The village of Solalá is one of the nineteen villages located around Lake Atitlan and is the capital of the department of Solalá. It is also one of the few remaining villages wherein both men and women routinely wear traditional Maya clothing.

Lake Atitlan is in proximity to three active volcanoes, is the deepest lake in Central America, and enjoys the claim of being the most beautiful lake in the world. Additionally, it hosts a daily physical phenomenon. Early each evening, the typically calm waters become agitated, creating waves so large that water travel becomes dangerous.

According to Maya myth, two warring kingdoms occupied Tecpanatitlan (today’s Solalá). The prince from one of the kingdoms fell in love with the princess of the other kingdom. The kings of each kingdom condemned the affair and prohibited the lovers from seeing one another. Ignoring this dictate, the prince and princess continued meeting in a secret location on the banks of the lake. One day, they fell into the lake and drowned. Since that day, their souls live in the water. Different versions of the myth attribute the daily waves to a dance the lovers souls’ make with one another, or identify the waves as the ripples of the princess’s tears falling on the lake as she weeps for her lost prince.