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Chingford Hall Children's Centre

4 Burnside Avenue, London, E4 8YJ

Telephone: 020 8527 7310 Email: help@chingfordhallchildrencentre.org.uk

All about Guatemala:

The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D.

After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821.

During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war.
In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict.

Guatemala is in Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize.

It has numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; the Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms.

As of July 2008 there were an estimated 13,002,206 residents of the country.

The population is made up of a variety of different groups - Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino)
and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1%.

Spanish is the main language, although many others are spoken.

Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

The country is made up of 22 government departments (departamentos, singular - departamento);

 Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa.

The Guatamalan flag is described as...

three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band;

The country's coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription
LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of
crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath.

Our community has people from all over the world.

This page is part is an occasional series of information about

countries that people in our Centre come from.

Have you met someone from Guatemala?

The flag of Guatemala.

What is the flag of

 your country like?

Source: The World Fact Book 2008

The map of Guatemala.

What 'shape' is your country?

A picture of Pouteria sapota

- or The Marmalade Tree.

It grows in Guatemala.

Source: Wikipedia Commons 

Guatemala web links:

http://www.mineduc.gob.gt/default.asp

The Guatemalan Ministry of Education

- a great place to practice your Spanish!

http://www.atitlan.net/

See Lake Atitlan - a beautiful lake

in Guatemala.

http://www.tikalpark.com/

The National Park of Tikal, the most

important Mayan historical site

in South America.

Chingford Hall Children Centre is not responsible

for the content of external web sites.

Our World Page