THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 



LOCATION 



Panajachel is one of three hundred fifty-odd 

 municipios into which the RepubUc of Guatemala 

 is divided. These municipios, not unhke our 

 townships, are political subdivisions, but in the 

 region where Panajachel is located they are also 

 important cultural and economic units (Tax, 

 1937). Although they have a common basis, the 

 Indians of each municipio differ in language and 

 general culture and, since there is a tendency 

 toward marriage within the municipio, in sur- 

 names and physical appearance. Not the least 

 significant of the differences among municipios 

 is in economic specialization, which may be 

 partly, but only partly, accounted for by local 

 variations of altitude and terrain. Since such 

 specialization in production leads to trade, and 

 since no municipio is economically self-suiEcient, 

 it is not possible to limit such a discussion as this 

 to Panajachel (or any other municipio) alone; nor 

 can it be assumed that any municipio is "typical" 

 and its economy representative of all. 



Panajachel is 1 of 11 municipios (map 1) whose 

 lands form the circumference of Lake Atitldn 

 which lies about 45 miles west of Guatemala City. 

 The lake, at an altitude of some 5,100 feet, occupies 

 an immense caldera formed by volcanic crustal 

 collapse; it has been partially dammed also by 

 volcanic growth on the south shore (McBryde, 

 1933, pp. 83-64 ; 1947) . The volcanoes of Tolim&,n 

 and San Pedro start abruptly from the southern 

 shore ; cliffs rise precipitously and almost uninter- 

 ruptedly from the edge of the water to heights 



of 1,000 feet and more. Consequently there are 

 few natural town sites on the shore itself and only 

 a small number even near the lake. Certain sites, 

 therefore, assume commercial importance. The 

 only good outlets to the rich coastal regions in 

 the south are on either side of the volcano of 

 Tolimin, where the ground levels off before meet- 

 ing the lake, and here are found the towns of 

 San Lucas and Atitldn, perhaps the most prosperous 

 in this region. On the north shore two streams 

 that flow into the lake have cut wide enough 

 valleys, and built sufficiently broad deltas, to form 

 natural town sites. One of these is the Panajachel 

 River, on the banks of which is situated the town 

 of Panajachel; the other is the Quixcap, which 

 forms the delta called Jaibal, the site (until it was 

 disastrously flooded three centuries ago (V&zquez, 

 1937, p. 171) of San Jorge, now situated far up 

 on the cliff above. Both Panajachel and Jaibal 

 are busy ports for the water traffic across the lake. 

 The former, however, is much more important, 

 because a town is nearby, because the main 

 highway from the capital to the west passes 

 through it, and because gasoline launches as well 

 as canoes may be accommodated. A glance at 

 map 1 will make this clear. 



The lake towns as a group are in a particularly 

 strategic position in this part of Guatemala, lying 

 as they do between the warm lowlands and the 

 cold highlands. The great region of tropical 

 agriculture (coffee, bananas, cotton) of the Pacific 

 slope is in a belt lying at altitudes of from three 

 to five thousand feet. In the portion of this belt 

 lying just south of the lake are to be found great 



