Under colonial rule, Quetzaltenango flourished as a commercial centre, benefiting from the fertility of the surrounding farmland and good connections to the port at Champerico. When the prospect of independence eventually arose, the city was set on deciding its own destiny and Quetzaltenango declared itself the capital of the independent state of Los Altos . The separatist movement was unsuccessful, however, and the city has had to accept provincial status ever since, although during the coffee boom at the end of the last century Quetzaltenango's wealth and population grew so rapidly that it began to rival the capital in status.

All this, however, came to an abrupt end when the city was almost totally destroyed by the massive 1902 earthquake . Rebuilding took place in a mood of high optimism: all the grand Neoclassical architecture dates from this period. A new rail line was built to connect the city with the coast, but after this was washed out in 1932-33 the town never regained its former glory, gradually falling further and further behind the capital.

Today Quetzaltenango has all the trappings of wealth and self-importance: the grand imperial architecture, the great banks, and a list of famous sons. But it is completely devoid of the rampant energy that binds Guatemala City to the all-American twentieth century. The city has a calm and dignified air and Quetzaltecos have a reputation for formality and politeness - an ideal antidote to the chaos of Guatemala City