Quick Facts about Guatemala

Capital: Guatemala City

Head of State: President Oscar Berger (more?)

Main Languages: Spanish (60%) and Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Mam, and Xinca)

Population: 13.1 million

Area: 108,890 sq km (about the size of Tennessee)

Money: quetzal US$1 = Q7.90

Climate: December to February brings cool nights and morning.

March and April are the hottest, driest months of the year.

The rainy season runs from around mid-May to around mid-October, and in the northern regions continues into November and December

July to September is muggy and very humid.

October and November mark the end of occasional rains and cooler temperatures return.

Terrain: Mountainous, with a fertile coastal plain

Government Type: Constitutional democratic republic

Independence Day: (from Spain) September 15, 1821

Natural resources: oil, timber, nickel, gold

Country’s History and People

Þ    More than half of Guatemalans are decendents of indigenous Mayan peoples. Westernized Mayans and mestizos (mixed European and indigenous ancestry) are known as Ladinos.

Þ    Most of the population is rural, though urbanization is growing.

Þ    Predominant religion is Roman Catholic, into which many indigenous Guatemalans have incorporated traditional forms of worship

Þ    The Mayan civilization flourished throughout much of Guatemala and the surrounding region long before the Spanish arrived, but it was already in decline when the Mayans were defeated by Pedro de Alvarado in 1523-24.

Þ    The first Colonial Capital, Ciudad Vieja, was destroyed by floods and an earthquake in 1542.  Survivors founded the second capital, Antigua, in 1543.

Þ    Antigua was destroyed by two earthquakes in 1773. The remnants of Spanish colonial architecture have been preserved as a national monument.

Þ    The third and current capital, Guatemala City, was founded in 1776.

Þ    When Guatemala gained its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821, it briefly became part of the Mexican Empire and for a brief period belonged to the United Provinces of Central America.

Þ    From the mid-19th century until the mid-1980s, the country passed through a series of dictatorships, insurgencies (particularly beginning in the 1960s), coups, and stretches of military rule with only occasional periods of representative government.

Quetzaltenago

• Located in the Sierra Madres, at an elevation of 2,200 meters
• Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes including the Santa Maria volcano and the active Santiaguito volcano.
• Nickname: Xela (pronounced Shay-la) comes from the original Quiche name for the site where the Spanish conquistadores built their city
• Population: about 250,000
• Climate: year-round temperatures average 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit  during the day and 45 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
• Located about 200km west of Guatemala City
• 2^nd largest city in Guatemala
• A university town, with one large state university, San Carlos de Guatemala, and six private universities
• Throughout Xela there are old classical buildings and monuments. This is especially visible in the center of the city around “Parque Cental”