San Juan Comalapa is a town, with a population of 32,312, and a municipality in the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala. San Juan Comalapa is sometimes called the "Florence of America", because of the many Kaqchikel painters living there. It is also the birthplace of Rafael Álvarez Ovalle, who composed Guatemala national anthem. The painting tradition started in the 1930s, when Kaqchikel painter Andrés Curruchich started painting with oil.