Ciudad Tecún Umán
| Ciudad Tecún Umán | ||
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Coordinates: 14 ° 41 ′ N , 92 ° 9 ′ W Ciudad Tecún Umán on the map of Guatemala
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Guatemala | |
| Department | San Marcos | |
| Residents | 27,365 (2002) | |
| Detailed data | ||
| height | 20 m | |
| Time zone | UTC −6 | |
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Ciudad Tecún Umán (also called Ayutla Tecún Umán ) is a city in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos , named after the Quiché general Tecún Umán . The Ciudad Tecún Umán is the capital of the Municipios Ayutla and has about 25,000 inhabitants.
location
The city is located - about 25 km (as the crow flies) from the Pacific - in the southern area of the border with Mexico on the Río Suchiate , over which the Puente Rodolfo Robles Bridge leads to the Mexican city of Ciudad Hidalgo opposite .
history
The place was already settled in pre-Hispanic times and had the Quiché name Ayutekat , which later became the Nahuatl name Ayutla . In 1960 the city was renamed after a - fabulous (?) - leader (see Tecun Uman ) of the Quiché Indians, who in the course of the colonization of Guatemala by a Spanish- Tlaxcaltec army department under the leadership of Pedro de Alvarados near today's city Quetzaltenango found death in 1524.
During the Guatemalan civil war (1960–1996), many of the city's residents emigrated to Mexico, where they also hoped for an economic betterment. Since the 1980s, the city has become a major transit point for emigrants from Honduras , Nicaragua and El Salvador on their - mostly illegal - route to the USA .
economy
The city lives mainly from its role as a border town, where the flow of goods is controlled and customs cleared. In addition, many small business owners benefit from the proximity to the Mexican city of Hidalgo, where many goods can be obtained faster and cheaper than in Guatemala.
Attractions
- The main church of the village on the main square ( Plaza Mayor ) commemorates with its patronage ( Señor de las Tres Caidas ) the threefold fall of Christ under the cross (cf. Stations of the Cross ). The bell gable is reminiscent of colonial buildings; however, the three-aisled interior was completely modernized in the 1970s.
- The large open space of the Plaza Mayor with its central fountain is especially popular with the local population in the evenings.
