San Pedro La Laguna

Raw Text

Toggle the table of contents

13 languages

Ban-lam-gu

Cebuano

Espanol

فارسی

Francais

Italiano

Lietuviu

Norsk bokmal

Polski

Portugues

Slovencina

Svenska

中文

Edit links

Article

Talk

English

Read

Edit

View history

Tools

Read

Edit

View history

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Cite this page

Wikidata item

Download as PDF

Printable version

Wikimedia Commons

Wikivoyage

14°41′38″N 91°16′19″W  /  14.69389°N 91.27194°W  / 14.69389; -91.27194

Country

Guatemala

Department

Solola

Municipality

Municipal

[1]

[2]

Tz'utujil

Ladino

Roman Catholicism

Evangelicalism

Maya

Demonym

Climate

Aw

San Pedro La Laguna ( Spanish pronunciation:  [sam ˈpeðɾo la laˈɣuna] ) is a Guatemalan town on the southwest shore of Lake Atitlan . For centuries, San Pedro La Laguna has been inhabited by the Tz'utujil people , and in recent years it has also become a tourist destination for its Spanish language schools , nightlife, and proximity to the lake and volcanoes.

Local crops include corn, beans, coffee, and avocado. Some women make belts, shawls, and skirts with a back strap loom . San Pedro graduates large numbers of teachers who work the Atitlan area. Activities for tourists include hikes to the top of the San Pedro volcano or the Mayan Face, studying Spanish, partying in the restaurant sector down by the lakeshore, volunteering, and learning local crafts.

Geography [ edit ]

San Pedro La Laguna is located on the southwestern shore of Lago de Atitlan . The town is located beneath Volcan San Pedro . This volcano towers over the lake at 9,905 feet and is an attraction for climbers and hikers. The town of San Pedro La Laguna sits on a plateau and has roads running down either side of a steep ridge towards docks on the lakeshore. The dock on the west side of the plateau is called muelle municipal and has boats arriving from and departing to the town of Panajachel . The east side has a dock named muelle santiago which has boats arriving from and departing to Santiago Atitlan . The east side is also home to la playa (the beach) where people enjoy snorkeling, canoeing, and kayaking. [3]

San Pedro La Laguna can be reached by regular boats across Lake Atitlan from Panajachel (45 min) and Santiago Atitlan (30 min), or by direct bus from Guatemala City (4 hrs), Xela (3 hrs), and Mazatenango . The town is located one hour off the Interamericana Highway (CA-1) at km 148. Buses for San Pedro depart hourly from zone 8, near the Trebol interchange, alongside Calzada Roosvelt in Guatemala City or, in Xela, from the main bus terminal in zone 3.

Demography [ edit ]

San Pedro La Laguna is a small town with a population of approximately 13,000 people. [4] The inhabitants of San Pedro are primarily Tz'utujil Maya, with a small, but growing, expatriate community. The population is over 90 percent indigenous. [5] The expatriate community that is forming within San Pedro La Laguna is composed of Americans and Europeans. [6]

Religion [ edit ]

The religion that is the most dominant in San Pedro La Laguna is Roman Catholicism . This has been the most dominant religion since the 16th century, when the Spaniards colonized Guatemala. [7]

While Guatemala was under a brutal military regime the North American Protestant Evangelical churches were allowed to enter into any community. [8] As a result of Protestant evangelism, more than 40% of Pedranos are now Evangelical. [9]

Although the Protestant and Catholic religions have been dominant for many years, about half of the population still practices traditional Maya rituals either separately or alongside another religion. Many locals believe the world is inhabited by both good and bad spirits that influence many aspects of daily life. [10] Xocomil , a wind coming from the south that "carries away sin", usually visits Lake Atitlan area around midday. If the wind is coming from the north, the Maya claim, the lake's spirit is getting rid of a person who has drowned after claiming his or her soul. [11]

In 2010, due to an influx of Jewish tourists from Israel and North America, a synagogue and kosher restaurant were opened by Chabad. [12] Today, many Jewish tourists can be seen in the streets of San Pedro La Laguna, and many stores have hebrew advertising on them. Warm ties between the local and Jewish Communities have been reported. [13] Two eye witnesses heard multiple local community members shouting the word "elokut" on Saturday, February 15, which translates to "godliness" in Hebrew. Synagogue services in San Pedro La Laguna occur every Saturday with a Minyan along with shabbat meals.

Government [ edit ]

San Pedro La Laguna is in the Solola department of Guatemala . San Pedro La Laguna is separated into four cantons: Pacucha, Chuacante, Chuasanahi, and Tzanjay. [14]

During the last two years, San Pedro La Laguna passed a town ordinance to ban the use of plastic, which includes straws and plastic bags. The citizens have opted to utilize readily made textiles, baskets, etc. for daily use during their shopping trips. It is evident, that may are doing their part without pay, as part of their effort, long time citizens take trips on their canoes to extract some 700 lbs. of trash from their lake each day. [15] Residents have complained of contamination in the lake, possibly caused by pollution, increased population, tourism, and cyanotoxin , a bacterium which has substantially increased since 2009. [16]

Customs [ edit ]

Museo Tz'unun 'Ya is a museum documenting local history and customs, including the formation of the lake and colorized photos of pre-Civil War San Pedro La Laguna. [17] Indigenous medical traditions are still commonly practiced by healers, known as curanderos . [18]

History [ edit ]

Civil War [ edit ]

The Guatemalan Civil War spanned the years from 1960 to 1996. During this time San Pedro La Laguna remained relatively unaffected and unharmed by the surrounding violence. However, from the years of 1980 to 1982 there was a series of kidnappings and murders in the community. It became known that the local military commissioners were behind these actions. It was alleged that villagers were blacklisted for disloyalty to the army or for suspicion of collaborating with guerrillas, and military commissioners placed guerrilla type leaflets and graffiti around the village at night to support the allegations. This continued for nearly two years until August 1982, when higher military officials intervened. After their removal, calm was restored. [19]

Gallery [ edit ]

A close view of San Pedro La Laguna.

Sunday in the San Pedro La Laguna market with Senior Pedro Gonzalez y Gonzales.

San Pedro la Laguna with Volcan San Pedro in the background.

Independence day in San Pedro La Laguna, Oct. 2007

Immaculate Conception

References [ edit ]

^ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit} McGraw, John J. "Tz'unun Ya'.com" . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 23 March 2012 .

^ "XI Censo Nacional de Poblacion y VI de Habitacion (Censo 2002)" . INE. 2002.

^ Greenspan, Eliot. Frommer's Guatemala. 3rd ed. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing, 2011. Print. p.153.

^ Hubbard, Kristen. "San Pedro La Laguna -- Lake Atitlan, Guatemala" . About.com . About.com . Retrieved 26 March 2012 .

^ McGraw, John J. "Basic Facts" . Tz'unun Ya'.com . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 26 March 2012 .

^ Hubbard, Kristen. "San Pedro La Laguna -- Lake Atitlan, Guatemala" . About.com . About.com . Retrieved 26 March 2012 .

^ Morrison, Marion (2005). Guatemala . New York: Children's Press. pp.  89 . ISBN   0-516-23674-1 .

^ Morrison, Marion (2005). Guatemala . New York: Children's Press. pp.  97–98 . ISBN   0-516-23674-1 .

^ McGraw, John J. "Tz'unun Ya'.com" . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 23 March 2012 .

^ Morrison, Marion (2005). Guatemala . New York: Children's Press. ISBN   0-516-23674-1 .

^ Stewart, Lain (2009). The rough Guide to Guatemala (4th ed.). New York: Rough Guides. p. 150. ISBN   978-1-84836-017-4 .

^ "About Us • Chabad House Pedro" .

^ "Inside Israel's Guatemalan Outpost" .

^ McGraw, John J. "Tz'unun Ya'.com" . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 23 March 2012 .

^ Guatemala: un pueblo sin plastico | Reporteros en el mundo , retrieved 2019-10-30

^ Abbott, Jeff. "Contamination of Sacred Lake Underscores Environmental Racism in Guatemala" . Truthout . Retrieved 2019-10-30 .

^ "Museo Tz'unun 'Ya | San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala Attractions" . www.lonelyplanet.com . Retrieved 2019-10-30 .

^ " 'Maya healers' captures centuries-old cures in Guatemala's sacred spaces" . NBC News . Retrieved 2019-10-30 .

^ Carmack, Robert M (1992). Harvest of violence the Maya indians and the Guatemalan crisis . Norman, Okla: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN   9780806121321 . OCLC   902437712 .

External links [ edit ]

Website of San Pedro La Laguna

Anthropologist's Blog about learning Tz'utujil in San Pedro La Laguna

Video about historic Mayan site, La Nariz, near San Pedro La Laguna

Demonstration of Tz'utujil Mayan Language, spoken in San Pedro la Laguna

Video de San Pedro La Laguna

Coordinates : 14°41′38″N 91°16′19″W  /  14.694°N 91.272°W  / 14.694; -91.272

v

t

e

Solola Department

Guatemala

Solola

Concepcion

Nahuala

Panajachel

San Andres Semetabaj

San Antonio Palopo

San Jose Chacaya

San Juan La Laguna

San Lucas Toliman

San Marcos La Laguna

San Pablo La Laguna

Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan

Santa Catarina Palopo

Santa Clara La Laguna

Santa Cruz La Laguna

Santa Lucia Utatlan

Santa Maria Visitacion

Santiago Atitlan

Solola

Authority control

VIAF

Israel

United States

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Pedro_La_Laguna&oldid=1075289669

Category

Municipalities of the Solola Department

Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments

Articles with short description

Short description is different from Wikidata

Commons category link from Wikidata

Coordinates on Wikidata

Articles with VIAF identifiers

Articles with J9U identifiers

Articles with LCCN identifiers

Articles containing video clips

Single Line Text

Toggle the table of contents. 13 languages. Ban-lam-gu. Cebuano. Espanol. فارسی. Francais. Italiano. Lietuviu. Norsk bokmal. Polski. Portugues. Slovencina. Svenska. 中文. Edit links. Article. Talk. English. Read. Edit. View history. Tools. Read. Edit. View history. What links here. Related changes. Upload file. Special pages. Permanent link. Page information. Cite this page. Wikidata item. Download as PDF. Printable version. Wikimedia Commons. Wikivoyage. 14°41′38″N 91°16′19″W  /  14.69389°N 91.27194°W  / 14.69389; -91.27194. Country. Guatemala. Department. Solola. Municipality. Municipal. [1] [2] Tz'utujil. Ladino. Roman Catholicism. Evangelicalism. Maya. Demonym. Climate. Aw. San Pedro La Laguna ( Spanish pronunciation:  [sam ˈpeðɾo la laˈɣuna] ) is a Guatemalan town on the southwest shore of Lake Atitlan . For centuries, San Pedro La Laguna has been inhabited by the Tz'utujil people , and in recent years it has also become a tourist destination for its Spanish language schools , nightlife, and proximity to the lake and volcanoes. Local crops include corn, beans, coffee, and avocado. Some women make belts, shawls, and skirts with a back strap loom . San Pedro graduates large numbers of teachers who work the Atitlan area. Activities for tourists include hikes to the top of the San Pedro volcano or the Mayan Face, studying Spanish, partying in the restaurant sector down by the lakeshore, volunteering, and learning local crafts. Geography [ edit ] San Pedro La Laguna is located on the southwestern shore of Lago de Atitlan . The town is located beneath Volcan San Pedro . This volcano towers over the lake at 9,905 feet and is an attraction for climbers and hikers. The town of San Pedro La Laguna sits on a plateau and has roads running down either side of a steep ridge towards docks on the lakeshore. The dock on the west side of the plateau is called muelle municipal and has boats arriving from and departing to the town of Panajachel . The east side has a dock named muelle santiago which has boats arriving from and departing to Santiago Atitlan . The east side is also home to la playa (the beach) where people enjoy snorkeling, canoeing, and kayaking. [3] San Pedro La Laguna can be reached by regular boats across Lake Atitlan from Panajachel (45 min) and Santiago Atitlan (30 min), or by direct bus from Guatemala City (4 hrs), Xela (3 hrs), and Mazatenango . The town is located one hour off the Interamericana Highway (CA-1) at km 148. Buses for San Pedro depart hourly from zone 8, near the Trebol interchange, alongside Calzada Roosvelt in Guatemala City or, in Xela, from the main bus terminal in zone 3. Demography [ edit ] San Pedro La Laguna is a small town with a population of approximately 13,000 people. [4] The inhabitants of San Pedro are primarily Tz'utujil Maya, with a small, but growing, expatriate community. The population is over 90 percent indigenous. [5] The expatriate community that is forming within San Pedro La Laguna is composed of Americans and Europeans. [6] Religion [ edit ] The religion that is the most dominant in San Pedro La Laguna is Roman Catholicism . This has been the most dominant religion since the 16th century, when the Spaniards colonized Guatemala. [7] While Guatemala was under a brutal military regime the North American Protestant Evangelical churches were allowed to enter into any community. [8] As a result of Protestant evangelism, more than 40% of Pedranos are now Evangelical. [9] Although the Protestant and Catholic religions have been dominant for many years, about half of the population still practices traditional Maya rituals either separately or alongside another religion. Many locals believe the world is inhabited by both good and bad spirits that influence many aspects of daily life. [10] Xocomil , a wind coming from the south that "carries away sin", usually visits Lake Atitlan area around midday. If the wind is coming from the north, the Maya claim, the lake's spirit is getting rid of a person who has drowned after claiming his or her soul. [11] In 2010, due to an influx of Jewish tourists from Israel and North America, a synagogue and kosher restaurant were opened by Chabad. [12] Today, many Jewish tourists can be seen in the streets of San Pedro La Laguna, and many stores have hebrew advertising on them. Warm ties between the local and Jewish Communities have been reported. [13] Two eye witnesses heard multiple local community members shouting the word "elokut" on Saturday, February 15, which translates to "godliness" in Hebrew. Synagogue services in San Pedro La Laguna occur every Saturday with a Minyan along with shabbat meals. Government [ edit ] San Pedro La Laguna is in the Solola department of Guatemala . San Pedro La Laguna is separated into four cantons: Pacucha, Chuacante, Chuasanahi, and Tzanjay. [14] During the last two years, San Pedro La Laguna passed a town ordinance to ban the use of plastic, which includes straws and plastic bags. The citizens have opted to utilize readily made textiles, baskets, etc. for daily use during their shopping trips. It is evident, that may are doing their part without pay, as part of their effort, long time citizens take trips on their canoes to extract some 700 lbs. of trash from their lake each day. [15] Residents have complained of contamination in the lake, possibly caused by pollution, increased population, tourism, and cyanotoxin , a bacterium which has substantially increased since 2009. [16] Customs [ edit ] Museo Tz'unun 'Ya is a museum documenting local history and customs, including the formation of the lake and colorized photos of pre-Civil War San Pedro La Laguna. [17] Indigenous medical traditions are still commonly practiced by healers, known as curanderos . [18] History [ edit ] Civil War [ edit ] The Guatemalan Civil War spanned the years from 1960 to 1996. During this time San Pedro La Laguna remained relatively unaffected and unharmed by the surrounding violence. However, from the years of 1980 to 1982 there was a series of kidnappings and murders in the community. It became known that the local military commissioners were behind these actions. It was alleged that villagers were blacklisted for disloyalty to the army or for suspicion of collaborating with guerrillas, and military commissioners placed guerrilla type leaflets and graffiti around the village at night to support the allegations. This continued for nearly two years until August 1982, when higher military officials intervened. After their removal, calm was restored. [19] Gallery [ edit ] A close view of San Pedro La Laguna. Sunday in the San Pedro La Laguna market with Senior Pedro Gonzalez y Gonzales. San Pedro la Laguna with Volcan San Pedro in the background. Independence day in San Pedro La Laguna, Oct. 2007. Immaculate Conception. References [ edit ] ^ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit} McGraw, John J. "Tz'unun Ya'.com" . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 23 March 2012 . ^ "XI Censo Nacional de Poblacion y VI de Habitacion (Censo 2002)" . INE. 2002. ^ Greenspan, Eliot. Frommer's Guatemala. 3rd ed. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing, 2011. Print. p.153. ^ Hubbard, Kristen. "San Pedro La Laguna -- Lake Atitlan, Guatemala" . About.com . About.com . Retrieved 26 March 2012 . ^ McGraw, John J. "Basic Facts" . Tz'unun Ya'.com . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 26 March 2012 . ^ Hubbard, Kristen. "San Pedro La Laguna -- Lake Atitlan, Guatemala" . About.com . About.com . Retrieved 26 March 2012 . ^ Morrison, Marion (2005). Guatemala . New York: Children's Press. pp.  89 . ISBN   0-516-23674-1 . ^ Morrison, Marion (2005). Guatemala . New York: Children's Press. pp.  97–98 . ISBN   0-516-23674-1 . ^ McGraw, John J. "Tz'unun Ya'.com" . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 23 March 2012 . ^ Morrison, Marion (2005). Guatemala . New York: Children's Press. ISBN   0-516-23674-1 . ^ Stewart, Lain (2009). The rough Guide to Guatemala (4th ed.). New York: Rough Guides. p. 150. ISBN   978-1-84836-017-4 . ^ "About Us • Chabad House Pedro" . ^ "Inside Israel's Guatemalan Outpost" . ^ McGraw, John J. "Tz'unun Ya'.com" . John J. McGraw . Retrieved 23 March 2012 . ^ Guatemala: un pueblo sin plastico | Reporteros en el mundo , retrieved 2019-10-30. ^ Abbott, Jeff. "Contamination of Sacred Lake Underscores Environmental Racism in Guatemala" . Truthout . Retrieved 2019-10-30 . ^ "Museo Tz'unun 'Ya | San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala Attractions" . www.lonelyplanet.com . Retrieved 2019-10-30 . ^ " 'Maya healers' captures centuries-old cures in Guatemala's sacred spaces" . NBC News . Retrieved 2019-10-30 . ^ Carmack, Robert M (1992). Harvest of violence the Maya indians and the Guatemalan crisis . Norman, Okla: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN   9780806121321 . OCLC   902437712 . External links [ edit ] Website of San Pedro La Laguna. Anthropologist's Blog about learning Tz'utujil in San Pedro La Laguna. Video about historic Mayan site, La Nariz, near San Pedro La Laguna. Demonstration of Tz'utujil Mayan Language, spoken in San Pedro la Laguna. Video de San Pedro La Laguna. Coordinates : 14°41′38″N 91°16′19″W  /  14.694°N 91.272°W  / 14.694; -91.272. v. t. e. Solola Department. Guatemala. Solola. Concepcion. Nahuala. Panajachel. San Andres Semetabaj. San Antonio Palopo. San Jose Chacaya. San Juan La Laguna. San Lucas Toliman. San Marcos La Laguna. San Pablo La Laguna. Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. Santa Catarina Palopo. Santa Clara La Laguna. Santa Cruz La Laguna. Santa Lucia Utatlan. Santa Maria Visitacion. Santiago Atitlan. Solola. Authority control. VIAF. Israel. United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Pedro_La_Laguna&oldid=1075289669. Category. Municipalities of the Solola Department. Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments. Articles with short description. Short description is different from Wikidata. Commons category link from Wikidata. Coordinates on Wikidata. Articles with VIAF identifiers. Articles with J9U identifiers. Articles with LCCN identifiers. Articles containing video clips.