The plaza is a small rectangle of lawn and flame trees directly in front of Santiago Apóstol Church, ringed by the city hall, a few municipal buildings and a row of bakeries and shops. In the late afternoon it fills with families, students from the nearby colleges and tricycle drivers waiting for fares — the easiest place in town to sit and watch life go by.
A simple stone marker on one corner commemorates the founding of the town in the sixteenth century. Around fiesta time in late July, the plaza becomes the centre of the celebrations honouring Saint James the Greater, with food stalls, brass bands and processions that fill the square for several days.