WELCOME TO GUATEMALA!
Introduction
Spanish is the official language in Guatemala.
They speech Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40%.
Some major cities are Huehuetenango, Antigua, and Quetzaltenango.
This country is in Central America.
Spanish is the official language in Guatemala.
They speech Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40%.
Some major cities are Huehuetenango, Antigua, and Quetzaltenango.
This country is in Central America.
traditional dress |
Often, when people of one culture assimilate to another culture, the traditional style of dressing can quickly become obsolete. This is certainly not the case with the descendants of the Mayans in Guatemala. These proud people boldly wear their traditions on their sleeves. Literally.
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Many traditional foods in Guatemalan cuisine are based on Maya cuisine and prominently feature corn, chilies and beans as key ingredients. There are also foods that are commonly eaten on certain days of the week. For example, it is a popular custom to eat paches (a kind of tamale made from potatoes) on Thursday. Certain dishes are also associated with special occasions, such as fiambre for All Saints Day on November 1 and tamales, which are common around Christmas.
Music of guatemala |
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Present-day Guatemala boasts a number of performing organizations, such as orchestras, choirs, chamber ensembles, opera troupes, soloists and dozens of rock bands. One of the better-known pop-rock bands during the 1980s and 90s was the group Alex Annual. While this group has been separated since 1998, their recordings are still favored by a certain age group of Guatemalan city-dwellers. In recent decades, Guatemala has produced a variety of popular performers, such as pop vocalists, Guatemalan rock bands, bachata, Punta, tropical salsa and merengue bands, hip hop and reggae ton crews, disk-jockeys, trios, and mariachi bands. The best known pop singer/songwriter from Guatemala is Ricardo Arjun.
During the year 2006, the last Rock station on FM disappeared from the airwaves and there was no longer support from the media.
During the year 2006, the last Rock station on FM disappeared from the airwaves and there was no longer support from the media.
traditional instruments
If you know that Guatemala is located in Central America, just south of the Mexican border, you might think that their music is typical Mariachi music, Native American music or even Western-styles. However, Guatemalan classical and folk music is probably not like anything you’ve heard before. Although there has been considerable Western influence from Spain, and modern popular music is much like popular styles in the U. S., Guatemalan music makes use of several native instruments:
•Idiophones, which are instruments that produce sound by vibrating themselves. These include the Chinchines (similar to maracas), Sonajas (similar to rattles), and the most popular Guatemalan instrument: the Marimba.
•Membraphones, which are instruments that produce sound by a vibrating membrane, such as the Tortuga or Ayotl (turtle shells), Primero (Garifuna tenor drum), Segundo (Garifuna bass drum), the Huehuetl (drum built with tiger skin and a hollow trunk), the Tunkul (drum built with resonant wood or clay), and the Tun (wood block with holes and slots).
•Chordophones, which are instruments that produce sound by vibrating strings. Although Native Guatemalan instruments similar to violins are no longer used, some Western chordophones such as banjos, violas and guitars are used.
•Aerophones, which are instruments that produce sound by vibrating columns of air. These include the Tzu (6-hole transverse flute), the Tzicolaj (3-hole piccolo-like instrument), the Ocarina, and the popular Chirimia (6-hole tenor oboe-like instrument)
The marimba's first documentary evidence of existence comes from an account of a performance in front of the cathedral of Santiago de Guatemala, present-day Antigua Guatemala, in 1680. Later, historian Juan Domingo Juarros mentioned and described it in his Compendium of the History of Guatemala. The instrument may be probably much older, as an attempt at recreating an older West African instrument, and could have been introduced by Afro-Caribbean slaves as early as 1550
•Idiophones, which are instruments that produce sound by vibrating themselves. These include the Chinchines (similar to maracas), Sonajas (similar to rattles), and the most popular Guatemalan instrument: the Marimba.
•Membraphones, which are instruments that produce sound by a vibrating membrane, such as the Tortuga or Ayotl (turtle shells), Primero (Garifuna tenor drum), Segundo (Garifuna bass drum), the Huehuetl (drum built with tiger skin and a hollow trunk), the Tunkul (drum built with resonant wood or clay), and the Tun (wood block with holes and slots).
•Chordophones, which are instruments that produce sound by vibrating strings. Although Native Guatemalan instruments similar to violins are no longer used, some Western chordophones such as banjos, violas and guitars are used.
•Aerophones, which are instruments that produce sound by vibrating columns of air. These include the Tzu (6-hole transverse flute), the Tzicolaj (3-hole piccolo-like instrument), the Ocarina, and the popular Chirimia (6-hole tenor oboe-like instrument)
The marimba's first documentary evidence of existence comes from an account of a performance in front of the cathedral of Santiago de Guatemala, present-day Antigua Guatemala, in 1680. Later, historian Juan Domingo Juarros mentioned and described it in his Compendium of the History of Guatemala. The instrument may be probably much older, as an attempt at recreating an older West African instrument, and could have been introduced by Afro-Caribbean slaves as early as 1550
Guatemala also has an almost five-century-old tradition of art music, spanning from the first liturgical chant and polyphony introduced in 1524 to contemporary art music. Much of the music composed in Guatemala from the 16th century to the 19th century has only recently been unearthed by scholars and is being revived by performers.
history
Once the site of the impressive ancient Mayan civilization, Guatemala was conquered by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado in 1524 and became a republic in 1839 after the United Provinces of Central America collapsed. From 1898 to 1920, dictator Manuel Estrada Cabrera ran the country, and from 1931 to 1944, Gen. Jorge Ubico Castaneda served as strongman.
geography & climate
The northernmost of the Central American nations, Guatemala is the size of Tennessee. Its neighbors are Mexico on the north and west, and Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador on the east. The country consists of three main regions—the cool highlands with the heaviest population, the tropical area along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and the tropical jungle in the northern lowlands (known as the Petén).Guatemala is the third largest country in Central America and shares borders to the north and west with Mexico, to the southeast with El Salvador and Honduras, to the northeast with Belize and the Caribbean Sea, and to the south with the Pacific Ocean. The landscape is predominantly mountainous and heavily forested, with narrow coastal plains and tropical, humid lowlands blanketed in rainforests, coffee and banana plantations.
November through to April is the dry season and in the mountainous central region (Guatemala City, Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango, Cobán and the highlands) it is an ideal climate for outdoor pursuits with average temperatures of 18°C (64°F).
November through to April is the dry season and in the mountainous central region (Guatemala City, Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango, Cobán and the highlands) it is an ideal climate for outdoor pursuits with average temperatures of 18°C (64°F).
economics
The culture of Guatemala reflects strong Mayan and Spanish influences and continues to be defined as a contrast between poor Mayan villagers in the rural highlands, and the urbanized and relatively wealthy mestizos population (known in Guatemala as ladinos) who occupy the cities and surrounding agricultural plains.
fun facts
- Despite its small size, it is home to 33 volcanoes
- Spanish is the official language, but there are 21 Mayan dialects
- The terrible Guatemala civil war lasted from 1960 to 1996
- Most crops are cultivated in the Pacific lowlands
- Their religion is Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs
- The official name of the country is Republic of Guatemala
- The name Guatemala means ‘Land of the Trees’ in the Maya-Toltec language
- The country has a distinct fauna of its own and has about 1246 known species inhabiting it
- The main rivers draining the land are Motagua, Dulce, Sarstun, Polochic abd Usumcinta
- There are 252 listed wetlands in Guatemala.
- The country is recorded to have 100 rivers, 61 lagoons, 5 lakes and 3 swamps