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Guatemala City La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción
Guatemala City
Nickname: Guate, La Capirucha
Guatemala City Location within Guatemala
Coordinates: 14°37′22.48″N 90°31′53.33″W / 14.6229111, -90.5314806
Country	Guatemala
Department	Guatemala
Municipality	Guatemala
Established	1773
Government
- Mayor	Álvaro Arzú
Area
- Total	692 km² (267.2 sq mi)
- Land	1,905 km² (735.5 sq mi)
Elevation	1,500 m (4,921 ft)
Population (2002)
- Total	1,202,536
Time zone	GMT -6 (UTC)
Website: Municipalidad de Guatemala

Guatemala City (in full, La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción; locally known as Guatemala or Guate) is the capital and largest city of the nation of Guatemala. It is also the capital city of the local Guatemala Department and the largest city in Central America. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... EXAMPLE:Laughbox,Blondie,BamBam,Pinkie,etc. ... Image File history File links Red_pog2. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... Guatemala is divided into 22 [1] departments (departamentos): Alta Verapaz Baja Verapaz Chimaltenango Chiquimula Petén El Progreso Quiché Escuintla Guatemala Huehuetenango Izabal Jalapa Jutiapa Quetzaltenango Retalhuleu Sacatepéquez San Marcos Santa Rosa Sololá Suchitepequez Totonicapán Zacapa In addition, Guatemala has in the past claimed that all or part... Álvaro Enrique Arzú Yrigoyen (b. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered with water. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Timezone and TimeZone redirect here. ... ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Department of Guatemala Guatemala is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ...

As of the 2006 census, the city had a population of 1,202,536.^[1] The city is located at 14°38′N, 90°33′W, in a mountain valley in the south central part of the country.

Population

The current population estimates for Guatemala City are about 3,200,000 in the greater metropolitan region.^[2] Guatemalans have a diversity of origins, with Spanish and Mestizo descent being the most common. There are also important Indigenous communities and smaller German, Jewish and Korean. Language(s) Predominantly Spanish, (with a minority of other languages), while Mestiços speaks Portuguese Religion(s) Christianity (Predominantly Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestant and other Religions) Related ethnic groups European (mostly Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian), Amerindian people, Austronesian people, Hispanics and Latinos Mestizo (Portuguese: Mestiço...

Guatemala City's population continues to increase with the influx of predominantly indigenous migrants from the other departments as well as people from other countries coming to live to the city.

History

Within the confines of modern Guatemala City is the ancient Maya city of Kaminaljuyu. Kaminaljuyu dates back some 9,000 years and is one of the Americas' most notable archaeological sites.^{[citation needed]} The center of Kaminaljuyu was located a short distance from the oldest part of Guatemala City. However, in the late 20th century, the city grew around the ruins, and, in some cases, over some of the outlying ruins before they were protected. Many of the several hundred temple mounds have been built over with freeways, shopping centers, commerce, luxury hotels and residential areas. The central ceremonial center of Kaminaljuyu was protected by the Guatemalan government and is now a park within the city. Even so, there are some ruins still alive that are protected by the government. Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization, in highland Guatemala, now within modern Guatemala City. ...

In Spanish colonial times, Guatemala City was a small town. It had a monastery called 'El Carmen', founded in 1629. The capital of Spanish colonial Central America was moved here after an earthquake destroyed the old capital, Antigua Guatemala, in 1775. King Charles III of Spain authorized the moving of the capital on September 27, 1775. This resulted in a great expansion of the city. The Captaincy General of Guatamala (Spanish: Capitania General de Goathemalawa) was an administrative division in Spanish America which covered much of Central America, extending from the Soconusco region - located in what is now the southern part of Mexico (states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan) - to Costa Rica. ... La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is a city in the central mountains of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish New World Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruined churches. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The city was the scene of the declaration of independence of Central America from Spain, and became the capital of the United Provinces of Central America in 1821. Capital Guatemala City; in 1834 moved to San Salvador Created 1823 Dissolved 1840 Demonym Centroamerican The United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) was a country that existed in Central America from July 1823 to approximately 1840. ...

Today

National Post Office Building

Guatemala City is the economic, governmental and cultural capital of the Republic, and it functions as the main port of entry into the country, with the country's largest international airport, La Aurora International Airport. In addition to a wide variety of restaurants, hotels and shops, the city has a wide variety of art galleries and museums (including some fine collections of Pre-Columbian art) and continually offers an increasing amount of cultural activities. Guatemala City, National Post Office Building. ... Guatemala City, National Post Office Building. ... La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala and is located 6km south of Guatemala Citys centre. ... The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents. ...

Structure and growth

Guatemala City is subdivided into 25 zones (although zones 20, 22, and 23 don't exist), each one with its own streets and avenues, making it very easy to find addresses in the city. However, the city has grown so fast in the past years that it has already absorbed most of the neighboring towns, including Villa Nueva, Santa Catarina Pinula, Mixco, and the suburban area of Carretera a El Salvador, currently a big commercial and residential part of the city.

Zone One is the Historic Center (Centro Histórico), lying in the very heart of the city, the location of many important buildings including the Palacio Nacional (National Palace), the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Congress, the Casa Presidencial (Presidential House), the National Library and Central Park. Buildings called National Palace include: National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa. ... Casa Presidencial, or Presidential House in the Spanish Language, is the official residence of the president of El Salvador. ...

Places of interest by zones

Zone 1

• Railway Museum [1]
• Centro Histórico [2]
• National Palace (Guatemala) and Metropolitan Cathedral
• Mercado Central (central market)

Zone 2

• Mapa en Relieve (giant map of Guatemala) and surrounding parks [3]

Zone 4

• Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias
• Cuatro Grados Norte trendy pedestrian area

Zone 7

• Kaminaljuyu and Museo Miraflores [4]

Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization, in highland Guatemala, now within modern Guatemala City. ...

Zone 9

• Torre del Reformador tower
• Parque de la Industria, fairgounds [5]
• Avenida Reforma and El Obelisco, a parklike boulevard

The Torre del Reformador is a 75 metre high steel framework tower at Guatamala City. ...

Zone 10

• Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena (mayan dress museum) [6]
• Museo Popol Vuh [7]
• Zona Viva entertainment district
• Botanical garden [8]

The Popol Vuh (Quiché for Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a kingdom of the post classic Maya civilization in highland Guatemala. ...

Zone 13

• Museo de Arqueología y Etnología (archaelogical museum) [9]
• La Aurora Zoo [10]

Transportation

• The newly renovated and expanded La Aurora International Airport lies in the southern part of the city and is the main gateway to the country.
• Urban public transportation is provided solely by bus. Guatemala City does not have an efficient public transportation service, despite the many proposals and projects for the construction of a mass transit system. Although the construction of freeways and underpasses by the municipal government, as well as the establishment of the Department of Metropolitan Transit Police, PMT, has helped traffic flow in the city, the Guatemalan metropolitan area faces a growing transportation problem. However, a new project called Transmetro, consisting of special-purpose lanes for high-capacity buses, began operating in 2007 and aims to improve traffic flow in the city.[[11]]

La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala and is located 6km south of Guatemala Citys centre. ... Transmetro is the Bus Rapid Transit system of Guatemala City, Guatemala. ...

Universities

There are 10 universities, Universidad Mariano Gálvez, Universidad Panamericana, Universidad Mesoamericana, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Universidad del Valle, Universidad del Istmo, Universidad Galileo, Universidad Rural and Universidad de San Carlos, the mother only public one and third oldest university in the New World. The mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a society of free and responsible persons. ... The Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (University of the Valley of Guatemala) is a private, not-for-profit, secular university located in Guatemala City, Guatemala. ... Galileo University is a University of Technology in Guatemala City. ... The University of San Carlos is the the third oldest University in the New World. ...

Sports

Guatemala possesses several sportsgrounds and is home to many sports clubs. Comunicaciones, CSD Municipal, Aurora FC are the main soccer clubs. Estadio Mateo Flores is the largest stadium in the country, along with Estadio Cementos Progreso and Estadio del Ejército. An important multi-functional hall is the Domo Polideportivo de la CDAG. CSD Comunicaciones is a Guatemalan football club located in Guatemala City. ... Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municipal or Los Rojos (the Reds), are a Guatemalan professional football club based in Guatemala City. ... Aurora FC is one of the traditional football clubs in Guatemala. ... National stadium in Guatemala city,was built in 1948 was renamed after Mateo Flores who won the 1952 Boston Marathon. ... The Estadio Cementos Progreso, also known popularly as Estadio La Pedrera, is a multi-use stadium in Guatemala City. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The city has also hosted several sports events. In 1950 it hosted the VI Central American and Caribbean Games, and in 2000 the Futsal World Cup. On July 4, 2007 the International Olympic Committee gathered in Guatemala City and voted Sotchi to become the host for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[12] Stamp The International Olympic Committee (French: Comité International Olympique) is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on June 23, 1894. ... The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, is an international winter multiple sports event that will be celebrated from February 7 to February 23, 2014. ...

Natural disasters

Earthquakes

Guatemala City was destroyed several times by earthquakes. The worst quakes were registered in 1917/1918 and 1976. Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. ...

Volcanic activity

There are three active volcanoes visible from the city. The most active and nearest is the Pacaya, who erupts once in a while, expelling a considerable amount of ash, what frequently leads to the closure of La Aurora International Airport. [13] This article is about volcanoes in geology. ... Pacaya is an active volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago, and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. ... La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala and is located 6km south of Guatemala Citys centre. ...

Mudslides

Due to heavy rainfalls some of the humble neighborhoods built at the edge of steep valleys are frequently washed away and buried under mudslides, as in October 2005 [14].

Sinkhole

In February of 2007 a large sinkhole opened in a poor neighborhood in northeast Guatemala city, killing three people. The sinkhole was 100.5m (330 feet) deep, and apparently was created by fluid from a sewer dissolving the rock underneath. As a result, some one thousand people have been evacuated from the area. [15] Devils Hole near Hawthorne, Florida, USA. A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water. ...

Zona Viva

Zone Ten or the Zona Viva along with being the financial district of the city it is among the most popular areas for pop culture, shopping and entertainment. Zone ten is where most of the hotels, restaurants, bars, discotheques, and other entertainment places in the city are located. Also, many of the embassies are located in Zone Ten.

Sister Cities

• Mexico City, Mexico
• La Paz, Bolivia
• San Salvador, El Salvador
• San Juan, Puerto Rico

Image File history File links Flag_of_Mexico. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bolivia. ... Motto: Los discordes en concordia, en paz y amor se juntaron y pueblo de paz fundaron para perpetua memoria Location of La Paz within Bolivia Coordinates: , Country Departament Province Pedro Domingo Murillo Province Founded October 20, 1548 Incorporated (El Alto) 20th century Government  - Mayor Juan Del Granado Area  - Total 470... Image File history File links Flag_of_El_Salvador. ... For other uses, see San Salvador (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Puerto_Rico. ... San Juan, the Spanish for Saint John, is a common toponym in parts of the world where Spanish is or was spoken: Argentina San Juan Province San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province Cuba San Juan Hill Mexico San Juan, Campeche San Juan, Chihuahua San Juan, Coahuila San Juan...

Sons and daughters of the city

• Miguel Ángel Asturias writer and diplomat
• Carlos Mérida painter
• Álvaro Colom President of Guatemala
• Carlos Ruíz soccer player

Miguel Ángel Asturias (October 19, 1899 – June 9, 1974) was a Guatemalan writer and diplomat. ... Carlos Mérida (b. ... Álvaro Colom Caballeros (born 15 June 1951 in Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan politician, member of the centre-left National Union of Hope (UNE). ... This article is about the football (soccer) player. ...

References

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Guatemala City

• 2007 Guatemala earthquake
• La Aurora International Airport
• Guatemala City travel guide from Wikitravel

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... On June 13, 2007, the United States Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center reported that a strong earthquake, ranking 6. ... La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala and is located 6km south of Guatemala Citys centre. ... Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ...

External links

• Official Website of the Municipalidad de Guatemala
• http://www.visitguatemala.com