XEJUYUP, Guatemala — It is a relief to take a detour and head toward a plateau, with its tropical vegetation, after driving through a steamy landscape of sugar cane fields in southern Guatemala. An hour later you arrive in Xejuyup, a town of about 4,000 people that is “under the mountains” or “at the feet of the hill” — which is what Xejuyup (pronounced shay-who-YOOP) means in the language of the K’iche’ Maya who live here.

The first thing I saw when I got out of the car was a huge banner with the official picture of the local soccer team, called C.S.D. Xejuyup. The first thing I saw in the banner were the team’s uniforms.