Guatemala Culture & Language

Guatemala has the largest indigenous population in Central America, and it is not confined to villages or museums — Maya languages, dress and ritual are ordinary parts of public life. Twenty-one Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, of which K'iche', Q'eqchi', Kaqchikel and Mam have the most speakers; alongside them are two non-Mayan Indigenous languages, Xinca, which is indigenous to the country, and Garífuna, an Arawakan language of the Caribbean coast. The Language Law of 2003 recognises all of them as national languages.

Textiles carry information. The huipil (blouse) and corte (wrapped skirt) a woman wears identify the town she is from — pattern, colour and technique are specific to each community, and a Guatemalan can read them at a glance. Each piece is backstrap-woven and takes weeks to months. Buying from a weaver or a co-operative rather than a reseller is the difference between supporting that and not.

Religion here is layered rather than mixed. Catholic practice sits on top of Maya ritual, and in places the two are conducted in the same building — the church steps at Chichicastenango are used for copal and candle offerings before anyone goes inside. Maximón (San Simón), a folk saint venerated at Santiago Atitlán and Zunil, is given cigarettes and aguardiente and is moved between households each year by the cofradía that keeps him.

The food is maize first. Pepián, a dark stew thickened with toasted seeds, is the national dish; kak'ik, a Q'eqchi' turkey soup, and jocón, a green chicken stew, sit alongside it. Tamales and chuchitos are Saturday food, rellenitos are plantain and bean sweets, and tortillas come off a griddle at every meal. The coffee — Antigua, Huehuetenango, Cobán — is exported almost entirely, so ask for the good stuff by name.

Two things are worth timing a trip around. Semana Santa in Antigua produces processions over coloured sawdust carpets laid in the street overnight and destroyed by the procession that passes over them. And on 1 November, the towns of Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez fly barriletes gigantes — kites up to twenty metres across, built over months, flown in the cemetery to carry messages to the dead. The same day is the only day anyone eats fiambre, a cold dish of dozens of ingredients prepared once a year.

Spanish is the official language and the one that connects the country. Guatemalan Spanish is spoken relatively slowly and clearly, which makes it a popular place to learn — Antigua and Quetzaltenango have dozens of language schools, most offering one-to-one tuition with a homestay by the week at a fraction of what it costs elsewhere.

English is common in Antigua, at Lake Atitlán and around Tikal, and thin everywhere else.

The 22 Mayan languages are first languages for millions of people, and in highland villages Spanish may be a second language spoken with less fluency than you expect. A few words of the local one are received warmly: in K'iche' and Kaqchikel, saqarik is good morning and maltyox is thank you; in Q'eqchi', b'antiox.

Local Spanish usage worth having: ¿cómo amaneció? (how did you wake — the standard morning greeting), vos instead of tú among friends, chapín/chapina (a Guatemalan), shuco (dirty, and also the name of a street hot dog), de una (right away), cabal (exactly).

Greet before you ask. Buenos días on entering a shop, a bus or a room is expected and its absence is noticed.