National Palace (Guatemala)

Last updated
Republic of Guatemala National Palace
Palacio Nacional de Guatemala
Guatemala National Palace (reflection).jpg
A view of the National Palace from the "Parque Central" in Guatemala City
National Palace (Guatemala)
General information
Architectural styleSpanish baroque and Spanish renaissancem
Location Guatemala City, Guatemala
Construction started1939
Completed1943
InauguratedNovember 10, 1943 (1943-11-10)
Renovated2010
OwnerGuatemalan Government
Design and construction
Architect(s)Rafael Pérez de León
Engineer
  • Enrique Reyes
  • Luis Angel Rodas
  • Arturo Bickford

The Palacio Nacional de la Cultura (National Palace of Culture), also known colloquially as "Palacio Verde", [1] is identified as Guatemala City's symbol in its architectural context. It was the most important building in Guatemala and was the headquarters of the president of Guatemala. The building is the origin of all the roads in the Republic and has a spot known as Kilometro Cero (Kilometer Zero). It is presently a museum and is also used for important acts of the government.

Contents

History

A view of the palace from its front courtyard Guatemala Cultural Palace.jpg
A view of the palace from its front courtyard

Since the beginning of Spanish colonization, a governmental seat was needed. In 1528, the first Government House was built in Santiago de Guatemala in the Valle de Almolonga. Then, in 1549, President Alonso López de Cerrato moved the "Audiencia de los Confines" from Gracias a Dios in Honduras to Santiago de Guatemala. In 1761 President Alonso Fernández de Heredia began the construction of a new seat, under the direction of Spanish Captain and engineer Luis Diez de Navarro.

Construction

1868 Guatemala City map. On the left side of the Plaza de Armas is the Cabildo -City Hall- and the carcel -jail- on the lot that later would be used to build the National Palace. Mapa1868.jpg
1868 Guatemala City map. On the left side of the Plaza de Armas is the Cabildo -City Hall- and the cárcel -jail- on the lot that later would be used to build the National Palace.
Guatemala City Hall in 1907. Built when the city moved from Santiago de los Caballeros to La Ermita, it was operating until it was destroyed by the 1917 Guatemala earthquake. Municipalidadguate1907.jpg
Guatemala City Hall in 1907. Built when the city moved from Santiago de los Caballeros to La Ermita, it was operating until it was destroyed by the 1917 Guatemala earthquake.
Cathedral of Guatemala city seen from the construction site of the National Palace in 1940. Catedral1940.jpg
Cathedral of Guatemala city seen from the construction site of the National Palace in 1940.

In celebration of the first century of independence in 1919, President Manuel Estrada Cabrera placed the first stone for a future palace next to the Plaza de Armas. The Italian architect Guido Albani was charged with designing the palace, but it never came to pass due to the collapse of the government soon thereafter. Two years later, in 1921, President Carlos Herrera, with the Centenary very close, ordered the Palacio del Centenario to be built in only three months time with a small budget and few resources. It became popularly known as the Palacio de Cartón (Cardboard Palace). However, in 1925 it was destroyed by a fire.

In 1927 President Lazaro Chacón declared a contest for the design of a new palace. The contest was won by the artist Agustín Iriarte, but this project again never came to be. Finally, in 1932, President General Jorge Ubico published the basis for the design and construction of the palace, and on July 4, 1937, the first stone was placed. The National Palace was built between January 1939 and 1943. On November 10 of that year, the birthday of President Ubico, the present-day Palace was opened.

1976 earthquake

The building survived the earthquake of February 4 of 1976, a magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale.

1982 coup and special jurisdiction tribunals

On March 23, 1982, young officers from the Guatemalan Army deposed President Fernando Romeo Lucas García and replaced him with General Efraín Ríos Montt, who had been director of the Guatemala Military Academy while those young officers were cadets.

On June 30, 1982, Ríos Montt, in a speech called "We are willing to let honesty and justice reign" ("Estamos dispuestos que reine la honestidad y la justicia"), told the Guatemalan people that the government had realized that there were many Guatemalans that were afraid of being killed and that therefore did not apply for the amnesty his government issued in late March. Because of that, he said, the government was going to fight communist guerrillas by any means they wanted, but that they also were going to use open trials. Rios Montt said that in order to accomplish that he had set up "special jurisdiction tribunals" which would judge leftist criminals and that they were going to apply capital punishment to those proven guilty. [2]

These secret tribunals, whose members were appointed by the president but were unknown to the Guatemalan people, performed fast and drastic trials, in parallel to the judiciary system of the country. [2] In the end, 15 people were executed less than a month after they had been captured. [2]

The special tribunals were directly under control of the Defense Secretary, general Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, and had their headquarters in the National Palace and lasted until Mejia Víctores himself led a coup d'état that deposed General Ríos Montt on August 8, 1983. [2]

See also

Notes and references

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua Guatemala</span> City in Sacatepéquez, Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala, commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque-influenced architecture and layout dating from that period. These characteristics had it designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Antigua Guatemala serves as the capital of the homonymous municipality and the Sacatepéquez Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National anthem of Guatemala</span> National anthem of the Central American country

The national anthem of Guatemala was an initiative of the government of General José María Reina Barrios. Its music was composed by Rafael Álvarez Ovalle and its original lyrics written by Cuban poet and diplomat José Joaquín Palma, in the context of the cultural and industrial event Exposición Centroamericana of 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efraín Ríos Montt</span> 38th President of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983

José Efraín Ríos Montt was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as de facto President of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983. His brief tenure as chief executive was one of the bloodiest periods in the long-running Guatemalan Civil War. Ríos Montt's counter-insurgency strategies significantly weakened the Marxist guerrillas organized under the umbrella of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) while also leading to accusations of war crimes and genocide perpetrated by the Guatemalan Army under his leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorge Ubico</span> President of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944

Jorge Ubico Castañeda, nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the president of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lázaro Chacón González</span>

Lázaro Chacón González was the acting President of Guatemala from 26 September 1926 to 18 December 1926 and President of Guatemala from 19 December 1926 to 2 January 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Argentina</span> Highest court in Argentina

The Supreme Court of Argentina, officially known as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation, is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. However, during much of the 20th century, the Court and the Argentine judicial system in general, lacked autonomy from the executive power. The Court was reformed in 2003 by the decree 222/03.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Joaquín Palma</span> Cuban writer of Guatemalas national anthem (1844–1911)

José Joaquín Palma Lasso was a Cuban writer who was the author of the Guatemalan national anthem's lyrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala</span> Public university in Guatemala City, Guatemala

The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spanish colony, it was the only university in Guatemala until 1954, although it continues to hold distinction as the only public university in the entire country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machaquila</span>

Machaquila is a major ruined city of the Maya civilization in what is now the El Peten department of Guatemala.

A referendum on the presidential term of Jorge Ubico was held in Guatemala on 25 May 1935. If approved, it would allow Ubico to override the constitutional limitation on serving two consecutive terms in office. It was reportedly approved by 99.85% of voters.

General elections were held in Guatemala on 5 December 1926. The presidential election resulted in a victory for Lázaro Chacón González, who received 88.6% of the vote. Whilst the elections were rigged, the Progressive Liberal Party did manage to win some seats in the Congress.

Presidential elections were held in Guatemala on 15 December 1921.

Presidential elections were held in Guatemala on 27 August 1920. The result was a victory for Carlos Herrera, who received 95% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melchor Peredo</span> Mexican muralist

Oscar Melchor Peredo y Garcia is a Mexican muralist and a representative of the social realist school of mural painting in Mexico. His murals depict historical scenes from Mexican history with an emphasis on revolutionary subjects. His work is featured in public and government buildings across Mexico. He has also painted murals in the USA and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rina Lazo</span> Guatemalan-Mexican artist (1923-2019)

Rina Lazo Wasem was a Guatemalan-Mexican painter. She began her career in mural painting with Diego Rivera as his assistant. She worked with him from 1947 until his death in 1957 on projects both in Mexico and Guatemala. Thereafter, she remained an active painter, better known for her mural works than canvases, although the latter have been exhibited in Mexico and other countries. This has made her one of Guatemala's best-known artists. She was a member of the Mexican muralism movement and criticized modern artists as too commercial and not committed to social causes. She believed muralism would revive in Mexico because of its historical value.

Federico Hernández de León was a Guatemalan writer, historian and journalist. He graduated from the Instituto Nacional Central para Varones of Guatemala, with a high school diploma in 1900. Active politically, was arrested during the last few years of the government of president Manuel Estrada Cabrera, being held in the Central Penitentiary of Guatemala until the president was deposed on April 14, 1920. After his release, he went straight to take over the Diario de Centro América semi-official newspaper of Guatemala at the time. Later, he directed Nuestro Diario along with Carlos Bauer Aviles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel María Orellana Contreras</span>

Manuel María Orellana Contreras was a Guatemalan army officer and politician, and from 17 to 31 December 1930, de facto interim President of Guatemala, after leading a coup d'état that ended Baudilio Palma interim presidency. Palma, in turn, had been appointed president only four days earlier, when president Lázaro Chacón González suffered a stroke and was forced to resign. At the moment the coup took place, Orellana Contreras was commander of the San Rafael de Matamoros Fort in Guatemala City.

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

Human settlement on the present site of Guatemala City began with the Maya who built a city at Kaminaljuyu. The Spanish colonists established a small town, which was made a capital city in 1775. At this period the Central Square with the Cathedral and Royal Palace were constructed. After Central American independence from Spain the city became the capital of the United Provinces of Central America in 1821.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Menéndez Mina</span> Guatemalan writer and suffragist

Gloria Menéndez Mina was a Guatemalan writer and women's rights activist who was involved in the women's suffrage movement in Guatemala. One of the first women to participate in journalism in the country, she directed the magazines Mujer and Azul. In her later career, she served as a press attaché in Mexico and was known for her book, Francisco Javier Mina, héroe de México y España.

Anarchism in Guatemala emerged from the country's labor movement in the late 19th century. Anarcho-syndicalism rose to prominence in the early 20th century, reaching its peak during the 1920s, before being suppressed by the right-wing dictatorship of Jorge Ubico.

References

  1. "Palacio Nacional se convirtió en centro cultural | Siglo21.com.gt". Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hernández 2013.

Bibliography

Further reading

wrong

14°38′34.59″N90°30′47.62″W / 14.6429417°N 90.5132278°W / 14.6429417; -90.5132278