San Andres Semetabaj is a Kaqchikel speaking town within the Lake Atitlán basin, 8 kilometers above Panajachel in the Department of Solola. It “overlooks Lake Atitlán from a narrow mountain shelf at about 1,000 feet [above the lake level]. The rugged topography surrounds the town center on three sides adnn makes flat arable land for subsisteence or commercial cultivation scarce. . . [It] has become a major producer of wheat . . . On the local level, commeerce is dominated by the women, who sell vegetables and backstrap-loomed texties. . . The municipality has a population of approximately 3,500, about 1,000 of whom dwell in the town center. Of the latter, more than one-fourth are Ladinos, an unusually high proportion for this region.” (Conte, Maya Culture & Costume, Taylor Museum, 1984) It is known among textile collectors for the closely patterned brocade on its huipils and its indigo dyed shawls.

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