Colonial History of Guatemala

Experience colonial Guatemala with Mayalandia and learn about Guatemala's fascinating colonial history!

La Antigua Guatemala

La Antigua Guatemala ("The Old Guatemala") served as the capital of all Central America from 1543 until 1773, when it was destroyed by an earthquake and the capital subsequently moved to its present location of Guatemala City. The city's original name was Santiago de los Caballeros, and the town fair is still celebrated on the saint's day for Santiago, July 25, each year.

The Spaniards could hardly have chosen a location with a more ideal climate for their city. At an altitude of 1530 m, Antigua's days are comfortably warm and nights are cool enough for a sweater.

Like Mexico City to the north and Lima in the south, Guatemala's capital served as an administrative and judicial center for the Spanish empire, as well as a center for educational and missionary work by Spanish priests.

The third university in the Americas, the University of San Carlos, was founded in Antigua in 1676, and the city attracted a total of 16 religious orders, which built their own monasteries, convents and churches.

After coffee plantations brought a new prosperity to the valley in the 19th century, Antigua Guatemala underwent a slow process of restoration. It has since been declared World Cultural Patrimony by UNESCO due to its unique architectural and historical importance.

Quetzaltenango (Xela)

The city of Quetzaltenango, known locally as Xela, is the second largest city in Guatemala. Situated on an extended plain and surrounded by hills and volcanoes, the city of Quetzaltenango conserves the Quiche Maya's old traditions and the Colonial past, while maintaining the dynamics of modern life. The region was first occupied by Mam speakers who established the kingdom of Kulaha.

However, the Quiche eventually conquered the region and displaced the Mam inhabitants. The new rulers formed the city of Xelaju at the base of the volcano, Santa Maria. The name Quetzaltenango, which means the place of the quetzal bird, was introduced by Spanish invaders who conquered the area under the leadership of Pedro de Alvarado. The Quiche Indians are still the major indigenous population within Quetzaltenango. They make up approximately fifty-five percent of the city's population.

Quetzaltenango lies in a fertile valley at 2330 m (7645ft) above sea-level. While the days are comfortably warm nights are chilly, with temperatures frequently dropping to near freezing. The town's oldest area, around the central plaza or Parque Centro America, features narrow, cobblestone streets and graceful architecture. A number of cafes, pubs restaurants and discos are found near the lovely Municipal Theater, recently restored and offering a wide variety of cultural performances.

Quetzaltenango is a convenient base from which to explore nearby towns and natural areas. Zunil a half-hour's drive away is a Maya-Quiche, village where the local cult of San Simon is practiced. The Fuentes Georginas hot spring near Zunil offers rustic cabins for overnight stays, hiking, bird watching and bathing in natural springs of hot water. At Salcaja, just outside Xela, stands the first church built by the Spaniards in Guatemala.

Hiking in the mountains around Xela is a popular activity and some visitors may want to climb Santa Maria Volcano, for breathtaking views of Xela, the Pacific coast and Santiaguito, an active volcano on Santa Maria's southern flank. An easy day hike from the nearby town of San Martin Sacatepequez (also known as Chile Verde) leads to a crater lake atop Chicabal Volcano, a sacred spot for the Maya who live nearby.

Chichicastenango

One of Guatemala's top four tourism centers, Chichicastenango is renowned for its crafts market, which draws buyers and sellers from far and wide. Mexican interpreters who accompanied Spaniards in their conquest of Guatemala, refer to a thorny plant that grows in the area named "chichicaste," which means "nettle." On Thursdays and Sundays each week, the plaza of this Maya-Quiche town is converted into a bustling market packed with vendors selling traditional handicraft, including hand-woven textiles, hand-carved masks, ceramics, jewelry and much more.

Visitors to Chichicastenango may visit two religious shrines, important sites of worship for area residents. The first, the Santo Tomas cathedral, bounds one side of the central plaza and was built in 1540. Worshipers burn native copal incense and say players on the church steps before entering the building to kneel on the flagstone floor strewn with pine needles, where they light candles and say more players. Within this same church, the manuscript of the Popol Vuh, Guatemala's greatest literary work, was discovered by Father Francisco Ximenez when he served in Chichicastenango form 1701-3.

The manuscript, which was written by an anonymous Maya author shortly after the Spanish conquest, contains the legends and history of the Maya-Quiche people.

Another important religious monument, known as Pascual Abaj, stands on a small, pine-covered hill just a few minutes' walk from the cathedral. Pascual Abaj is a stone carved with human features, standing about two feet high and probably dating to before the conquest. Worshipers burn candles and incense near the stone deity, while praying for good crops and health.

Every year, Chichicastenango celebrates its town fair form December 14 to 21. One of the highlights of the fair is the "palo volador," a tall pole which young men climb before spiraling back to the ground, held by an attached rope. Chichicastenango is one of the few places in Guatemala where visitors will see the marimba de tecomates, which uses gourd resonators rather than wooden resonator boxes of modern marimbas.

Coban, Alta Verapaz

The capital of the department of Alta Verapaz, Coban offers a number of fine hotels and restaurants and serves as a convenient base for explorations of the land of true peace.

One of the first local words that travelers will learn here is "chipi-chipi," used to describe the light rain that often falls.

Coban is famed for its annual Rabin Ajau festival, celebrated with traditional costumes and dances form June to July and culminating, on the last Saturday of July, with a beauty pageant for Maya women.

Things to do in and around Coban include a tour of a local coffee farm, a visit to the Vivero Verapaz where more than 650 orchid varieties are grown, and a stop at the Museum of the Maya Prince, which houses a small collection of Maya artifacts.

The Museum of Kekchi Culture, in nearby San Pedro Carcha, features Maya textiles and ceramics.