Salamá | |
|---|---|
 Minerva Temple of Salamá | |
 Flag | |
  Salamá Location in Guatemala | |
| Coordinates:15°06′N90°16′W / 15.100°N 90.267°W /15.100; -90.267 | |
| Country |  Guatemala |
| Department |  Baja Verapaz |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2016-2020) | Byron Tejeda (PP) |
| Area | |
| 295 sq mi (764 km2) | |
| Elevation | 3,080 ft (940 m) |
| Population (2018 census)[2] | |
| 65,275 | |
| • Density | 221/sq mi (85.4/km2) |
| • Urban | 65,275 |
| Climate | Aw |
Salamá is a city inGuatemala. It is the capital of thedepartment ofBaja Verapaz and it is situated at 940 m abovesea level. The municipality of Salamá, for which the city of Salamá serves as the administrative centre, covers a total surface area of 764 km2 with a population of 65,275 inhabitants at the 2018 census.
Salamá comes fromKʼicheʼTz'alam Ha meaning table on water.
Salamá was settled as a doctrine by theOrder of Preachers in the 1550s, as part of the Tezulutlán Capitulations that friarBartolomé de las Casas lobbied from the Crown. The friars had thousands of acres with hills, forest, a section of the plain and abundant water supply.[4] Both location and weather were ideal for vines; the characteristic soil and dried grass from the rest of the plain was replaced by vines thanks to a superb irrigation system the friars built inspired by the Romans.[4]
After independence in 1821, the Central Ameran liberalcriollos tried to remove the Catholic Church from power, along with the Guatemalan aristocrats of theAycinena family [es].[5] By 1829, the liberal forces of generalFrancisco Morazán expelled both the aristocrats and theregular orders from Central America, including theOrder of Preachers, one of the richest.[5] In Salamá, they had to leave behind their monastery, church and vines, which were confiscated by the Guatemalan State government,[4] but remained abandoned due to the political turmoil of the times.[6]
In early 1838, Morazán's liberal forces were back in Guatemala after a peasant revolt ousted Guatemalan governorMariano Gálvez. Morazán and his Guatemalan allyJosé Francisco Barrundia invaded Guatemalan soil and when they arrived in San Sur, they summarily executed Chúa Álvarez, generalRafael Carrera's father-in-law, because Carrera was the leader of the revolt. Morazán's soldiers placed Álvarez' head on top of a spike as a warning to Carrera's followers.[7] Upon learning the news, both Carrera and his wife, Petrona Álvarez – who had left Guatemala City to face Morazán and were inMataquescuintla – promised to avenge Chúan even after Morazán's death.[8] The liberals sent several envoys to try to meet with Carrera, but he did not want to talk to them –especially not to Barrundia, who was told that he should not try to come in to talk to Carrera if he wanted to remain alive. After this, Morazán began a strong offensive, destroying every single town in his path, stealing the few belongings and forcing Carrera militants to hide in the mountains.[9]
Thinking that Carrera was completely defeated, Morazán and Barrundia went on toGuatemala City, where governor Valenzuela and the conservativecriollos of the Aycinena family celebrated finally having a leader like Morazán, who had defeated Carrera and his peasant revolt once and for all. The Guatemalans offered to sponsor any campaign that Morazán wanted at that point.[10] Morazán helped Los Altos and appointedMariano Rivera Paz, who was close to the Aycinena family; however he did not return to the former aristocrats any of their confiscated possessions. In return,Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol, leader of the family, voted in favor of dissolving the Central American Federation, thus forcing Morazán to return to El Salvador to try to save what was left of his presidential powers. On his way to El Salvador, he increased repression, on anybody suspect of helping Carrera in the past.[11]
Knowing that Morazán was on his way to El Salvador, Carrera tried to take Salamá with the little forces that he still had left, but was defeated and even lost his brother Laureano in the battle. With only a handful of men he was able to escape, badly wounded, to Sanarate.[12] After a halfway recovery, Carrera had a few more battles where he won, but suffered considerable casualties.[13]
Finally, the liberal forces captured Carrera, but could not shoot him, because the Central American Federation was in turmoil and they needed the caudillo to keep the peasants in check. Morazán was forced to appoint him as commander in Mita.[14][15] Morazán would come to regret that decision, as Carrera would eventually defeat him in 1840, finishing the Honduran general run as the main political figure of Central America.[16]
As of 1850, the population was estimated to be 4,500.[17]
In 1892, president generalManuel Barillas called an election. It was the first time a Guatemalan president had become tired of the office and it was also the first election in Guatemala that allowed the candidates to run propaganda in the local newspapers.[18] Among the candidates who ran for office were:
Barillas was unique among all liberal presidents of Guatemala between 1871 and 1944: he handed over power to his successor peacefully. When election time approached, he sent for the three Liberal candidates to ask them what their government plan would be. Satisfied with the response ofReyna Barrios, Barillas made sure a huge column of Quetzaltenango and Totonicapán Indigenous people came down from the mountains to vote for the general. The official agents did their job: Reyna was elected president[19] and, so as not to offend the losing candidates, Barillas gave them checks to cover the costs of their presidential campaigns. Reyna Barrios of course received nothing, but he went on to become President on March 15, 1892.[20]
Only Enríquez was not compensated; on the contrary, after the elections he had to run away from his farmland in Salamá after being accused of sedition; he was captured and executed near Zacapa.[18]
In 1904, the father of futureLiteratureNobel Prize awardeeMiguel Ángel Asturias, who was a judge, freed several students that had been detained after rioting. In consequence presidentManuel Estrada Cabrera, and removed him from his post. In 1905, the family was forced to move to Salamá, where Miguel Ángel Asturias lived on his grandparents' farm and[21] came in contact with Guatemalan natives for the first time. His nanny, Lola Reyes, was a native girl who told him stories, myths and legends from her culture which eventually would impact heavily in his work.[22] In 1908, when Asturias was nine years old, his family returned toGuatemala City.
During the revolutionary government of colonelJacobo Árbenz, the opposition – mainly formed by Guatemalan landlords andUnited Fruit Company executives – was completely against any reform that the government ofJuan José Arévalo had established: social security, creation of commercial and public labor unions, democracy and freedom of press, among others.[23] At the election of Árbenz in 1950, the Guatemalan elite was desperate, but most of its members hoped that the new president would back out of the policies of his predecessor, whom they accused of communism. Árbenz' image convinced them of that: the Guatemalan colonel was married to María Cristina Vilanova, a lady from the Salvadorian elite. He was an Army officer, lived in a mansion in zone 10 in Guatemala City and had the proper aristocratic presence.[24] But their hopes were shattered when Árbenz supported the formation of theGuatemalan Communist Party and then pushed for aggressive agrarian reform.[25] Confronted with the situation, the opposition had only one clear goal: to defend the privileges that they had enjoyed in Guatemala for generations and so they embracedanticommunism to justify their fight against the government.[26] On the other hand, the middle class enjoyed benefits that allowed them to prosper and they were loyal to Árbenz. The peasants were for the first time since theRafael Carrera government treated with respect and dignity.[27]
This was the political and economic situation of the country when on 29 March 1953 the anticommunist opposition assaulted Salamá at dawn: approximately 100 rebels invaded Salamá and neighboringSan Jerónimo. The invasion was not properly organized and by 6:00 a.m. was completedly defeated by army forces that arrived fromCobán.[23] This event however began government prosecution of anticommunist elements, which gradually escalated until it became pure repression in May 1954, whenCIAOperation PBSuccess and theCarlos Castillo Armas invasion were well in progress and the Arbenz regime was practically doomed.[28]
The annual festival takes place from September 17 to September 22.
Salamá has atropical savanna climate (Köppen:Aw).
| Climate data for Salamá | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.6 (79.9) | 28.0 (82.4) | 29.5 (85.1) | 30.6 (87.1) | 29.9 (85.8) | 28.4 (83.1) | 27.9 (82.2) | 28.4 (83.1) | 28.2 (82.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.8 (80.2) | 28.3 (82.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 20.1 (68.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 22.5 (72.5) | 24.0 (75.2) | 23.9 (75.0) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.0 (73.4) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.5 (72.5) | 21.2 (70.2) | 20.4 (68.7) | 22.4 (72.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) | 14.2 (57.6) | 15.6 (60.1) | 17.4 (63.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 18.8 (65.8) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.8 (64.0) | 17.3 (63.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 14.1 (57.4) | 16.5 (61.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 15 (0.6) | 11 (0.4) | 16 (0.6) | 28 (1.1) | 82 (3.2) | 204 (8.0) | 148 (5.8) | 99 (3.9) | 169 (6.7) | 102 (4.0) | 39 (1.5) | 16 (0.6) | 929 (36.4) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[29] Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología de Guatemala[30] | |||||||||||||
Salamá has 146 settlements, being the main ones:
San Rafael Chilasco is the largest settlement and is a tourist attraction given that it has one of the tallest waterfalls in Central America.
Salamá is surrounded byBaja Verapaz municipalities, except by South, where it bordersChuarrancho, aGuatemala Department municipality.[32]
Places adjacent to Salamá | |
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Media related toSalamá, Guatemala at Wikimedia Commons15°06′N90°16′W / 15.100°N 90.267°W /15.100; -90.267
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