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. The Laguna Chicabal, a crater lake and holy site for the Mam, is located within the municipal boundary of San Martín. San Martín is also notable due to the colorful traditional garb (known in Guatemala as traje) still worn by the residents. Although most Maya men throughout Guatemala have adopted Western clothing, a large population of men in San Martín still wear traje
