Department of Suchitepéquez

Suchitepéquez (from Nahuatl, it means "on the hill of flowers") is one of the twenty-two departments that make up Guatemala, it is located in the South Western region. from Guatemala. It limits to the north with Quetzaltenango, Sololá and Chimaltenango, to the south with the Pacific Ocean, to the east with Escuintla; and to the west with Retalhuleu. The departmental capital is at a distance of 165 kilometers from the Capital City of Guatemala.

After the independence of Central America in 1821, it became part of the vast Sololá/Suchitepéquez department that included a large part of the modern departments of Quiché, Sololá and Suchitepéquez and together with it was integrated into the State of Los Altos in 1838. Then that the State of Los Altos was recovered for Guatemala by the conservative general Rafael Carrera continued united with Sololá until on August 12, 1872, when the de facto regime of the provisional president Miguel García Granados created the department of Quiché, considerably reducing it the Sololá/Suchitepéquez area.

Toponymy

Suchitepéquez is described by its inhabitants as "The Land of the Deer." The toponym "Suchitepéquez" is derived from the Nahuatl voice "Xōchitepēk^e", formed in turn by "Xōchi-" (Spanish: "flower"), "tepē-" "(Spanish: hill, mountain)" and "-k" (Spanish: "en"), which could be translated as "En el Cerro Florido" or "En el Cerro de las Flores."

Geography

Hydrography

The southern lands of this department enjoy being bathed by the waves of the Pacific Ocean, which gives a splendid development to the flora and fauna of this region, also contributing to the economy of the place by existing on this coastline. several important salt flats.

This department in the southern part has generally almost flat land, which facilitates cultivation, it also has the advantage of being irrigated by several rivers, among them some mighty ones such as the Sis, Nahualate, Icán, Samalá, Ixtacapa, Nimá, Madre Vieja, Coyolate, and others that make their lands very fertile and facilitate the production of a variety of crops. This would deserve Suchitepéquez to occupy a distinguished position among the other departments, since its accidents can be classified as important and numerous.

Orography

With a generally warm climate, although the department has a variety of climates due to its topography, its soil is naturally fertile, unbeatable for all types of crops.

Plant Life Zones

This department, due to the area in which it is located, has four life zones identified:

• bs-s Subtropical Dry Forest
• bh-S© Subtropical Wet Forest (Calid)
• bmh-SCc) Subtropical Wet Forest (Calid)
• bh-MB Wet forest Mountain Under Subtropical

Protected Areas

This department currently does not have any areas that have been declared protected.

Communication routes

Among the main roads, in addition to the national routes, is the Pacific International CA-2, it also has departmental roads, rut roads, and trails that connect the capital with its towns and rural properties. It has 263 km of asphalt and 313 km of dirt road.

Current land use

This department, because it has a varied climate, and within its territorial extension borders with the beaches of the Pacific, has a land use capable of planting all types of crops, forests, fruit trees, cattle, etc. Being of excellent quality.

Political division

The department of Suchitepéquez is divided into 21 municipalities that are:

Customs and traditions

Patronal festivities

The main festival of this department is the one celebrated in its capital, which has a variable date, since the festival of this city is Carnival. During these festivities the dance of the Conquest is always performed.

List of the Patrons of Suchitepéquez

Municipality	Date	Description	Municipality	Date	Description
Mazatenango	9-16 February	National and international Carnival Fair (The date is varied, being this always on Tuesday before Wednesday of ash that marks the beginning of quartzma)	Cuyotenango	6 January	Day of the Three Kings
	21-28 August,	Traditional Fair of the patron saint of San Bartolomé		15 January	Black Sky Christ
St. Paul Jocopilas	23-25 January	in honor of St. Paul the Apostle	Pueblo Nuevo Suchitepéquez
	29 June	in honor of Saint Peter the Apostle
Patul	25 January	Saint Mary Magdalene	Rio Bravo	2 February	Virgin of Candelaria
Saint Joseph the Idol	19 March	San José	San Gabriel	24 March	San Gabriel Archangel
San Antonio Suchitepéquez	13 June	San Antonio de Padua	San Miguel Panán	29 September	San Miguel Archangel
Santo Domingo Suchitepéquez	4 August	Santo Domingo	Zunilito	25 November	Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Barbara	4 December	Barbara	Chicacao	8 December	Virgin of the Immaculate Conception

Population of Suchitepéquez according to municipality

N.	Municipality	Population Census 2018
1	Mazatenango	77,431
2	Chicacao	60.735
3	San Antonio Suchitepéquez	59.184
4	Santo Domingo Suchitepéquez	42,291
5	Patul	40,683
6	Cuyotenango	33.436
7	Rio Bravo	27,606
8	Barbara	26,346
9	Samayac	24.790
10	San José La Machine	23,062
11	San Francisco Zapotitlán	22,533
12	Saint Paul Jocapilas	20,433
13	San Bernadino	15.849
14	San Lorenzo	13,282
15	Saint Thomas The Union	11,698
16	Pueblo Nuevo	11,315
17	San Miguel Panán	10.320
18	San José El Idolo	10,212
19	Zunilito	8.280
20	St. John the Baptist	7.826
21	San Gabriel	7.383
-	Suchitepéquez	554,695

Development

The human development report published in 2022, The speed of change, a territorial view of human development 2002 – 2019, where the change and progress that has occurred in the country between 2002 was observed and 2019. The Department of Suchitepéquez is located in twelfth place out of 22 departments. Suchitepéquez between 2002 and 2018 had growth above average, going from 0.528 to 0.635. Suchitepéquez presents 3 municipalities with High human development and 18 with Medium human development. Among them Mazatenango has the highest development with 0.700 and Santa Bárbara the lowest with an HDI of 0.579.

N.	Municipality	IDH 2018	IDH 2002
1	Mazatenango	0,700	0.6622
2	San Gabriel	0.696	0,594
3	Saint Thomas The Union	0,694	0.595
4	San Francisco Zapotitlán	0.690	0.588
5	Zunilito	0.684	0.573
6	Samayac	0.661	0.56
7	Saint Paul Jocapilas	0.654	0.554
8	Pueblo Nuevo	0.654	0.548
9	Cuyotenango	0.649	0.529
10	San José El Idolo	0.634	0.515
11	Patul	0.631	0.518
12	San Bernadino	0.627	0.529
13	San Lorenzo	0.619	0,497
14	San Antonio Suchitepéquez	0,603	0,513
15	San Miguel Panán	0,602	0.464
16	St. John the Baptist	0.598	0.487
17	Rio Bravo	0.597	0,482
18	Santo Domingo Suchitepéquez	0.596	0.475
19	San José La Machine	0.588	0.529
20	Chicacao	0,584	0.467
21	Barbara	0.579	0.463
-	Suchitepéquez	0.635	0.528

		IDH According to Indicators
N.	Municipality	Health	Education	Level of Life
1	Mazatenango	0.850	0.579	0.696
2	San Gabriel	0.890	0.56	0.671
3	Saint Thomas The Union	0.894	0.575	0.651
4	San Francisco Zapotitlán	0.885	0.548	0.677
5	Zunilito	0.901	0,543	0.654
6	Samayac	0.821	0.549	0.639
7	Saint Paul Jocapilas	0.861	0.509	0.638
8	Pueblo Nuevo	0,864	0.520	0.6622
9	Cuyotenango	0.812	0.526	0.640
10	San José El Idolo	0,805	0,491	0.618
11	Patul	0.829	0.480	0.631
12	San Bernadino	0,805	0,493	0.620
13	San Lorenzo	0.815	0.489	0,594
14	San Antonio Suchitepéquez	0.771	0.466	0.611
15	San Miguel Panán	0.814	0.461	0,583
16	St. John the Baptist	0,801	0.436	0.6612
17	Rio Bravo	0.790	0.434	0.6622
18	Santo Domingo Suchitepéquez	0,793	0.447	0.598
19	San José La Machine	0.743	0.450	0.608
20	Chicacao	0.796	0.421	0,593
21	Barbara	0.796	0.399	0.611
-	Suchitepéquez	0.825	0,494	0.628

Population living in the department according to HDI

N.	Municipality	IDH 2018	Population	According to Development
1	Mazatenango	0,700	77,431	96.512
2	San Gabriel	0.696	7.383
3	Saint Thomas The Union	0,694	11,698
4	San Francisco Zapotitlán	0.690	22,533	458,183
5	Zunilito	0.684	8.280
6	Samayac	0.661	24.790
7	Saint Paul Jocapilas	0.654	20,433
8	Pueblo Nuevo	0.654	11,315
9	Cuyotenango	0.649	33.436
10	San José El Idolo	0.634	10,212
11	Patul	0.631	40,683
12	San Bernadino	0.627	15.849
13	San Lorenzo	0.619	13,282
14	San Antonio Suchitepéquez	0,603	59.184
15	San Miguel Panán	0,602	10.320
16	St. John the Baptist	0.598	7.826
17	Rio Bravo	0.597	27,606
18	Santo Domingo Suchitepéquez	0.596	42,291
19	San José La Machine	0.588	23,062
20	Chicacao	0,584	60.735
21	Barbara	0.579	26,346
-	Suchitepéquez	0.635

Dances and Dances

Traditional dances such as those of Moors and Christians, in their variant known as Los Doce Pares de Francia, are practiced, especially in Cuyotenango, San Bernardino and Santo Tomás La Unión. De Mexicanos is practiced in the first two municipalities mentioned and also in San Miguel Panán. Another well-known dance is that of the Conquest, which is practiced in Cuyotenango and San Bernardino.

In the municipality of San Pablo Jocopilas, Suchitepéquez, every year at its patron fair the best marimbas orchestras of Guatemala are presented in the open air, sponsored by the Board of Directors of the “January 25” Celebrations created since 1997 and thank you to the support of the entire population.

Crafts

• Cotton fabrics: made with 2 types of loom (the waist or the stick)
• Jarcia: It is the craftsmanship that conveniently uses the fiber that is extracted from the maguey pencas. Among the vase products we have: hammocks, bags, ties, rangers, morrales, networks and others. This is proper to the municipality of whosetenango.
• Cereria: Candles made of sebum or paraffin; and for religious uses, so-called wax candles. There are also many variants in the production of these handicrafts such as: common candles and currents of different colors and sizes, candlesticks, palm trees, cirios, etc.
• Leather: In the production of leather materials there is the Moroccan shop, which consists of making various articles such as purses, cigars, estuches, portanavajas, among others. The talabarteria provides fittings, chairs and other mats, used in loading and mounting animals.
• Orfebrería: It corresponds to the art of silverware and is one of the most traditional in Guatemala. It is a family craftsmanship, from children help parents, while learning the craft. In these workshops are made pieces such as: arts, chains of different types, bracelets, rings and other objects. Despite the scarcity of raw material that has made this handicraft decay, traditional designs are still preserved. It is made in Cuyotenango and Mazatenango.
• Masks: They are used for dances and decorative forms. Its manufacture uses white pine wood, cedar and pine stick. They are made in the municipality of Samayac.
• Scars and guacals.

Traditions

Mazatenango is famous for its main carnival fair, which is celebrated for 8 days, which has achieved great national and international prestige. Among its activities there are floral games, parades school, civic, national and international sports games, presentation of traditional typical dances, religious ceremonies. The open-air dances begin again, enlivened by marimbas, orchestras and national groups, completely free, such is the case of the municipality of San Pablo Jocopilas, these dances organized by the Board of Directors of the '25 de Janeiro' Celebrations.

Tourist and Archaeological Places

Mazatenango: this city has a wide variety of tourist sites:

• Recreational Animanya;
• Pools and relaxation "La Mercedes", km 167 road that communicates from the head (Mazatenango) to the municipality of Santo Domingo;

  

  Hotel and Resort "Bambú" that besides having extensive swimming pools has a small nature reserve of animals;
• Big C.C. Plaza Américas: is the largest shopping center in the south west of Guatemala, as it has a wide variety of locals from different companies
• An extensive railroad track that has not been used for material damage for years, currently tourists only use it as a landscape for photographs.
• In addition, Mazatenango is the head of the city and has several beaches among which the "Churririn", "Tulate", "Tahuesco", "Chicago" and "Chiquistepeque", visited year by year by the population, not only in the department but at the national level.

Cuyotenango: Cuyotenango and Trapiche Grande; Chicacao and the San Rafael Panán archaeological site; in Patulul: San José Buena Vista; San Antonio Suchitepéquez: Palo Gordo, and San Bernardino with the archaeological site of the same name.

This department has many natural attractions such as Lake Mocá, Lake Tinen, La Caída de Agua Río Chita, Gruta de Agua Caliente, Churirin Beach, etc. It also has archaeological centers such as Sambo; San Pablo Jocopilas: Ruins of Chocolá and Pozo de la Virgen, as well as the façade of the Catholic Church that dates back to the 1770s, having obtained fourth place in the "National Wonder" which in its heyday housed Dominican and Franciscan religious; The private museum of Cayo Jerez Cordero has also been declared a historical center. Places that invite national and foreign tourists to admire their beauties.

Tropic Ecology

Tropical jungles, perhaps with a certain tendency towards subtropical in the extreme northern lands. At present, the forests have almost disappeared, persisting only as isolated pockets that distantly show the original richness and exuberance. The entire coastal plain has been transformed into a vast savanna, where the isolated trees are generally conacastes, ceibas or palo blanco. On the side of the currents that flow through it there are usually rows of vegetation; They are gallery forests, ecosystems that are a precious refuge for some wildlife.

History

The department of Suchitepéquez was created by decree of October 16, 1877. Before the arrival of the Spanish in 1524, Suchitepéquez depended on the kingdom of the K'iche' and the kingdom of the Tz'utujil, and the majority of its inhabitants still speak these languages.

This department, which is currently part of the so-called Costa Grande, was where the first battles were fought during the conquest, when Pedro de Alvarado arrived from Soconusco in February 1524.

Suchitepéquez was a kind of Achilles tendon of the Quiché kingdom, since they constantly disputed it with the Tz'utujils given that the territory was made up of the best land. Their crops became the best cocoa crops. The inhabitants of the old Captaincy General of Guatemala considered it to be of unbeatable quality.

Archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz noted that in 1768-70 many indigenous people from the highlands and northeast fled to the coast of San Antonio, supposedly because there was more abundance in this region. However, the probability of free work could have been another reason for such a phenomenon.

In the last years of the colony, the department, together with Retalhuleu, formed the district of Suchitepéquez to which territories were constantly incorporated and segregated.

Between 1772 and 1773 a church was built in the municipality of San Pablo Jocopilas, but it was destroyed after the earthquake of 1773 that destroyed the capital of Santiago de los Caballeros of Guatemala; The church was the headquarters of the Franciscan order, and functioned as a training school for priests for the entire Captaincy General of Guatemala and New Spain.

Independent era: Sololá-Suchitepéquez department

The State of Guatemala was defined in the following way by the Constituent Assembly of said state that issued its constitution on October 11, 1825: «the state will retain the name of State of Guatemala and it is made up of the peoples of Guatemala, gathered in a single body. The state of Guatemala is sovereign, independent and free in its government and internal administration."

In 1825, the region occupied by the modern department of Suchitepéquez was part of the department of Sololá/Suchitepéquez, whose head was Sololá and included the municipalities Joyabaj, Quiché, Atitlán, Suchitepéquez and Cuyotenango.

In 1825 the state of Guatemala was also divided into eleven districts for the administration of justice, and Suchitepéquez was No. 11, with four circuits:

The ephemeral State of Los Altos

The western region of present-day Guatemala had shown intentions to obtain greater autonomy with respect to the authorities of Guatemala City since colonial times, since the local Creoles considered that the capital Creoles who had a commercial monopoly with Spain They were not given fair treatment. Thus, their representative in the Cortes of Cádiz requested the creation of an intendancy in Los Altos, governed by its own authorities. The advent of Central American independence somewhat canceled this possibility, but the separatism of the Altenses endured. After the dissolution of the First Mexican Empire and the consequent separation of the United Provinces of Central America, Los Altos continued to seek its separation from Guatemala. There were two conditions that were favorable to the claims of the Altense Creole elite: the creation of a legal framework in the Central American constitution for the formation of new states within the territory of the republic and the arrival to the government of the liberal federalists, led by Francisco Morazan. The Los Altos area, which included Suchitepéquez, was populated mostly by indigenous people, who had maintained their ancestral traditions and their lands in the cold highlands of western Guatemala. Throughout the colonial era, there had been revolts against the Spanish government. After independence, the local mestizos and criollos favored the liberal party, while the indigenous majority was in favor of the Catholic Church and, therefore, conservative.

On December 25, 1838, the congress of the Federal Republic of Central America authorized the creation of the State of Los Altos, and the first Constituent Assembly was established in the city of Totonicapán; after the appointment of Marcelo Molina and the general Mexican Agustín Guzmán as first and second head of the State, respectively, on January 15, 1839 it was decided that the State authorities would move to Quetzaltenango.

But the indigenous revolts in the State of Los Altos were constant due to the mistreatment of the liberal Creoles and reached their critical point on October 1, 1839, when there was an uprising in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá, due to the increase of the indigenous tax. When Altense troops repressed the uprising and killed forty neighbors, the angry indigenous people turned to the conservative leader Rafael Carrera, in search of protection; It is said that one of them carried the head of his dead son as proof of the tyranny of the head of state Molina. On the other hand, in October 1839 the commercial tension between Guatemala and Los Altos gave way to military movements; There were rumors that General Agustín Guzmán was organizing an army in Sololá with the intention of invading Guatemala, which put it on maximum alert.

After some skirmishes, the armies faced each other in Sololá on January 25, 1840; Carrera defeated the forces of General Agustín Guzmán and even captured him while General Doroteo Monterrosa defeated the Altense forces of Colonel Antonio Corzo on January 28. The Quetzaltecan government collapsed then, because apart from the military defeats, the indigenous towns - including those of Totonicapán - embraced the conservative cause immediately; Upon entering Quetzaltenango at the head of two thousand men, Carrera was received by a large crowd that hailed him as their "liberator."

Carrera imposed a harsh and hostile regime for the Altense liberals, but kind for the indigenous people of the region - repealing the personal tax - and for the ecclesiastics, restoring the privileges of the Catholic religion; Calling all the members of the Creole council, he told them flatly that he was kind to them because it was the first time they had challenged him, but that he would have no mercy if there was a second time. General Guzmán, and the head of the State of Los Altos, Marcelo Molina, were sent to the capital of Guatemala, where they were exhibited as war trophies during a triumphal parade on February 17, 1840; in the case of Guzmán, shackled, with wounds still bleeding, and mounted on a mule. On February 26, 1840, the government of Guatemala placed Los Altos under its authority and on August 13, it appointed the corregidor of the region, who also served as commander general of the army and superintendent.

Return of Rafael Carrera to power in 1849

In April 1849, after a brief exile to Mexico, General Rafael Carrera returned to Guatemala through the jungles of Suchitepéquez; The department's mayor was the then sergeant major José Víctor Zavala, who had been sent to that detachment precisely to prevent Cabrera from returning to the country. But Zavala, far from attacking Carrera, placed himself under his command, because he knew that he was the only one capable of restoring peace and order in the country.

Creation of the department

The area that includes the modern department of Quiché was distributed until 1872 between the departments of Sololá/Suchitepéquez and Totonicapán/Huehuetenango; After the Liberal Reform of 1871, the provisional de facto president Miguel García Granados decided to create the department of Quiché to improve the territorial administration of the Republic; The text of the decree is the following:

Decree No. 72 Considering that the great extent that the Departments of Sololá and Totonicapán have today makes the action of the authorities ineffective, and that it is convenient to remedy this evil and to serve the best public service of those peoples, the creation of a new Department, I have to decree and DECRETO: A new Department is established, to be called Quichéwhose head is the villa of this name. This department comprises the following populations: Joyabaj, Lemoa, Chichicastenango, Chinic, Chiché, San Pedro Jocopilas, San Andrés Joyabajá, Cunem, San Miguel Uspantán, Cotzal, Chujuyup, Patzité, San Bartolo Jocotenango, Sacapulas, Nebaj, Chajul, Caniyá and Sacualpa. Consequently, the Department of Sololá remains with the following towns: Villa de Sololá, Cabecera, San José Chacallá, San Andrés Semetabaj, Concepción, Panajachel, San Jorge, Santa Cruz, Santa Lucia Utatlán, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, San Juan de los Leprosos, Visitación, San Pedro, San Juan, an Pablo, San Marcos, Atitlán, San Lucas Tolimán, San Antonio Paloul and Santa Patul The Department of Totonicapán consists of the following towns: Totonicapam, capital city, San Cristóbal, San Andrés Xecul, San Francisco El Alto, San Carlos Écija, San Antonio Sija, San Bartolo Agua Caliente, Calel, Momostenango, Santa María Chiquimula, San Antonio Ilotenango, Nagualá, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán and Santo costa. Given in Guatemala, on August 12, eight hundred and seventy-two, -Miguel García Granados Secretary of the Interior, Governance and Ecclesiastical Businesses: Marco Aurelio Soto. Taken of: Compilation: The laws issued by the democratic government of the Republic of Guatemala, 1871-1881.

Suchitepéquez continued to be linked to Sololá, but the extension of the department was considerably smaller.

Political demarcation of Guatemala in 1902

In 1902, the government of Mr. Manuel Estrada Cabrera published the Political Demarcation of the Republic, and in it Suchitepéquez is described like this: «its capital is the town of Mazatenango, 167 km from the capital of the Republic and 334 meters above sea level; It is part of the Western Section. Its lands are very fertile and there is a great variety of climates in the various places it includes. Due to this, its lands are suitable for many exportable fruit crops. Until now, the main agricultural works have been directed to the production of coffee, sugar cane and cocoa, items that constitute the main wealth of the department. »

«Since 1899 the town of Mazatenango was connected with the railway line that, starting from said place, passes through Retalhuleu and ends in Champerico, and which in a short time will be connected to the capital of the Republic. There are also good bridle paths and roads.

Languages

The indigenous peoples in this department mostly speak the K'iche' language. Xinca and in the municipality of Chicacao the Tz'utujil, in Patulul the Kaqchikel, in addition to Spanish, which is the dominant language in the department.

Economy

The economy of this department is based mainly on its agricultural production, among its main crops we have: tobacco, coffee, rubber, cocoa, basic grains, sugar cane, superior quality cotton, corn, beans, garlic and must also Add to this the abundance with which yuccas, sweet potatoes and all kinds of nutritional and medicinal roots are produced, as well as legumes that reproduce with little work and an extraordinary advantage is the fertility and humidity that their lands have.

The main wealth is agriculture, its multiple productions, its very active and large-scale trade, which together with the industriousness of its inhabitants make it one of the richest departments in the country.

Due to the existence of good lands and the abundance of varieties of pastures, there is also a great variety of breeds of cattle, and therefore also companies that process good quality dairy products.

Among its industries, the sugar mills, coffee mills, ice and liquor factories, cement articles, essential oil factories stand out, as well as pottery and artisanal production in some of its municipalities.

In the department of Suchitepéquez (100% of its population) there is 63.8% in poverty or 19.8% in extreme poverty according to UNDP 2014 data. [1]