San Martín Sacatepéquez is predominantly inhabited by Indigenous peoples of Maya, Mam descent. Linguistically, San Martín is part of the Southern Mam speaking region of Guatemala. The town is also known as San Martín Chile Verde, due to the large quantity of green chili peppers its farmers historically grew and brought to Quetzaltenango to sell. Here a local man can be seen wearing the traditional traje, still worn by most men in the town. San Martín Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, 2014.

Copal is a name given to tree resin that is particularly identified with the aromatic resins used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and other purposes. More generally, the term copal describes resinous substances in an intermediate stage of polymerization and hardening between "gummier" resins and amber. The word copal is derived from the Nahuatl language word copalli, meaning "incense". To the pre-Columbian Maya and contemporary Maya peoples it is known in the various Mayan languages as pom (or a close variation thereof), although the word itself has been demonstrated to be a loanword to Mayan from Mixe–Zoquean languages. Copal is still used by a number of indigenous peoples in central America as an incense, during sweat lodge ceremonies and Sacred Mushroom ceremonies. It is available in different forms. The hard, amber-like yellow copal is a less expensive version. The white copal, a hard, milky, sticky substance, is a more expensive version of the same resin. Mayan ladies celebrating the festival of San mateo in Quetzaltenango. Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, 2014.

Local man waiting for the water taxi in the Mayan village of Santa Cruz La Laguna. Volcanoes San Pedro and Santa Clara can be seen in the background.