Buildings flanking the Central Park Square in Quetzaltenango

Building flanking the Central Park Square in Quetzaltenango

Quetzaltenango is the second most populous city of Guatemala, after Guatemala City, and is the capital of Quetzaltenango Department. Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, east side of main square, 1979 I took this photo in 1979, and hereby release it to the Wikipedia and public domain. ... Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, east side of main square, 1979 I took this photo in 1979, and hereby release it to the Wikipedia and public domain. ... Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, west side of main square, 1979 I took this photograph in 1979 and hereby release it to Wikipedia and the public domain. ... Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, west side of main square, 1979 I took this photograph in 1979 and hereby release it to Wikipedia and the public domain. ... National Palace National Post Office Building National Palace of Culture Guatemala City (in full, La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción; locally known as Guatemala or, informally, Guate) is the capital and largest city of Guatemala. ... Quetzaltenango is a department in Guatemala. ...

In 2000 it had an estimated population of 250,000. The population is about 50% indigenous or Amerindian, 49% Mestizo, and 1% other. Quetzaltenango is located in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,333 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level. This article is about the year 2000. ... Indigenous peoples are: Peoples living in an area prior to colonization by a state Peoples living in an area within a nation-state, prior to the formation of a nation-state, but who do not identify with the dominant nation. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... Mestizo (Portuguese, Mestiço; Canadian French, Métis: from Late Latin mixticius, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscere, to mix) is a term of Spanish origin used to designate the peoples of mixed European and Amerindian racial strain inhabiting the region spanning the Americas, from the Canadian prairies in...

History

In Pre-Columbian times Quetzaltenango was a city of the Mam Maya people called Xelajú, the name derived from "Xe laju' noj" meaning "place beside ten mountains". The city was said to already be over 300 years old when the Spanish first arrived. Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado defeated and killed Maya ruler Tecún Umán here. When Alvarado conquered the city for Spain in the 1520s, he called it by the Nahuatl name used by his Central Mexican Indian allies, "Quetzaltenango", generally considered to mean "the place of the Quetzal bird" (although see note on etymology below). Quetzaltenango became the city's official name in colonial times. However many people (especially but not only the indigenous population) continue to call the city "Xelajú" (pronounced shay-lah-WHO) or more commonly Xela for short, and some proudly, but unofficially, consider it the "capital of the Mayas". The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... Michèle Alliot-Marie Michèle Alliot-Marie (born 10 September 1946) is the French Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs. ... This article will mostly concern itself with the Maya civilization after the conquest by Spain. ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ... Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (Badajoz, c. ... Tecún Umán was the last ruler of the Quiché people, in the highlands of what is now Guatemala. ... Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century Decades: 1470s 1480s 1490s 1500s 1510s - 1520s - 1530s 1540s 1550s 1560s 1570s Years: 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 Events and Trends Fall of Tenochtitlán and conquest of Spanish. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... Species Ref: ITIS 553589 The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a colorful bird of the trogon family found in southern Mexico and in Central America. ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ...

From 1838 to 1840 Quetzaltenango was capital of the state of Los Altos, one of the states or provinces of the United States of Central America. As the union broke up the army of Guatemala under Rafael Carrera conquered Quetzaltenango making it again part of Guatemala. 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Los Altos is in Central America, and was added as a sixth state to the United States of Central America in the 1830s. ... The United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) was a country that existed in Central America from July 1823 to approximately 1840. ... José Rafael Carrera Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the ruler of Guatemala from about 1839 until his death. ...

In the 19th century coffee was introduced as a major crop in the area, and the economy of Xela prospered, and much fine Belle Epoque architecture can still be found in the city. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Coffee beans and a cup of coffee Coffee as a drink, usually served hot, is prepared from the roasted seeds (beans) of the coffee plant. ...

Satellite photo showing Quetzaltenango and Santa Maria volcano

Download high resolution version (540x604, 88 KB)Quetzaltenango and Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala - February 2002 image description here File links The following pages link to this file: Quetzaltenango Categories: NASA images ... Download high resolution version (540x604, 88 KB)Quetzaltenango and Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala - February 2002 image description here File links The following pages link to this file: Quetzaltenango Categories: NASA images ... Volcán Santamaria is a large active volcano in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, close to the city of Quetzaltenango. ...

Climate

There are two main seasons in Quetzaltenango: the rainy season which generally runs from May thru mid-November, and the dry season which runs from December until May. During the rainy season, rain falls consistently, usually in the afternoons. During the dry season, the city frequently will not recieve a single drop of rain for months on end. From December thru February, the days are quite warm, but the temperature drops dramatically during the nights.

Etymology

The original Nahuatl name was quetzaltenänco, quetzal-tenäm-co, of which a likely etymology is: Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ...

• [erected]-[wall]-[place where exists]  meaning something like  "place where there are erected walls"

(Note that, contrary to popular belief, the term quetzal does not mean feather of the quetzal bird but erected, and it became associated with Quetzal feathers due to the fact that those were the kind of feathers that mesoamerican rules used in their erect head-dresses.) Species Ref: ITIS 553589 The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a colorful bird of the trogon family found in southern Mexico and in Central America. ...

See also

• Guatemala
• History of Guatemala
• History of Central America