Sipacapa
Encyclopedia
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, skattered over mountainous terrain. Sipacapa is considered a linguistic community, as Sipakapense
is a Maya language
unique to the municipality.
Sipacapa is currently the center of a dispute between local residents, who primarily identify as Maya
(Sipakapense
), and Goldcorp
, a Canadian company that operates an open pit goldmine mostly the neighbouring municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán
, but partially in Sipacapa. This dispute has been documented in a documentary film
production, Sipakapa No Se Vende (Sipacapa Is Not For Sale) .. Further information on the mine and the dispute is contained in the article on Marlin mine.
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 San Marcos 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...
, situated in the Western highlands
Guatemalan Highlands
The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north....
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...
. Sipacapa's population of around 14,000 is spread among 14 village communities, skattered over mountainous terrain. Sipacapa is considered a linguistic community, as Sipakapense
Sipakapense
Sipakapense is a Mayan language, closely related to K'iche'. It is spoken natively within indigenous Sipakapense communities, primarily based in the Guatemalan municipality of Sipacapa, department of San Marcos....
is a Maya language
Maya language
A Maya language is one of a group of languages spoken by the Maya peoples of Mesoamerica.Maya language may also refer to:* Yucatec Maya language or Maya, a Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula...
unique to the municipality.
Sipacapa is currently the center of a dispute between local residents, who primarily identify as 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...
(Sipakapense
Sipakapense people
The Sipakapense are one of the Maya peoples in Guatemala. They speak the Mayan Sipakapense language....
), and Goldcorp
Goldcorp
Goldcorp Inc. is a gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Goldcorp has 16 operations and development projects in 6 countries across the Americas....
, a Canadian company that operates an open pit goldmine mostly the neighbouring municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán
San Miguel Ixtahuacán
San Miguel Ixtahuacán is a municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala.It compromises 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...
, but partially in Sipacapa. This dispute has been documented in a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
production, Sipakapa No Se Vende (Sipacapa Is Not For Sale) .. Further information on the mine and the dispute is contained in the article on Marlin mine.