San Juan Ostuncalco, is a town, with a population of 20,763 (2018 census),[2] and a municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala.

[3] During the first part of the 17th century they also had doctrine in four towns close to the city of Santiago, which eventually became city neighborhoods: Espíritu Santo, Santiago, San Jerónimo and San Anton — which was the capital of the Mercedarians, where they had their convent and where their comendador lived.

[6] However, in 1754, due to the Bourbon reforms implemented by the Spanish kings, the Mercedarians - and the rest of the regular clergy for that matter - had to transfer their doctrines to the secular clergy, thus losing their San Juan Ostuncalco doctrine.

The "Baile del Torito" is a local dance from San Juan Ostuncalco.

San Juan Ostuncalco municipal capital has temperate climate (Köppen: Cwb).