ABSTRACT
San Pedro Sacatepequez, San Marcos is located in the extreme western highlands of Guatemala near the Mexican border, four and a half hours by first class bus from Guatemala City, within commuting distance to Quezaltenango, Guatemala's second largest city. Part of the reason for recent improvement and development of roads and transport in the area is that San Pedro is the geographic twin of the departmental capital of San Marcos. There exists between these two towns great animosity and rivalry. Though the towns are nearly contiguous, they seem on the surface to ignore each other's presence. Ethnic differences would seem to be the cause of unfriendly relations, but there is a class distinction as well. Sampedranas are no longer required to learn to weave. The money that had previously been invested in costume as an outward expression of ethnicity is being spent instead on consumer items.
