San Ignacio Cayo
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San Ignacio and Santa Elena are towns in western
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...
. San Ignacio serves as the cultural-economic hub of
Cayo District Cayo District is a district located in the west part of Belize. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of San Ignacio. Geography Being ...
. It got its start from
mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...
and
chicle Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus ''Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and '' ...
production during British colonisation. Over time it attracted people from the surrounding areas, which led to the diverse population of the town today. San Ignacio is the largest settlement in Cayo District and the second largest in the country, after
Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...
.


History

The town was originally named El Cayo by the Spanish. On 19 October 1904, El Cayo was officially declared a town by the government of
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
. In the past a creek ran between the Macal and the Mopan rivers one mile outside of San Ignacio going toward Benque Viejo. This creek then fulfilled the definition of an area of land completely surrounded by water and thus the name Cayo, "island". There was a large wooden bridge across this creek in the late 1940s, but since the creek eventually dried up, the area was filled with limestone gravel and today there remains no evidence of its existence. The demise of the creek, however, took away the distinction for the classification of a 'cayo' from the venerable western town of 'El Cayo' and returned it to a regular land mass.


Geography

San Ignacio is situated on the banks of the Macal River, about 63
mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...
s (101 km) west of
Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...
and 22 miles (35 km) west of the country's capital:
Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...
. The town has an area of approximately . File:Street scene in san ignacio.jpg, Street scene in San Ignacio File:San Ignacio Town Street, Belize.jpg, View of San Ignacio, looking towards the Hawkesworth Bridge File:Burns Ave in San Ignacio.jpg, Burns Avenue File:Small park in downtown san ignacio in fron of the police station.jpg, Small park of downtown San Ignacio in front of the police station File:Belize independence day celebration sept.21 2012.jpg, Belize independence day celebration


Demographics

The population is largely
Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...
, followed by Kriol, and some Lebanese and Mopan Maya. San Ignacio also boasts a fairly large Chinese population, most of whom emigrated from
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
in waves in the mid-20th century. The
Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...
community of
Spanish Lookout Spanish Lookout is a settlement in the Cayo District of Belize in Central America. According to the 2010 census, Spanish Lookout had a population of 2,253 people in 482 households. Spanish Lookout is a community of Mennonites. The Mennonite comm ...
is situated a few miles outside San Ignacio. The 2010 census counted 17,878 inhabitants in San Ignacio and Santa Elena, of whom 8,751 are males and 9,127 are females. The total number of households is 4,351 and the average household size is 4.1.


Santa Elena

In recent years San Ignacio has absorbed the formerly separate town of Santa Elena. San Ignacio and its sister-town Santa Elena make up Belize's third largest urban area. The two towns are connected by Belize's only
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical ...
, the one-lane Hawkesworth Bridge across the Macal river, built in 1949 and another one lane, low lying wooden bridge at the market and a two lane bridge, the Santa Elena Bridge constructed in 2018. The two are collectively referred to as the "Twin Towns" although San Ignacio has a larger population. , Santa Elena has a population of 7,389 compared with San Ignacio's population of 10,489.


Government

San Ignacio is currently governed by a town council affiliated with the United Democratic Party (UDP). The
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
is Earl Trapp, also of the UDP. Town council elections are held every three years to elect the mayor and council. Both UDP and
People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...
(PUP) candidates participate in town elections. The next municipal elections are scheduled for the year 2020. At the national level, the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area is represented by three
constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
in the Belize House of Representatives,
Cayo Central Cayo Central is an electoral constituency in the Cayo District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2020 by Alex Balona of the People's United Party (PUP). Profile The Cayo Central constituency wa ...
,
Cayo North Cayo North is an electoral constituency in the Cayo District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize by Michel Chebat of the People’s United Party (PUP). Profile The Cayo North constituency was created f ...
and
Cayo North East Cayo North East is an electoral constituency in the Cayo District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2015 by Orlando Habet of the People's United Party. Profile Cayo North East includes the n ...
.


Educational institutions

San Ignacio has three main colleges. Sacred Heart College of Catholic denomination is the largest institution, with both a high school and a junior college division, and is one of the largest high schools in Belize. Eden Seventh Day Adventist High School and Saint Ignatius High School (Catholic) are also found here. Galen University was founded in 2003 and is located at Central Farm, a couple of minutes east of San Ignacio. The University of Belize also has an agricultural campus next to Galen.


Health care

The city is served by the San Ignacio Hospital, which is a regional clinic, and the Loma Luz Adventist hospital in Santa Elena. It also has various clinics, doctors and pharmacies scattered around town, and "the only official medical electives program run by Belizians."


Attractions

The area around San Ignacio is one of the most popular parts of the country for tourism. Nearby attractions include the ancient Maya ruins of
Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau ...
,
Xunantunich Xunantunich () is an Ancient Maya archaeological site in western Belize, about 70 miles (110 km) west of Belize City, in the Cayo District. Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above the Mopan River, well within sight of the Guatemala bord ...
, Cahal Pech, and
El Pilar El Pilar is an ancient Maya city center located on the Belize-Guatemala border. The site is located north of San Ignacio, Belize and can be accessed through the San Ignacio and Bullet Tree Falls on the Belize River. The name "El Pilar" is Spa ...
. Notable caves to explore include the
Actun Tunichil Muknal Actun Tunichil Muknal (the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre), also known locally as ATM, is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. There are seve ...
cave, which includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware, and
Barton Creek Cave Barton Creek Cave is a natural cave in Belize, known as both an archaeological site and as a tourist destination. It is located in the upper Barton Creek area near San Ignacio in the Cayo District. Description Barton Creek Cave is a primaril ...
, which is popular among adventure tourists interested in cave canoeing. Also popular among adventure travelers are nature reserves such as the Chaa Creek Nature Reserve, and the
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in the Cayo District of southern central Belize. It was established in 1944 to protect and manage the native Belizean pine forests. Its boundaries are poorly defined, but it is estimated to c ...
. A day trip to Mountain Pine Ridge allows visitors to go on several hikes and visit waterfalls, caves, and Maya ruins.


See also

*
Chaa Creek Chaa Creek is a tributary of the Macal River in the Cayo District in western Belize. One of the official gauging stations of the Macal is located near the confluence with Chaa Creek. There are Maya ruins that remain largely unexcavated in the C ...
*
Mopan River The Mopan River is a river in Central America spanning the Petén Department of Guatemala and the Cayo District of Belize. It merges with the Macal River at Branch Mouth, Belize, forming the Belize River, which ultimately discharges to the Caribbe ...


References


External links


Maps of San Ignacio, Belize

San Ignacio Travel information
- Belize Travel Magazine * http://sanignaciotown.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:San Ignacio (Town)