Santiago Atitlán
Encyclopedia
Santiago Atitlán is a municipality
in the Sololá department
of Guatemala
. The town is situated on Lago de Atitlán
, which has an elevation of 5105 feet (1,556 m). The town sits on a bay of Lago Atitlan between two volcanos. Volcan San Pedro
rises to 2846 metres (9,337.3 ft) west of town; Volcan Toliman
rises to 3144 metres (10,315 ft) southeast of town. Volcan Atitlan
, with a summit of 3516 metres (11,535.4 ft), is south-southeast of town. Santiago Atitlan is southwest of Panajachel
across the lake. Major highways reach Lago Atitlan at San Lucas Toliman
and Panajachel. A road links Santiago to San Lucas Tolliman. Boats connect the numerous communities around Lago Atitlan.
The majority of the residents are indigenous
Mayans
. It was the capital of the Tz'utujil
people in pre-Columbian
times and its name was Chuitinamit.
The Cofradías (religious brotherhoods), manage a parallel power and are the guardians of the modern and ancient religious practices, most notably the cult of Maximón to whom they offer liquor and tobacco in exchange of favors.
Santiago Atitlán is the home of the Cojolya Weaving Center and Museum, founded by the Cojolya Association of Maya Women Weavers. The museum shows the history, tradition, and process of backstrap-loom weaving, and the evolution of the traditional costume of the Tzutujil, the indigenous people of Santiago Atitlán. It also offers tours and classes. (www.cojolya.org)
Santiago Atitlán was the site of considerable state-sponsored violence during the country's civil war
. Some of the most notable incidents that occurred during the war include the assassination of Roman Catholic Priest Stanley Rother
by right-wing death squads on 28 July, 1981 , and the massacre of 14 people (and wounding of 21 others) when the Guatemalan Army opened fire on a crowd of unarmed civilians on 2 December 1990 .
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 Sololá 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...
. The town is situated on Lago de Atitlán
Lago de Atitlán
Lake Atitlán is a large endorheic lake in the Guatemalan Highlands. Atitlan is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America with maximum depth about 340 meters. The lake is shaped by deep escarpments which surround it and by three volcanos on its southern flank...
, which has an elevation of 5105 feet (1,556 m). The town sits on a bay of Lago Atitlan between two volcanos. Volcan San Pedro
Volcán San Pedro
Volcán San Pedro is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the shores of Lago de Atitlán. At its base is a village of the same name: San Pedro La Laguna.- External links :* showing the view from the top....
rises to 2846 metres (9,337.3 ft) west of town; Volcan Toliman
Volcán Tolimán
Tolimán is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the southern shores of Lago de Atitlán. The volcano has an elevation of 3,158 m and was formed near the southern margin of the Pleistocene Atitlán III caldera. The top of the volcano has a shallow crater and its flanks are covered with the thick remains...
rises to 3144 metres (10,315 ft) southeast of town. Volcan Atitlan
Volcán Atitlán
Volcán Atitlán is a large, conical, active stratovolcano adjacent to the caldera of Lake Atitlán in the Highlands of Guatemala. The volcano has been quite active historically, with more than a dozen eruptions recorded between 1469 and 1853, the date of its most recent eruption. Atitlán is part of...
, with a summit of 3516 metres (11,535.4 ft), is south-southeast of town. Santiago Atitlan is southwest of Panajachel
Panajachel
Panajachel is a town in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The altitude is...
across the lake. Major highways reach Lago Atitlan at San Lucas Toliman
San Lucas Tolimán
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, described by Aldous Huxley as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The population is 90-95% Highland Maya...
and Panajachel. A road links Santiago to San Lucas Tolliman. Boats connect the numerous communities around Lago Atitlan.
The majority of the residents are indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Mayans
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...
. It was the capital of the Tz'utujil
Tz'utujil
The Tz'utujil are a Native American people, one of the 21 Maya ethnic groups that dwell in Guatemala. Together with the Xinca, Garífunas and the Ladinos, they make up the 24 ethnic groups in this relatively small country. Approximately 100,000 Tz'utujil live in the area around Lake Atitlán...
people in pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
times and its name was Chuitinamit.
The Cofradías (religious brotherhoods), manage a parallel power and are the guardians of the modern and ancient religious practices, most notably the cult of Maximón to whom they offer liquor and tobacco in exchange of favors.
Santiago Atitlán is the home of the Cojolya Weaving Center and Museum, founded by the Cojolya Association of Maya Women Weavers. The museum shows the history, tradition, and process of backstrap-loom weaving, and the evolution of the traditional costume of the Tzutujil, the indigenous people of Santiago Atitlán. It also offers tours and classes. (www.cojolya.org)
Santiago Atitlán was the site of considerable state-sponsored violence during the country's civil war
Guatemalan Civil War
The Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960-1996. The thirty-six-year civil war began as a grassroots, popular response to the rightist and military usurpation of civil government , and the President's disrespect for the human and civil rights of the majority of the population...
. Some of the most notable incidents that occurred during the war include the assassination of Roman Catholic Priest Stanley Rother
Stanley Rother
Stanley Francis Rother was a Catholic priest and missionary to Guatemala. He was murdered by a death squad, believed to be made up of right-wing extremists and elements of the Guatemalan Army, on July 28, 1981....
by right-wing death squads on 28 July, 1981 , and the massacre of 14 people (and wounding of 21 others) when the Guatemalan Army opened fire on a crowd of unarmed civilians on 2 December 1990 .