San Juan Comalapa

Last updated
San Juan Comalapa
Municipality and town
Guatemala Comolopa eglises.jpg
Church, San Juan Comalapa
Guatemala location map.svg
Red pog.svg
San Juan Comalapa
Location in Guatemala
Coordinates: 14°44′N90°53′W / 14.733°N 90.883°W / 14.733; -90.883
CountryFlag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala
Department Vlagchimaltenango.gif Chimaltenango
Government
 • Mayor (2016–2020)Justo Rufino Simlox Pichiyá [1]
Area
 • Total48 sq mi (125 km2)
Population
 (2018) [2]
 • Total48,597
 • Density1,000/sq mi (390/km2)
Time zone UTC+6 (Central Time)
Climate Cwb

San Juan Comalapa is a town, with a population of 32,312 (2018 census), [3] and a municipality in the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala.

Contents

San Juan Comalapa is sometimes called the "Florence of America", because of the many Kaqchikel painters living there (one of the more celebrated painters being Paula Nicho Cumez). It is also the birthplace of Rafael Álvarez Ovalle, who composed Guatemala national anthem. The painting tradition started in the 1930s, when Kaqchikel painter Andrés Curruchich (1891–1969) started painting with oil. His creativity was noted so much that he started showing his art in the United States and achieved international success. Because of this, Curruchiche decided to teach the new generations his form of painting. Today there are some 500 painters in San Juan Comalapa, and the majority of them still use the techniques of Curruchiche. These painters are dedicated to paint the costumes, life experiences and traditions of the Indian towns.

History

Spanish colony

Franciscans map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Panajachel
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Comalapa
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
class=notpageimage|
Some of the 24 convents of the Franciscan Provincia del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús during the Spanish colony in Guatemala and the approximate area it doctrines occupied.

In the 16th century, during the period of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, the shore of the lake was the scene of a battle in which the Spanish and their Kaqchikel allies defeated the Tz'utujils. After the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, the Franciscans set up a church and monastery in Panajachel soon afterward, and used the town as a centre to convert the indigenous people of the region to the Roman Catholic faith. The original façade of the church still stands, and is considered one of the gems of the colonial style in Guatemala.

San Juan Comalapa was in charge of the franciscans, who had convents and doctrines in the area covered by the modern departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango, Sololá, Quetzaltenango, Totonicapán, Suchitepéquez and Escuintla. The "Provincia del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús" (English:"Province of the most Holy Name of Jesus"), as the Franciscan area was then called, reached up to 24 convents. [4] By 1700, San Juan Comalapa had a convent with three priests, in charge of ca. 1800 people, one doctrine and eight cofradías. [4]

Since it had a convent, there was daily Mass attended by cofradías leaders and their wives, who kept lighted candles during most of the ceremony. Also daily, there was religious teaching for 6-year-old girls and older starting at 2:00 pm and for boys of the same age starting at sunset; the class lasted for 2 hours and consisted on memorizing the church teaching and prayers and to make some exercises with the catechism and it was run by a priest or by elder natives, called "fiscales". [5] Adults attended Mass every Sunday and holiday and after mass, there were religious teachings in their own language. [5]

Lent was a time of the year when the friars prepared the natives thoroughly, using their own language to accomplish their goals; every Friday of Lent there was a procession following the Rosary steps all the way to the Calvary temple. [6]

In 1754, as part of the borbon reforms, the Franciscans where forced to, gave their doctrines to the secular clergy; thus, when archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz visited Panajachel in 1770, he described it as a curato. [7]

20th century

The town was much devastated by the 1976 Guatemala earthquake. The town is home to the longest mural in Guatemala which chronicles the town's history from pre-Columbian times through colonization, the earthquake, the Guatemalan civil war, until the present. [8]

Sister cities

Composer Rafael Alvarez Ovalle, San Juan Comalapa native, in 1897. Photographs from La Ilustracion Guatemalteca. Alvaarezovalle.jpg
Composer Rafael Álvarez Ovalle, San Juan Comalapa native, in 1897. Photographs from La Ilustración Guatemalteca .

San Juan Comalapa has close ties to the city Stord in Norway, as they are friendship cities.

Climate

San Juan Comalapa has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwb).

Climate data for San Juan Comalapa
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)19.7
(67.5)		20.8
(69.4)		22.2
(72.0)		23.0
(73.4)		22.4
(72.3)		20.7
(69.3)		20.9
(69.6)		21.4
(70.5)		20.7
(69.3)		20.2
(68.4)		19.9
(67.8)		19.58
(67.24)		20.96
(69.73)
Daily mean °C (°F)14.0
(57.2)		14.7
(58.5)		16.0
(60.8)		17.2
(63.0)		17.5
(63.5)		16.7
(62.1)		16.6
(61.9)		16.6
(61.9)		16.3
(61.3)		15.9
(60.6)		14.8
(58.6)		14.3
(57.7)		15.9
(60.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)8.4
(47.1)		8.6
(47.5)		9.8
(49.6)		11.4
(52.5)		12.6
(54.7)		12.8
(55.0)		12.3
(54.1)		11.9
(53.4)		11.9
(53.4)		11.6
(52.9)		9.8
(49.6)		8.8
(47.8)		10.8
(51.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)4
(0.2)		6
(0.2)		8
(0.3)		37
(1.5)		115
(4.5)		296
(11.7)		222
(8.7)		228
(9.0)		271
(10.7)		147
(5.8)		46
(1.8)		9
(0.4)		1,389
(54.8)
Source: Climate-Data.org [10]

Geographic location

San Juan Comapala is surrounded by Chimaltenango Department municipalities: [11]

See also

Notes and references

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Panajachel</span> City and municipality in Sololá, Guatemala

    Panajachel is a town in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, less than 140 kilometres (90 mi) from Guatemala City, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The elevation is 1,597 metres (5,240 ft). Population was 11 thousand in the 2000 census, projected as 15,830 by June 30, 2020 and has approximately doubled each of the last few decades. The town of Panajachel is located on the Northeast shore of Lake Atitlán, and has become a centre for the tourist trade of the area as it provides a base for visitors crossing the lake to visit other towns and villages.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiantla</span> Municipality in Huehuetenango, Guatemala

    Chiantla is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. The municipality is situated at 2,000 metres above sea level and covers an area of 521 km2. The annual festival is on January 28.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacaltenango</span> Municipality in Huehuetenango, Guatemala

    Jacaltenango is a town and municipality situated in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. It is located in a valley surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. Jacaltenango serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. In 2002, its urban population was about 23,500 but at the 2018 census the town's population has decreased to 22,533.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">San Pedro Soloma</span> Municipality in Huehuetenango, Guatemala

    San Pedro Soloma is a town and municipality of Huehuetenango, a department of Guatemala. It is located in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes at 2,300 m above sea level. The municipality covers a total area of 264 km2 with elevations ranging from 1,900 m to 3,500 m. Its population of 49,030 is spread over the town of Soloma, 19 villages and 50 smaller rural communities (caserios).

    Acatenango is a town and municipality in the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala. It is in this municipality that the Acatenango volcano is located. The town is in the valley of the Cocoyá River.

    Yepocapa, also known as San Pedro Yepocapa, is a town with a population of 17,021, and a municipality in the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala. It is located at the base of Volcán de Fuego, which has destroyed the town several times, most recently on 15 October 1974.

    Concepción Chiquirichapa is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Quetzaltenango in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, 14 kilometers west of the departmental capital of Quetzaltenango, and 214 kilometers west of the capital Guatemala City. The municipality has a population of 17,342, 98% of whom identify as indigenous Maya-Mam and speak a dialect of Southern Mam.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan Ostuncalco</span> Municipality and town in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

    San Juan Ostuncalco, is a town, with a population of 20,763, and a municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala. Beside Spanish, local people speak the Mam language.

    Comitancillo is a town and municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala.The spoken language is Mam.The municipality was founded by the Spaniards between 1633 and 1648 year. There is an archaeological site called Chipel, with remains of the Mam culture.

    Concepción Tutuapa is a town and municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. It had a population of 49,363 according to the census of 2002 and of the 2018 census there is a total population of 68,148.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ixchiguán</span> Place in San Marcos, Guatemala

    Ixchiguán is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. The economy is based on temporary work force on the coffee plantations, respectively on a male migrating work force in Mexico.

    Malacatán is a town and municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala, located to the west of San Marcos town. It is fairly close to the border with Mexico - the border-crossing point is in the nearby village of El Carmen.

    San Miguel Ixtahuacán is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. It comprises 19 villages, and the population is about 39,000 people. The majority of people are ethnically Maya- Mam and speak the Mam and Spanish languages. Most inhabitants subsist by farming, growing crops of corn, beans, vegetables and fruits, irrigated from the Cuilco River and its tributaries.

    Sibinal is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. Its name comes from mam tziben (English: "Writing" and nal, meaning "Bernard writings" It was founded in February 1799. It is a mountainous municipality at an altitude about 2500 m near the Mexican-Guatemalan border. The village of Sibinal is one of the points for climbing towards the Volcano Tacaná.

    Sipacapa is a municipality in the San Marcos department, situated in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Sipacapa's population of around 14,000 is spread among 14 village communities, scattered over mountainous terrain. Sipacapa is considered a linguistic community, as Sipakapense is a Maya language unique to the municipality.

    Tacaná is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos.

    Tajumulco is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala.

    San Andrés Semetabaj is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. According to Jorge Luis Arriola's Geonimias de Guatemala, Semetabaj means "stone of glass-like appearance" and originates from the Spanish word "semet", which means : bottle or flask and, by extension, glass, and by the k'akch'iquel "abaj" which means "stone". Originally, it was called San Andrés Limetabaj.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio Palopó</span> Municipality and village in Sololá, Guatemala

    San Antonio Palopó is a municipality in the Sololá Department of Guatemala. The village is on the eastern shore of Lake Atitlán. The lowest elevation is 1,562 metres (5,125 ft) at the shoreline. The people of the region are Cakchiquel Maya with a distinctive style of clothing. The patron saint of the village is St. Anthony of Padua. The annual festival takes place on 13 June.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">San Lucas Tolimán</span> Municipality of Guatemala in Sololá

    San Lucas Tolimán is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town of 17,000 people sits on the southeastern shore of Lago de Atitlán. The population is 90–95% Highland Maya. There is a population of about the same size living in the surrounding villages.

    References

    1. ↑ "Alcaldes electos en el departamento de Chimaltenango". Municipalidades de Guatemala (in Spanish). Guatemala. 7 September 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
    2. ↑ Citypopulation.de Population of departments and municipalities in Guatemala
    3. ↑ Citypopulation.de Population of cities & towns in Guatemala
    4. 1 2 García Añoveros 1989 , p. 891
    5. 1 2 García Añoveros 1989 , p. 896
    6. ↑ García Añoveros 1989 , p. 897
    7. ↑ Cortés y Larraz 2001, p. 409-412.
    8. ↑ Sethna, Cyrus. "The Woman Behind Guatemala's Longest Mural". quepasa.gt. Que Pasa? Magazine. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
    9. ↑ La Ilustración Guatemalteca 1897, p. 249.
    10. ↑ "Climate: San Juan Comalapa". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
    11. 1 2 "Municipios del departamento de Chimaltenango". SEGEPLAN (in Spanish). Guatemala. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.

    Bibliography

    14°44′N90°53′W / 14.733°N 90.883°W / 14.733; -90.883

    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.