Pasaco
Encyclopedia
Pasaco is a municipality
in the Jutiapa department
of Guatemala
, located near the Pacific Ocean on the Border with El Salvador. It was originally formed when a group of Aztec
s broke off at the arrival of Hernán Cortés
, and went further south into what is now Guatemala (then Coahtemalan, or The Land of Abundance, in a Mayan
dialect). They united with some groups of Indians, pushing others into what is now El Salvador
, recognizing Cortés as a villain, not Quetzalcoatl
, or the great white God
returned, as the Náhuatl
, or Aztec leadership supposed at that time.
Unfortunately, they sat up near the ocean, and were soon spotted by Pedro de Alvarado
, who Hernán Cortés had sent to destroy the cultures and civilizations further south. After planting poisonous sticks in the ground, which were nearly always fatal, and about what Pedro de Alvarado complains about loudly in his diary, the Spanish
departed southward, and Pasaco, or rather Paxa at that time, moved somewhat inland. After being flooded out, they moved location to Pasaco, or literally, “goodbye Paxa” where the town remains to this day.
Until recently there were no cars nor transportation to Pasaco, and the people had to walk about 5 km inland to reach the town, although there is now a paved road into town, and even a small public library.
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 Jutiapa 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 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...
, located near the Pacific Ocean on the Border with El Salvador. It was originally formed when a group of Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s broke off at the arrival of Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
, and went further south into what is now Guatemala (then Coahtemalan, or The Land of Abundance, in a Mayan
Mayan languages
The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras...
dialect). They united with some groups of Indians, pushing others into what is now El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, recognizing Cortés as a villain, not Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
, or the great white God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
returned, as the Náhuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
, or Aztec leadership supposed at that time.
Unfortunately, they sat up near the ocean, and were soon spotted by Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...
, who Hernán Cortés had sent to destroy the cultures and civilizations further south. After planting poisonous sticks in the ground, which were nearly always fatal, and about what Pedro de Alvarado complains about loudly in his diary, the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
departed southward, and Pasaco, or rather Paxa at that time, moved somewhat inland. After being flooded out, they moved location to Pasaco, or literally, “goodbye Paxa” where the town remains to this day.
Until recently there were no cars nor transportation to Pasaco, and the people had to walk about 5 km inland to reach the town, although there is now a paved road into town, and even a small public library.