Tucurú is a small town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz.

The Verapaz Railroad began on 15 January 1894 with a contract for 99 years between Guatemala, then ruled by president José María Reina Barrios and Walter Dauch, representative of the "Verapaz Railroad & Northern Agency Ltd." The contract settled the rules for the construction and maintenance of a 30 mile railroad line between Panzós and Pancajché.

Passenger service travelled twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays; mail also arrived by ship every Wednesday and cargo came from Livingston, Izabal.

Mauricio Thomae's early farmland had the following haciendas:[5] Years later, during general Jorge Ubico's presidency (1931-1944), Thomae went on to become one of the most influential landlords in the German Verapaz, along with the Sarg, Sapper and Diesseldorf families.

Ubico had been governor of Cobán during Manuel Estrada Cabrera 22-year regime and befriended several German families, including the Thomaes.