The remains of ancestral traditions

By: E. Virgilio Reyes

During the colonization Sololá was comprised with thirty villages under its jurisdiction and the Department was established November 4, 1825 by decree of the Asamblea Constituyente. By the middle of the 19th century it formed part of the Estado de los Altos, and in 1849 it was newly integrated into the Republic. The linguistic groups predominant in the Department, are the kaqchikel, tz'utujil, and k'iche', some of which are spoken in the settlements around Lake Atitlán.

Sololá is noted on a national and international level for its painters, the majority of which pertain to the tz'utujil people. Some combine agricultural activities with their artistic endeavors. One of the most recognized examples of these artists was Fray Juan Sisay, who earned great renown in this area. In religious practices one must note the cult of Maximón, which is a deity of the tz'utujil Mayan culture venerated in Santiago Atitlán and to whom many shrines around the lake are consecrated. Maximón is a figure who through its existence has represented for the community of Sololá, and especially the community of Santiago Atitlán, a focus of cultural resistance through the syncretization of rituals. The image comes in procession on Good Friday of each Holy Week. The peculiarity of this processional is that Maximón appears next to Santo Entierro, a situation that presented difficulty for the Catholic Church in the past. The cofradía, known as Santa Cruz is in charge of the cyclic rituals and festivals throughout the year. The population has an important cultural diversity in which tz'utujil, k'iche', kaqchikel and castellano are all spoken.

The sovereign Imperial of the mountains

By: Luis Villar Anleu

Sololá is the kingdom of the mountains because even the smallest portions of its territory it are composed of them. All of its mountains are volcanic and are formed as cones, mountain islands, super-imposed mountains, plateaus, basins or narrow passes. The materials that construct them come from the core of the Earth. The entire Department, as should now be evident, is part of the Volcanic Chain.

Given the mountain configuration of the Department, with the classic characteristics of the Volcanic Chain, the biological corridor that unites it to the North American eco-systems and the enormous variety of geographic space, its natural environments are typical of a Mountain Forest. There are forests of pure pine, mountain oak or aliso, or mixed forests comprised of cyprus, wild cherry and peach.

Without a doubt, the biggest tourist attraction of Sololá is Lake Atitlán. Among its other points of interest are the volcanoes of Atitlán (3,557 meters), Tolimán (3,158 meters) and San Pedro (3,020 meters) that are located on the south shore of Lake Atitlán, Santo Tomás or Pecul (3,505 meters) and Zunil (3,542 meters), that rises from the Chuatroj mountain range, dividing Sololá and Quetzaltenango. There is also the panoramic road between San José Chacayá and Santa Clara La Laguna, the route to Ixtahuacán and the panoramic route to María Tecún.

Artisanry

By: Francisco Rodríquez Rouanet and Aracely Esquivel

Cotton fabrics

They elaborate cotton fabrics in the municipalities of Nahualá, Sololá, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Santa Lucía Utatlán, San José Chacayá, Panajachel, Concepción, San Andrés Semetabaj, Santa Catarina Palopó, Santa María Visitación, Santa Clara La Laguna, San Pablo La Laguna, San Marcos La Laguna, Santa Cruz La Laguna, San Juan La Laguna, San Pedro La Laguna, Santiago Atitlán, San Lucas Tolimán and San Antonio Palopó.

Wool fabrics

They create wool fabrics using two types of looms solely in the municipality of Nahualá.

Traditional ceramics

Bowls, jars and baking dishes are made only in the municipality of Santiago Atitlán.

Palm products

Brooms and baskets are fabricated in the municipalities of Sololá and Santiago Atitlán.

Tulle

They produce sleeping mats and fans, using tulle, in the municipalities of San Juan La Laguna, San Pablo La Laguna, San Marcos La Laguna, Santa Cruz La Laguna, Panajachel, Santa Catarina Palopó, San Antonio Palopó, San Lucas Tolimán and Santiago Atitlán. In this region they also create woven baskets, rope, candles, leather goods, wood products and construction materials.

Traditions

By: Carlos René García Escobar

Cofradías and Hermandades

Sololá is one of the Departments of the Guatemalan highlands where the cofradías, protected by a strong resistance force, abound more than the hermandades. Some of them even maintain in their organizational structure indigen authorities of large and small townships. In every municipality the patron saint cofradía is the most powerful by virtue of the membership numbers.

It is indispensable to note that perhaps the most important cofradía in many social and anthropological aspects is Maximón, in Santiago Atitlán.

Dances

The Department has three important dance centers. They are the departmental principality and the municipalities of Concepción and San Andrés Semetabaj. In Concepción they dance the Venados, Toritos, Los Negritos, Los Mexicanos and La Conquista for their patron festival. Los Negritos, Moros y Cristianos and the Convite are performed in San Andrés Semetabaj. In the principality, Sololá, they dance La Conquista, Toritos and Mexicanos for the festival of La Asunción. In Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán they perform Los Negritos, Los Gracejos and La Sierpe. In Santiago Atitlán they perform La Conquista and El Convite.