Guatemalan Culture

Guatemalan culture and Guatemalan customs are strongly influenced by the country's history. Guatemalan people are largely mestizo, a mixture of Spanish and Maya blood, while many villagers are direct Maya descendants. Guatemalan history was largely affected by the Maya civilization that lived throughout modern-day Guatemala for nearly 600 years before collapsing around 900 AD. The multicultural Guatemalan society has directly influenced the country's customs, cuisine, and people.

Guatemalan cuisine, for example, varies depending on the region. However, many traditional Guatemalan foods are based on Maya cuisine, predominantly featuring ingredients like corn, chilies, and beans. Their principal crop of the Maya was corn maize which continues to be very important today. Other popular dishes in Guatemala include enchiladas, quesadillas, and tamales, although these are not to be confused with their Mexican counterparts.

Another important part of Guatemalan culture is its music and fashion. Guatemalan people are known for their percussion bands featuring the marimba, the national instrument. Guatemalan fashion is also well known for its use of brightly colored yarn-textiles, capes, shirts, blouses, skirts, and dresses. This is another reflection of Guatemalan history as bright colored fabrics were very popular with the Maya people.

In this section, discover all kinds of interesting things about Guatemalan culture, people, society, customs, art, literature, and much more.