Chichicastenango

Chichicastenango
Municipality
Iglesia de Santo Tomás
Nickname: 
Chichi
Chichicastenango is located in Guatemala
Chichicastenango
Chichicastenango
Location in Guatemala
Coordinates: 14°56′N 91°07′W / 14.933°N 91.117°W / 14.933; -91.117
Country Guatemala
Department El Quiché
MunicipalityChichicastenango
Government
 • TypeMunicipal
Area
 • Municipality270 km2 (100 sq mi)
Elevation
1,965 m (6,447 ft)
Population
 (Census 2018)[2]
 • Municipality141,567
 • Urban
71,394
 • Ethnicities
K'iche' people (98.5%)[1]
Ladino (1.5%)
 • Religions
Roman Catholicism Evangelicalism Maya
ClimateCwb
WebsiteChichicastenango online

Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town, with a population of 71,394 (2018 census),[3] and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name in the El Quiché department of Guatemala. It is located in a mountainous region about 140 km (87 mi) northwest of Guatemala City, at an altitude of 1,965 m (6,447 ft).[4] The Spanish conquistadors gave the town its name from the Nahuatl name used by their allied soldiers from Tlaxcala: Tzitzicaztenanco, or City of Nettles. Its original name was Chaviar.

Chichicastenango is a K'iche' Maya cultural centre. According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche. Of the population, 21% speak only K'iche, 71% speak both K'iche and Spanish, and the remaining 8% speak only Spanish.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Chichicastenango | Nutri-Salud Guatemala". Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  2. ^ Citypopulation.de Population of departments and municipalities in Guatemala
  3. ^ Citypopulation.de Population of cities & towns in Guatemala
  4. ^ "Chichicastenango, Quiché". Ojoconmipisto.com. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2017.