Santa Catarina Palopó is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Sololá department Sololá is a department in the west of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Sololá. Lake Atitlan is a key feature surrounded by a number of the municipalities. Municipalities # Concepción # Nahualá # Panajachel # San Andrés Semetaba ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. The municipality is located on the shores of

Lake Atitlán Lake Atitlán ( es, links=no, Lago de Atitlán, ) is a lake in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre mountain range. The lake is located in the Sololá Department of southwestern Guatemala. It is known as the deepest lake in Central Ameri ...

, approximately 3 miles southeast of

Panajachel Panajachel (, Pana) is a town in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, less than from Guatemala City, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The elevation is . P ...

, a popular tourist destination. To its southeast is

San Antonio Palopó San Antonio Palopó is a Municipalities of Guatemala, municipality in the Sololá Department of Guatemala. The village is on the eastern shore of Lago de Atitlán, Lake Atitlán. The lowest elevation is at the shoreline. The people of the region ...

. The three aforementioned towns are connected by one paved road, which runs directly through Santa Catarina Palopó.

Demographics

The population of Santa Catarina Palopó is approximately 5,000 according to a 2011 census conducted by the town administration. The vast majority of the residents of the town are indigenous, descending from the Kaqchikel

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

. Kaqchikel is the most common language spoken in the village, though

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

is widely understood.

Subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

and fishing are the means of survival for most families within the community, however, a recently spurred tourist industry has created a market for souvenir style goods and services. Perhaps the most easily recognizable characteristic of Santa Catarina Palopó is the blue

huipil ''Huipil'' (Nahuatl: '' huīpīlli'' ; Ch'orti': ''b’ujk''; Chuj: ''nip'') is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America. It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three re ...

, or blouse, which is worn prominently by the women of the community. Since the

has been worn since the 16th century, it may seem to be a particularly indigenous trait, but the blue style is, however, the result of very recent external influences. ''Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó'' is a project located in the town. Its purpose is to paint houses and buildings to improve the appearance of the town. Families choose the base colors and details to paint their houses with. The details depict animals such as deer and birds. "Proyecto"
"Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó", 2018

Climate

Santa Catarina Palopó has a tropical climate with stable temperatures throughout the year; (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''Aw'').

Things to do

Despite its small size there are some sights to visit in Santa Catarina. The village has a museum which shows the culture of the place. Inside the village is a

Confraternity A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most c ...

, that is presenting information about the Guatemalan Catholic saints. On the Church Plaza, which is the main square, locally produced

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

is being sold. Multiple restaurants are located around the main street, especially close to the Hotel Villa Santa Catarina, that is located close to the lake and the pier. Furthermore, the village has various street shops selling traditional Kaqchikel clothes, which is one of the main sources of income for the locals. From the pier, the lake and the three volcanoes can be seen, especially in the early morning, just after the sunrise, when the weather is very clear.

References

External links

Municipalities of the Sololá Department {{Guatemala-geo-stub