Yepocapa, also known as San Pedro Yepocapa, is a town with a population of 17,021 (2018 census),
Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & towns in Guatemala and a municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the Chimaltenango department
Chimaltenango is a department of Guatemala. The capital is Chimaltenango.
Geography
Located to the east are Guatemala Department, home to Guatemala City, and Sacatepéquez Department, while also bordered by Quiché Department and Baja Verapaz ...
of Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. It is located at the base of Volcán de Fuego
Volcán de Fuego (; Spanish for "Volcano of Fire", often shortened to Fuego) or Chi Q'aq' ( Kaqchikel for "where the fire is") is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. ...
, which has destroyed the town several times, most recently on 14 October 1974.[
]
History
San Pedro Yepocapa has its origins in the times before the Spanish conquest of Guatemala
In a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonisers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. Before the conquest, this te ...
; originally the town was right next to Volcán de Fuego
Volcán de Fuego (; Spanish for "Volcano of Fire", often shortened to Fuego) or Chi Q'aq' ( Kaqchikel for "where the fire is") is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. ...
, but it had to be moved to a different location because of the numerous eruptions of it. Spanish soldier Antonio de Guzmán is credited with being the one that found the town when the conquistadors arrived in the 1520s.
Spanish colony: Franciscan doctrine
After the Spanish conquest of Guatemala
In a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonisers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. Before the conquest, this te ...
the town was in charge of the franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
, who had convents and doctrines in the area covered by the modern departments of Sacatepéquez
Sacatepéquez () was a city in Guatemala from November 21, 1542 until July 29, 1773 when it was destroyed by the Santa Marta earthquake. Sacatepéquez means ''grasshill'' and gave its name to the Sacatepéquez Department.
Sacatepéquez and Antigu ...
, , Sololá __NOTOC__
Sololá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Sololá and the administrative seat of Sololá municipality. It is located close to Lake Atitlan.
The name is a Hispanicized form of its pre-Columbian name, one spel ...
, Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is both the seat of the namesake Department and municipality, in Guatemala.
The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may ...
, Totonicapán
Totonicapán is a city in Guatemala. It serves as the capital of the department of Totonicapán and as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of Totonicapán.
History
In 1838 Totonicapam was declared an independent republic ...
, Suchitepéquez and Escuintla
Escuintla () is an industrial city in Guatemala, its land extension is 4384 km², and it is nationally known for its sugar agribusiness. Its capital is a minicipality with the same name. Citizens celebrate from December 6 to 9 with a small fair i ...
. The "Provincia del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús" (English:"Province of the most Holy Name of Jesus"), as the Franciscan area was then called, reached up to 24 convents by 1700.
The Franciscans tried to have daily religious teaching for 6-year-old girls and older starting at 2:00 pm and for boys of the same age starting at sunset; the class lasted for 2 hours and consisted on memorizing the church teaching and prayers and to make some exercises with the catechism
A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
and it was run by a priest or by elder natives, called "fiscales". Adults attended Mass every Sunday and holiday and after mass, there were religious teachings in their own language.[
]Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
was a time of the year when the friars prepared the natives thoroughly, using their own language to accomplish their goals; every Friday of Lent there was a procession following the Rosary steps all the way to the Calvary temple.
A document from Franciscan friar Francisco de Zuaza written on 8 July 1686, found in the Archdiocese of Guatemala archives and made public in 1944, describes Franciscan convents and doctrines in Guatemala and regarding the Acatenango convent says: "There is another visit town, named San Pedro Yepocapa, which is 16 km from the convent, on the way to the sea shore, on badly maintained road. The temperature of this town is warm because it is close to the coast".
In 1754, as part of the borbon reforms, the Franciscans where forced to giae their doctrines to the secular clergy
In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...
.
After independence from Spain
When the State of Guatemala was created on 11 October 1825, after independence from Spain, San Pedro Yepocapa was established as town, and then was raised to a municipality of the Chimaltenango District by a decree from 12 September 1839.[ By 1880 already had a population a little over a thousand focused mainly on agricultural activities.
]
1974 Volcán de Fuego eruption
On 15 October 1974, tremors woke up people in the settlements surrounding the Volcán de Fuego
Volcán de Fuego (; Spanish for "Volcano of Fire", often shortened to Fuego) or Chi Q'aq' ( Kaqchikel for "where the fire is") is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. ...
at 2:00 AM, followed by rumbling and cinders and ashes falling from the sky, which submerged the town into darkness for a few days. President gave order to evacuate people, most of whom were sorry about losing all of their belongings after the eruption; in the meantime, ash was travelling as far away s the Mexican states of Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
and Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, to the point that Mexican authorities were on alert due to the amounts of it that they were getting.
San Pedro Yepocapa was one of the most impacted towns, ending under more than 1m of ash after the four days that the eruption lasted; approximately 1100 people from Morelia hacienda and annexes had to be evacuated to temporary shelters in neighboring , Escuintla
Escuintla () is an industrial city in Guatemala, its land extension is 4384 km², and it is nationally known for its sugar agribusiness. Its capital is a minicipality with the same name. Citizens celebrate from December 6 to 9 with a small fair i ...
or , Suchitepéquez.
Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca —DCG— directors -then the main opposition party in the country after losing the presidency to Laugerud Garcia in fraudulent elections earlier that year , asked to all the mayors to help their colleagues from San Pedro Yepocapa and Acatenango
Acatenango is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, close to the city of Antigua. The volcano has two peaks, ''Pico Mayor'' (Highest Peak) and ''Yepocapa'' (3,880 m) which is also known as Tres Hermanas (Three Sisters). Acatenango is joined with Volcá ...
, which were practically destroyed by the catastrophe; those two mayor belonged to DCG . Help began to arrive on 24 October 1974, when the eruption ceased and equipment from the Road General Direction of Guatemala arrived to the towns to clean them up, and operation that lasted three months.[
]
Climate
San Pedro Yepocapa has a tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Am'').
Geographic location
See also
*
*
* La Aurora International Airport
La Aurora International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora, ) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua Guatemala. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáut ...
* List of places in Guatemala
This is a list of places in Guatemala.
List of most populous cities in Guatemala
Population data up to number 30 is based on the 2018 census.
Ancient cities and important ruins
* Cancuén
* Dos Pilas
* El Baul
* Iximche
* Kami ...
Notes and references
References
Bibliography
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External links
San Pedro Yepocapa History
(in Spanish)
{{coord, 14, 30, N, 90, 57, W, display=title, region:GT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Municipalities of the Chimaltenango Department