Tejutla, San Marcos
Encyclopedia
Tejutla is a municipality
in the western highlands of Guatemala
, in the department
of San Marcos. Tejutla was officially founded on 25 July of 1672, although it was already an important town within the Mam kingdom in 1524, at the time of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala
. It is situated high in the mountains, the so-called "cold zone", at about 2500 m altitude.
The name Tejutla is of uncertain origin, being variously attributed to the local Mam language
, derived from twui c'ukal meaning "upon the hill of white sand", or from the Nahuatl language of Tlaxcala
in Mexico
, meaning "walled land" or "land of the dyers", or from the Chorti language in which it means "land of embers".
Tejutla is primarily a Ladino
municipality in that the majority of its inhabitants speak Spanish and are not indigenous. Tejutla has about 31,139 inhabitants, with about 6,000 living within the urban center (casco urbano). The municipio of Tejutla includes 67 communities, 20 of which are Aldeas and the rest are Caserios, Cantones and Colonias. The rivers Xolobaj and Del Molino flow through the town of Tejutla. The general climate in Tejutla during the winter, which runs from November through February, is about 10 degrees Celsius but temperatures can drop up to 5 degrees lower. Temperatures during the months of May through November can range anywhere from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius. The economy in Tejutla lives on agriculture, mainly apples and potatoes, although carrots, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and peaches are also grown locally within the municipality. Although Tejutla is settled in a spectacular landscape, tourism
is still very limited in this region. Every July, the city celebrates its town festival, dedicated to Santiago Apóstol, St. James. There is a cultural centre "casa de la cultura" in the city.
This remote area was hit by the civil war
in the 1980s, when innocent citizens were terrorized by G-2 forces, the former secret police
of Guatemala under Efraín Ríos Montt
. In 2005, Tejutla suffered under the devastation of hurricane Stan
.
Aldeas:
Agua Tibia, Armenia, Buena Vista El Rosario, Cancela, Cancela Grande, Los Cerezos, Chalanchac, Culvillá, Cuyá, Las Delicias, La Democracia, Esquipulas, El Horizonte, Ixmulcá, El Paraíso, Quipambe, San Isidro, Tojuchoc, Tuicincé, Venecia
Caseríos:
Los Arcos La Pradrera, El Bosque, California, Campachan, Central Progreso, Cerro El Tumbador, Chacojóm, Chápil, El Chorro Veinte Palos, Cólven, Cristalinas, El Edén, La Esmeralda, Estancia de la Virgen, La Florida, Fraternidad, Los Frutales, Hermón, La Independencia, Inmortal Libertad, Júlen, Los Laureles, Linda Vista, Loma Linda, El Manantial, El Mirador, Los Molinos, Nueva Ermita, Nueva Esperanza, Nueva Jerusalem, Peña Flor, El Progreso, Los Ramírez, La Reforma, Las Rosas, Las Tapias, La Unión, Villa Flores, Vista Hermosa El Pinal
Cantones:
Las Hortalizas, Aldea Las Delicias; La Joya de Tejas, Caserío Central Progreso; La Joya, Caserío La Union; Cantón Progreso, Aldea Las Delicias; Valle Verde, Aldea Esquipulas
Colonias:
Diez de Mayo, Las Manzanillas I, Las Manzanillas II, Sacabelén, Tuiscol, Villa Nueva
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 western highlands 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...
, in the 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 San Marcos. Tejutla was officially founded on 25 July of 1672, although it was already an important town within the Mam kingdom in 1524, at the time of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala
Spanish conquest of Guatemala
The Spanish conquest of Guatemala was a conflict that formed a part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas within the territory of what became the modern country of Guatemala in Central America...
. It is situated high in the mountains, the so-called "cold zone", at about 2500 m altitude.
The name Tejutla is of uncertain origin, being variously attributed to the local Mam language
Mam language
Mam is a Mayan language with almost 480,000 speakers as of 2002, spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas and the Guatemalan departments of Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango and San Marcos....
, derived from twui c'ukal meaning "upon the hill of white sand", or from the Nahuatl language of Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, meaning "walled land" or "land of the dyers", or from the Chorti language in which it means "land of embers".
Tejutla is primarily a Ladino
Ladino people
Ladino is a Spanish term used to describe various socio-ethnic categories in Latin America, principally in Central America.The term Ladino is derived from "latino" and usually refers to the mestizo or hispanicized population...
municipality in that the majority of its inhabitants speak Spanish and are not indigenous. Tejutla has about 31,139 inhabitants, with about 6,000 living within the urban center (casco urbano). The municipio of Tejutla includes 67 communities, 20 of which are Aldeas and the rest are Caserios, Cantones and Colonias. The rivers Xolobaj and Del Molino flow through the town of Tejutla. The general climate in Tejutla during the winter, which runs from November through February, is about 10 degrees Celsius but temperatures can drop up to 5 degrees lower. Temperatures during the months of May through November can range anywhere from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius. The economy in Tejutla lives on agriculture, mainly apples and potatoes, although carrots, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and peaches are also grown locally within the municipality. Although Tejutla is settled in a spectacular landscape, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
is still very limited in this region. Every July, the city celebrates its town festival, dedicated to Santiago Apóstol, St. James. There is a cultural centre "casa de la cultura" in the city.
This remote area was hit by the 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...
in the 1980s, when innocent citizens were terrorized by G-2 forces, the former secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
of Guatemala under Efraín Ríos Montt
Efraín Ríos Montt
José Efraín Ríos Montt is a former de facto President of Guatemala, dictator, army general, and former president of Congress. In the 2003 presidential elections, he unsuccessfully ran as the candidate of the ruling Guatemalan Republican Front .Huehuetenango-born Ríos Montt remains one of the most...
. In 2005, Tejutla suffered under the devastation of hurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan was the eighteenth named tropical storm and eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the sixth of seven tropical cyclones to make landfall in Mexico. Stan was a relatively weak storm that only briefly reached hurricane status...
.
Communities
Casco Urbano Tejutla (Cabacera Municipal)Aldeas:
Agua Tibia, Armenia, Buena Vista El Rosario, Cancela, Cancela Grande, Los Cerezos, Chalanchac, Culvillá, Cuyá, Las Delicias, La Democracia, Esquipulas, El Horizonte, Ixmulcá, El Paraíso, Quipambe, San Isidro, Tojuchoc, Tuicincé, Venecia
Caseríos:
Los Arcos La Pradrera, El Bosque, California, Campachan, Central Progreso, Cerro El Tumbador, Chacojóm, Chápil, El Chorro Veinte Palos, Cólven, Cristalinas, El Edén, La Esmeralda, Estancia de la Virgen, La Florida, Fraternidad, Los Frutales, Hermón, La Independencia, Inmortal Libertad, Júlen, Los Laureles, Linda Vista, Loma Linda, El Manantial, El Mirador, Los Molinos, Nueva Ermita, Nueva Esperanza, Nueva Jerusalem, Peña Flor, El Progreso, Los Ramírez, La Reforma, Las Rosas, Las Tapias, La Unión, Villa Flores, Vista Hermosa El Pinal
Cantones:
Las Hortalizas, Aldea Las Delicias; La Joya de Tejas, Caserío Central Progreso; La Joya, Caserío La Union; Cantón Progreso, Aldea Las Delicias; Valle Verde, Aldea Esquipulas
Colonias:
Diez de Mayo, Las Manzanillas I, Las Manzanillas II, Sacabelén, Tuiscol, Villa Nueva