Jocotenango
Encyclopedia
Jocotenango is a small municipality
in the northeast section of Guatemala
n department
of Sacatepéquez, and is situated north of Antigua Guatemala
. It has seven zones, two villages, and one hamlet. According to the 2002 Guatemalan Census, the municipality has a total population of 18,562 or which approximately 1,072 are native population and the balance are non-indigenous; and approximately 16,692 live in an urban area, while the balance are rural dwellers.
Jocotenango is the birthplace of Grammy Award
-winning singer and songwriter Ricardo Arjona
.
. Cerro El Narizón ("Big Nose Mountain"), one of the peaks of the El Rejon range is nearby, reaching an elevation of 2247 m (7,372 ft). Hydrographic
features include the Rio Guacalate, streams, and a creek. Jocotenango is located in a mountainous rain forest in a sub-tropical region. According to the 2003 Ministerio de Agricultura report, approximately 93 hectares are used for agriculture, while 75 hectares are in forest. Deposits of Placedrín Andesite
have been found here.
Vulnerability to natural disaster is evidenced by severe erosion to the Rio Guacalate basin, forest fires, accelerated deforestation, and floods. Slope sediment, along with poor soil management, is most visible in the villages of La Rinconada and Vista Hermosa. An annual threat to the populated areas is flooding during periods of rainfall. It requires the municipality to clear hundreds of cubic meters of sediment that accumulates in the streets. This type of erosion causes loss of productive soil capacity, exposure of basement rock, and generation of landslides and mudslides.
The average rainfall is 1344 mm/year while the temperature varies between 16 and 23 °C.
. Most of the wooded area, is located on the hill Panza
de Burro and near the municipal yard. Flora includes species of oak, cypress, and palo de jiote (Bursera simaruba
).
The fauna is associated with crops that predominate the area such as cotuza
, coyote, mouse opossum
, rabbit, squirrels, white-tailed deer, and gophers. Birds include, hummingbird, quail, hawk, and dove.
lies in the town.
La Azotea ("roof") Cultural Center features, built on an ancient coffee estate, has three museums. Casa K’ojom ("House of K'ojom"), a music museum, features traditional Maya
musical instruments such as diatomic harp, drums, flutes, marimbas, ocarinas, and whistles. Masks, paintings, traditional costumes and crafts are also exhibited. The Museo del Café ("Museum of Coffee") is dedicated to the history and evolution of coffee cultivation. Coffee beans are displayed in varying stages of production, antique equipment can be viewed, and as it is situated at an actual plantation, on-site tours are available. There is also a small costume museum.
Its main festival is celebrated each year during the week of August 8.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the northeast section of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
of Sacatepéquez, and is situated north of Antigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches...
. It has seven zones, two villages, and one hamlet. According to the 2002 Guatemalan Census, the municipality has a total population of 18,562 or which approximately 1,072 are native population and the balance are non-indigenous; and approximately 16,692 live in an urban area, while the balance are rural dwellers.
Jocotenango is the birthplace of Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning singer and songwriter Ricardo Arjona
Ricardo Arjona
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales, , known as Ricardo Arjona , is a Guatemalan singer...
.
History
Previously considered a suburb, it received municipality status in the middle of the 19th century.Geography
It is 9.96 sq mi (25.8 km²) in size and is situated 1540 m (5,052.5 ft) above sea levelAbove mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. Cerro El Narizón ("Big Nose Mountain"), one of the peaks of the El Rejon range is nearby, reaching an elevation of 2247 m (7,372 ft). Hydrographic
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
features include the Rio Guacalate, streams, and a creek. Jocotenango is located in a mountainous rain forest in a sub-tropical region. According to the 2003 Ministerio de Agricultura report, approximately 93 hectares are used for agriculture, while 75 hectares are in forest. Deposits of Placedrín Andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
have been found here.
Vulnerability to natural disaster is evidenced by severe erosion to the Rio Guacalate basin, forest fires, accelerated deforestation, and floods. Slope sediment, along with poor soil management, is most visible in the villages of La Rinconada and Vista Hermosa. An annual threat to the populated areas is flooding during periods of rainfall. It requires the municipality to clear hundreds of cubic meters of sediment that accumulates in the streets. This type of erosion causes loss of productive soil capacity, exposure of basement rock, and generation of landslides and mudslides.
The average rainfall is 1344 mm/year while the temperature varies between 16 and 23 °C.
Flora and fauna
The forest coverage rate is important for town's socioeconomicsSocioeconomics
Socioeconomics or socio-economics or social economics is an umbrella term with different usages. 'Social economics' may refer broadly to the "use of economics in the study of society." More narrowly, contemporary practice considers behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social...
. Most of the wooded area, is located on the hill Panza
de Burro and near the municipal yard. Flora includes species of oak, cypress, and palo de jiote (Bursera simaruba
Bursera simaruba
Bursera simaruba, commonly known as the Gumbo-limbo, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas from the southeasternmost United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil and Venezuela...
).
The fauna is associated with crops that predominate the area such as cotuza
Cotuza
Cotuza is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.-References:*...
, coyote, mouse opossum
Marmosa
The nine species in the genus Marmosa are relatively small Neotropic members of the order Didelphimorphia. This genus is one of four that are known as mouse opossums. The others are Micoureus , Thylamys and Tlacuatzin, the grayish mouse opossum...
, rabbit, squirrels, white-tailed deer, and gophers. Birds include, hummingbird, quail, hawk, and dove.
Culture
The red brick Jocotenango ChurchJocotenango Church
Jocotenango Church or Iglesia de Jocotenango is a church in Jocotenango, Guatemala....
lies in the town.
La Azotea ("roof") Cultural Center features, built on an ancient coffee estate, has three museums. Casa K’ojom ("House of K'ojom"), a music museum, features traditional Maya
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
musical instruments such as diatomic harp, drums, flutes, marimbas, ocarinas, and whistles. Masks, paintings, traditional costumes and crafts are also exhibited. The Museo del Café ("Museum of Coffee") is dedicated to the history and evolution of coffee cultivation. Coffee beans are displayed in varying stages of production, antique equipment can be viewed, and as it is situated at an actual plantation, on-site tours are available. There is also a small costume museum.
Its main festival is celebrated each year during the week of August 8.
External links
- Casa K'Ojom, Museo de Musica Maya (in Spanish)