the lake villages, home to Maximón (mah-shee-mohn), who is paraded around during Semana Santa – a good excuse to head this way during Easter. The rest of the year, Maximón resides with a caretaker, receiving offerings. He changes house every year, but he’s easy enough to find by asking around. If that’s too much work, local children will take you to see him for a small tip.

In the 1980s, left-wing guerrillas had a strong presence in the Santiago area, leading to the killings or disappearance of hundreds of villagers at the hands of the Guatemalan army. Santiago became the first village in the country to succeed in expelling the army, following a notorious massacre of 13 villagers on December 1, 1990.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009