The dance reenacts the invasion led by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado and his confrontation with Tecun Uman, ruler of K'iche' kingdom of Q'umarkaj.
However, the letter is quite sparing in details, with Alvarado only mentioning of the battle that ensued: "in this affair one of the four chiefs of the city of Utatlán was killed, who was the captain general of all this country.
This is all tied together by the genealogy of the K'iche' lords that is given near the end of the Popul Vuh and a section of the Título de Totonicapan, which both refer to the son of the Keeper of the Mat as "Tecum" at the time of Alvarado's arrival.
[6] This theory has yet to be proven, and is given little attention in light of pre-existing documents speaking of a historical Tecun Uman long before the first performances of Baile de la Conquista.
The Baile de la Conquista is not unique to Guatemala; variations of the dance have been performed throughout Latin America with differences based on local folklore.