San Marcos (department) in the context of "Mam people"

Huehuetenango (Spanish pronunciation: [w̝e.we.t̪eˈnãŋ.ɡo]) is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. It is located in the western highlands and shares the borders with the Mexican state of Chiapas in the north and west; with El Quiché in the east, and Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango and San Marcos in the south. The capital is the city of Huehuetenango.

Huehuetenango's ethnic composition is one of the most diverse in Guatemala. While the Mam are predominant in the department, other Maya groups are the Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Jakaltek, Tektik, Awakatek, Chalchitek, Akatek and K'iche'. Each of these nine Maya ethnic groups speaks its own language.

The Suchiate River (Spanish: Río Suchiate, Spanish pronunciation: [suˈtʃjate]) is a river that marks the southwesternmost part of the border between Mexico (state of Chiapas) and Guatemala (department of San Marcos). From its sources on the southern slopes of the Tacaná volcano in the Sierra Madre range of Guatemala, the 161 km (100 mi) long river flows in a south-southwesterly direction to the border with Mexico at Unión Juárez (15°04′14″N 92°03′35″W / 15.070549°N 92.059722°W / 15.070549; -92.059722 (Río Suchiate Source2)), past the border towns Talismán and El Carmen, and then Ciudad Tecún Umán and Ciudad Hidalgo (Chiapas) further downstream, where the Puente Rodolfo Robles and a railway bridge cross the river, and on to the Pacific Ocean. Its name comes from the Nahuatl name Xochiatl meaning "flower-water".

The pre-Columbian archaeological site of Izapa lies along the river.