ABSTRACT
This chapter is a "spatial history" of the Jacaltenango road that diverges from the Transversal de Nentón at the Cruz de Coronada. This single wooden cross, though it is covered by brush, is the only sign for the turn. Though it is easy to miss the road, the cross and even the road itself tell of histories more profound than meet the eye. To understand Jacaltenango's location, it is also necessary to realize that memories, experiences, stories, and legends have been worn into this road. Pathways, allegories walked onto landscapes, signify histories, travels, and places, as well as arrival, land tenure, even resistances to violence and flight mandated by force. These routes are the "beaten track" in more ways than one. To begin to know Jacaltenango and its location, one must travel and know its road and the people passing along it. The Jacal road is used every day by hundreds of walkers and riders, even thousands on many days.
