Guatemalans

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Guatemalans
Guatemaltecos
Flag of Guatemala.svg
Total population
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala           17,974 million
Regions with significant populations
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1,226,849 [1]
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 46,318 [1]
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 26,767 [1]
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 18,602 [1]
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 10,002 [1] 15,172 (2022) [2]
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 9,036 [1]
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 4,711 [1]
Flag of France.svg  France 3,423 [1]
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 3,192 [1]
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2,330, [1] 965 (according to Italian official data) [3]
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2,322 [1]
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 1,925 [1]
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 1,843 [1]
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 1,144 [1]
Languages
Religion
Catholic and Protestant [4]
Related ethnic groups

a Guatemalan American b Guatemalan Mexican

Guatemalans (Spanish : guatemaltecos or less commonly guatemalenses) are people connected to the country of Guatemala. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Guatemalans, several (if not all) of these connections exist.

Contents

Guatemala is a multicultural society, though most Guatemalans have varying degrees of European (predominantly Spaniards) and Amerindian ancestry. Guatemalans are also colloquially nicknamed Chapines in other Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America.

Demographics

Guatemala has a population of 17,153,288 (July 2020 est). [5] In 1900, Guatemala had a population of 885,000. [6] Guatemala had the fastest population growth in the Western Hemisphere during 20th century. Approximately half of the Guatemalan population lives in poverty and 13.7% of them live in extreme poverty.

Guatemala is heavily centralized. Transportation, communications, business, politics, and the most relevant urban activity takes place in Guatemala City. Guatemala City has about 2 million inhabitants within the city limits and more than 5 million within the wider urban area. This is a significant percentage of the population (14 million). [7]

The estimated median age in Guatemala is 20 years old, 19.4 for males and 20.7 years for females. [7] This is the lowest median age of any country in the Western Hemisphere and comparable to most of central Africa and Iraq.

Ethnic groups

According to the 2018 Census, about 56.57% of the population identifies as non-indigenous. [8] The majority, or 56.01% are Ladinos, those include Mestizos, people mixed European with Amerindian, another part but visible are Whites of European descent, specially Spanish, German and Italian, (in Colonia Era, direct descendants of Spanish were called as Criollo). The Amerindian populations as of 2002 Census include the K'iche' 9.1%, Q'eqchi 8.4%, Kaqchikel 7.9%, Mam 6.3% and 8.6% of the population is "other Mayan", 0.4% is indigenous non-Mayan, making the indigenous community in Guatemala about 40.3% of the population.

There are smaller communities present, including about 15,000 Salvadorans. The Garífuna, who are descended primarily from Africans who lived with and intermarried with indigenous peoples from St. Vincent, live mainly in Livingston and Puerto Barrios. Those communities have other blacks and mulattos descended from the Spanish Slave Trade. There are also Asians, mostly of Chinese descent. Other Asian groups include Arabs of Lebanese and Syrian descent. There is also a growing Korean community in Guatemala City and in nearby Mixco, currently numbering about 6,000. [9] Guatemala's German population is credited with bringing the tradition of a Christmas tree to the country. [10]

Mestizo

Child in Guatemala City celebrating Independence Day. 194-aos-de-independencia 21415760752 o.jpg
Child in Guatemala City celebrating Independence Day.

Guatemalan mestizos are people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry. They may also have varying degrees of African or Asian ancestry. Mixed Guatemalans could reach 60% with people of different grades of mixture, but the culture environment into different communities can influence people to identify as Indigenous, Ladino or White. The mestizo population in Guatemala is concentrated in urban areas of the country (the national capital and departmental capitals). [11] Genetic testing indicates that Guatemalan Mestizos are on average of predominantly indigenous ancestry. [12]

Historically the mestizo population in the Kingdom of Guatemala at the time of Independence amounted to nearly 600,000 Indians, 300,000 castes (mostly mestizos and a lesser number of mulattos), and 45,000 criollos or Spanish, with a very small number of Spaniards. [13]

Indigenous

Tz'utujil men in Santiago Atitlan. Santiago de atitlan natives 2009.JPG
Tz'utujil men in Santiago Atitlán.

The Amerindian populations in Guatemala are estimated from 41.7% to the half of population. According to the last Census, the distribution are formed by K'iche' 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9% and Q'eqchi 6.3%. 8.6% of the population is "other Mayan," 0.4% is indigenous non-Mayan, making the indigenous community in Guatemala about 40.3% of the population. [14]

Garifuna

The Garífuna, who are descended primarily from Africans who lived with and intermarried with indigenous peoples from St. Vincent, live mainly in Livingston and Puerto Barrios.

Criollo and other European descendants

The term Criollo refers to Guatemalans of mostly or fully Spanish descent. Other European ethnic groups include those of Germans, Italians, English, and Belgian descent. Other ancestry can include those from Eastern Europe and White Americans.

Languages

A language map of Guatemala. The "Castilian" areas represent Spanish. Idiomasmap Guatemala.svg
A language map of Guatemala. The "Castilian" areas represent Spanish.

Spanish is the official language. As a first and second language, Spanish is spoken by 93% of the population as second or third language.

Twenty-one Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as two non-Mayan Amerindian languages, Xinca, an indigenous language, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast. According to the Language Law of 2003, the languages of Mayas, Xincas, and Garifunas are unrecognized as National Languages. [15]

The peace accords signed in December 1996 provide for the translation of some official documents and voting materials into several indigenous languages (see summary of main substantive accords) and mandate the provision of interpreters in legal cases for non-Spanish speakers. The accord also sanctioned bilingual education in Spanish and indigenous languages. It is common for indigenous Guatemalans to learn or speak between two and five of the nation's other languages, and Spanish.

Diaspora

The Civil War forced many Guatemalans to start lives outside of their country. The majority of the Guatemalan diaspora is located in the United States of America, with estimates ranging from 480,665 [16] to 1,489,426. [17] The difficulty in getting accurate counts for Guatemalans abroad is because many of them are refugee claimants awaiting determination of their status. [18] Emigration to the United States of America has led to the growth of Guatemalan communities in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Rhode Island and elsewhere since the 1970s. [19]

Below are estimates for certain countries:

Country2020
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1226849
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 46318
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 26767
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 18602
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 10002
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 9036
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 4711
Flag of France.svg  France 3423
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 3192
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2330
Total1368431
Source:DatosMacro. [1]

Immigration

During the colonial era Guatemala received immigrants (settlers) only from Spain. Subsequently, Guatemala received waves of immigration from Europe in the mid 19th century and early 20th century.[ clarification needed ] Primarily from Germany, these immigrants installed coffee and cardamom fincas in Alta Verapaz, Zacapa, Quetzaltenango, Baja Verapaz and Izabal departments. To a lesser extent people also arrived from Spain, France, Belgium, England, Italy, Sweden, etc.

Many Europeans who emigrated to Guatemala were politicians, refugees, families, entrepreneurs and mainly settlers, Guatemala had long been the Central American country that received the most immigrants, behind Costa Rica for 1950, that does not mean that the country no longer receive large numbers of immigrants.[ clarification needed ]

From the 1890s there have been small communities of Asians (in particular from Korea, China, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines) but in recent decades this has been growing. Also beginning with the First World War, the immigrant population is being strengthened by Jewish and Pakistani immigration.

During the second half of the twentieth century, Latin American immigration grew strong in Guatemala, particularly from other Central American countries, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, etc. Although the majority of them resided only temporarily to go to their final destination, which was the United States.

Country2020
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 20683
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 18872
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 9299
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 9211
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 9023
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1921
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1418
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 1248
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 1242
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 984
Total84311
Source:DatosMacro. [20]

Guatemalan culture

Cuisine

Chipilin Tamal, a common dish usually eaten at dinner Tamal chipilin.jpg
Chipilín Tamal, a common dish usually eaten at dinner

The Guatemalan cuisine reflects the multicultural nature of Guatemala, in that it involves food that differs in taste depending on the region. Guatemala has 22 departments (or divisions), each of which has very different varieties of food.. For example, Antigua Guatemala is well known for its candy which makes use of many local ingredients fruits, seeds and nuts along with honey, condensed milk and other traditional sweeteners. Antigua's candy is very popular when tourists visit the country for the first time, and is a great choice in the search for new and interesting flavors.

Many traditional foods are based on Maya cuisine and prominently feature corn, chilis and beans as key ingredients. Various dishes may have the same name as dishes from a neighboring country, but may in fact be quite different for example the enchilada or quesadilla, which are nothing like their Mexican counterparts.

Chiltepe, a common pepper used on some Guatemalan dishes Chiltepin mexico sonora.jpg
Chiltepe, a common pepper used on some Guatemalan dishes

There are also foods that it is traditional to eat on certain days of the week – for example, by tradition it is known that on Thursday, the typical food is "paches", which is like a tamale made with a base of potato, and on Sundays it is traditional to eat tamales, due to the fact that Sundays are considered holidays. Certain dishes are also associated with special occasions, such as fiambre for All Saints Day on November 1 and tamales, which are common Christmas.

There are reportedly hundreds of varieties of tamales throughout Guatemala. They key variations are what is in the masa or dough (maize, potatoes, rice), what's in the filling (meat, fruits, nuts), and what is it wrapped with (leaves, husks). The masa is made out of corn that is not sweet, such as what is known as feed corn in the U.S.A. In Guatemala, this non-sweet corn is called maize and the corn that Americans from the US are used to eating on the cob, sweet corn, they call elote . Tamales in Guatemala are more typically wrapped in plantain, banana, or maxan leaves rather than corn husks.

The ancient Mayan civilization lasted for about six hundred years before collapsing around 900 A.D. Today, almost half of the Guatemalan population is Mayan. These natives live throughout the country and grow maize as their staple crop. In addition, the ancient Maya ate amaranth, a breakfast cereal similar to modern day cereals.

Music

Guatemala's national instrument is the marimba, an idiophone from the family of the xylophones, which is played all over the country, even in the remotest corners. Towns also have wind and percussion bands that play during the Lent and Easter-week processions, as well as on other occasions. The Garifuna people of Afro-Caribbean descent, who are spread thinly on the northeastern Caribbean coast, have their own distinct varieties of popular and folk music. Cumbia, from the Colombian variety, is also very popular, especially among the lower classes.

Miguel Angel Asturias. Miguel Angel Asturias.jpg
Miguel Ángel Asturias.

Literature

The Guatemala National Prize in Literature is a one-time only award that recognizes an individual writer's body of work. It has been given annually since 1988 by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Miguel Ángel Asturias won the literature Nobel Prize in 1967. Among his famous books is El Señor Presidente , a novel based on the government of Manuel Estrada Cabrera.

Rigoberta Menchú, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting oppression of indigenous people in Guatemala, is famous for her books I, Rigoberta Menchú and Crossing Borders.

Religion

Religion in Guatemala (2001) [21]

   Atheist, None or Agnostic (14%)
  Other Beliefs (3%)

Historically, Catholicism was introduced by the Spanish and was the official religion during the colonial era. However, the practice of Protestantism has increased markedly in recent decades, with nearly one third of Guatemalans identifying themselves as Protestants, chiefly Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Growth is particularly strong among the ethnic Mayan population, with National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala being an important denomination, maintaining 11 indigenous-language Presbyteries.

Traditional Mayan religion persists through the process of inculturation, whereby certain practices are incorporated into Catholic ceremonies and worship when they are sympathetic to the meaning of Catholic belief. [22] [23] Indigenous religious practices are increasing as a result of the cultural protections established under the peace accords. The government has instituted a policy of providing altars at every Mayan ruin found in the country, so traditional ceremonies may be performed there.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Guatemala</span>

This is a demography of the population of Guatemala including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

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<i>Mestizo</i> Spanish term to denote a person of mixed European and non-European indigenous ancestry

Mestizo is a person of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ancestors are Indigenous. The term was used as an ethno-racial exonym for mixed-race castas that evolved during the Spanish Empire. It was a formal label for individuals in official documents, such as censuses, parish registers, Inquisition trials, and others. Priests and royal officials might have classified persons as mestizos, but individuals also used the term in self-identification. With the Bourbon reforms and the independence of the Americas, the caste system disappeared and terms like "mestizo" fell in popularity.

<i>Zambo</i> Persons of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry

Zambo or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Amerindian and African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the Americas to refer to persons who are of mixed African and Native American ancestry.

Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans are Latin Americans who claim begin of full or mainly sub-Saharan African ancestry. Biologically, a significant majority of population in each country have african genes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Guatemala</span>

The culture of Guatemala reflects strong Mayan and Spanish influences and continues to be defined as a contrast between poor Mayan villagers in the rural highlands, and the urbanized and relatively wealthy mestizos population who occupy the cities and surrounding agricultural plains.

The Ladino people are a mix of mestizo or Hispanicized peoples in Latin America, principally in Central America. The demonym Ladino is a Spanish word that is related to Latino. Ladino is an exonym initially used during the colonial era to refer to those Spanish-speakers who were not Peninsulares, Criollos or indigenous peoples.

The Chʼortiʼ people are one of the Indigenous Maya peoples, who primarily reside in communities and towns of southeastern Guatemala, northwestern Honduras, and northern El Salvador. Their indigenous language, also known as Chʼortiʼ, is a survival of Classic Choltian, the language of the inscriptions in Copan. It is the first language of approximately 15,000 people, although the majority of present-day Chʼortiʼ speakers are bilingual in Spanish as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Central America</span>

Central America is a subregion of the Americas formed by six Latin American countries and one (officially) Anglo-American country, Belize. As an isthmus it connects South America with the remainder of mainland North America, and comprises the following countries : Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvadorans</span> Citizens or residents of El Salvador

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Guatemalans</span> Ethnic group

An Afro-Guatemalan person is a person who lives in Guatemala, but has African ancestry in their historical and cultural roots. This term intertwines the conquest of America by the Spanish. The Afro-Guatemalan population is not numerous today. Although it is difficult to determine specific figures, it is reported that Afro-Guatemalans represent only between 1% and 2% of the country's population. According to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. They are of mainly English-speaking West Indian (Antillean) and Garifuna origin. They are found in the Caribbean coast, in Livingston, Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas. In the 17th century, many enslaved blacks were able to secure for themselves or at least their future children through marriage to free people. Many of these marriages were with Mayans or Europeans, which created a mix between blacks, Mayans and Europeans. This resulted in a significant mestizo population that, over the years, has continued to dilute traces of African ancestry in many cases. Today this can be referred to as Afro-mestizos due to miscegenation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Hondurans</span> Ethnic group

Afro-Hondurans or Black Hondurans are Hondurans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Research by Henry Louis Gates and other sources regards their population to be around 1-2%. They descended from: enslaved Africans by the Spanish, as well as those who were enslaved from the West Indies and identify as Creole peoples, and the Garifuna who descend from exiled zambo Maroons from Saint Vincent. The Creole people were originally from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, while the Garifuna people were originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Garifunas arrived in the late seventeen hundreds and the Creole peoples arrived during the eighteen hundreds. About 600,000 Hondurans are of Garífuna descent that are a mix of African and indigenous as of Afro Latin Americans. Honduras has one of the largest African community in Latin America.

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The City of Houston includes a significant population of Central American origin due to Texas' proximity to Central America, including origins from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish immigration to Guatemala</span>

The arrival of the Spaniards in Guatemala began in 1524 with the conquest of the Guatemalan Highlands and neighbouring Pacific plain under the command of Pedro de Alvarado. After the conquest and the colonial era, more people came to the country not as conquerors, but to do business or daily activities.

Immigration in Guatemala constitutes less than 1%, some 140,000 people, and most come from neighboring countries. Guatemala's historic ethnic composition is mostly immigrant stock from Europe and as well as Asian and Africans brought during the era of slavery. Currently, the composition of Guatemala consists mostly of mestizos, Amerindians and Europeans, and to a lesser extent, Garifuna. In recent decades, immigration to Guatemala has led to an increase in desire for more businesses and tourist attractions, after there had been a considerable drop from 1950 to 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercultural bilingual education in Guatemala</span> Education program for speakers of indigenous languages

Intercultural bilingual education in Guatemala was begun as part of a 20th-century educational reform effort intended to promote the country's cultural diversity. The programs merge Mayan language and culture with Spanish language and Ladino culture, a shift from the assimilation policy of educational programs promoting Spanish literacy which reduce the use of indigenous languages. During the 20th century, education reform evolved from castilianization and the 1965 Bilingual Castilianization Program to the 1980 National Bilingual Education Project. Each program aimed to increase Spanish fluency. In 1985, the Constitution legalized bilingual education and the Ministry of Education formed the Programa Nacional de Educación Bilingüe (PRONEBI). PRONEBI developed from the 1980–1984 National Bilingual Education Project, and aimed to provide bilingual education for rural indigenous children.

References

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