San Juan Cotzal

San Juan Cotzal Cotzal
Municipality
San Juan Cotzal Location in Guatemala
San Juan Cotzal Location in El Quiché
Coordinates: 15°26′7″N 91°2′8″W / 15.43528°N 91.03556°WCoordinates: 15°26′7″N 91°2′8″W / 15.43528°N 91.03556°W
Country	Guatemala
Department	El Quiché
Municipality	San Juan Cotzal
Government
• Type	Municipal
• Mayor	Baltazar Cruz Torres (PP)
Elevation	5,600 ft (1,700 m)
Population (Census 2002)
• Municipality	20,050
• Urban	9,037
• Ethnicities	Ixil, K'iche', Ladino
• Religions	Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Maya
Climate	Cfb
Website	http://www.inforpressca.com/cotzal/

San Juan Cotzal (Spanish pronunciation: [saŋ ˈxwan kotˈsal]) is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of El Quiché. San Juan Cotzal is part of the Ixil Community, along with Santa Maria Nebaj and San Gaspar Chajul.

History

Pre Hispanic era

Worried about the defection of the aj K’ub’ul family chief -who had taken his family away in order to look for fertile and, above all, pacific land-, the K’iche’ king sent a group of soldiers to control every single movement of them. He was afraid that the aj K'ub'ul would look for reinforcements from other ethnic group in the area to form a strong army and then attack the k'iche's. The warriors settled to the east of the aj K’ub’ul and since the latter had moved away to look for peace and tranquility, they were a very peaceful community. And that is exactcly wha the warriors inform the K’iche’ king, reassuring him by telling that he should not worry about the exiled group, as they were really peaceful.^[1]

As time went by, the k'iche' warriors realized that the aj K'ub'ul life was very different from the one they were used to have under the ruling of their king, as they simple worked on their land and crops and then enjoyed their families without having to worry about being invaded or called to fight in a war. Therefore, they went back to their place of origin, Tujalj (Sacapulas and Canillá)), but only to pick up their families and went on to settle a new community where they were once stationed to keep an eye on the aj K'ub'ul.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Campaigns in the Cuchumatanes

The difficult terrain and remoteness of the Cuchumatanes made their conquest difficult.

In the ten years after the fall of Zaculeu various Spanish expeditions crossed into the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes and engaged in the gradual and complex conquest of the Chuj and Q'anjob'al.^[2] The Spanish were attracted to the region in the hope of extracting gold, silver and other riches from the mountains but their remoteness, the difficult terrain and relatively low population made their conquest and exploitation extremely difficult.^[3] The population of the Cuchumatanes is estimated to have been 260,000 before European contact. By the time the Spanish physically arrived in the region this had collapsed to 150,000 because of the effects of the Old World diseases that had run ahead of them.^[4]

Uspantán and the Ixil

After the western portion of the Cuchumatanes fell to the Spanish, the Ixil and Uspantek Maya were sufficiently isolated to evade immediate Spanish attention. The Uspantek and the Ixil were allies and in 1529, four years after the conquest of Huehuetenango, Uspantek warriors were harassing Spanish forces and Uspantán was trying to foment rebellion among the K'iche'. Uspantek activity became sufficiently troublesome that the Spanish decided that military action was necessary. Gaspar Arias, magistrate of Guatemala, penetrated the eastern Cuchumatanes with sixty Spanish infantry and three hundred allied indigenous warriors.^[5] By early September he had imposed temporary Spanish authority over the Ixil towns of Chajul and Nebaj.^[6] The Spanish army then marched east toward Uspantán itself; Arias then received notice that the acting governor of Guatemala, Francisco de Orduña, had deposed him as magistrate. Arias handed command over to the inexperienced Pedro de Olmos and returned to confront de Orduña. Although his officers advised against it, Olmos launched a disastrous full-scale frontal assault on the city. As soon as the Spanish began their assault they were ambushed from the rear by more than two thousand Uspantek warriors. The Spanish forces were routed with heavy losses; many of their indigenous allies were slain, and many more were captured alive by the Uspantek warriors only to be sacrificed on the altar of their deity Exbalamquen. The survivors who managed to evade capture fought their way back to the Spanish garrison at Q'umarkaj.^[7]

A year later Francisco de Castellanos set out from Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala (by now relocated to Ciudad Vieja) on another expedition against the Ixil and Uspantek, leading eight corporals, thirty-two cavalry, forty Spanish infantry and several hundred allied indigenous warriors. The expedition rested at Chichicastenango and recruited further forces before marching seven leagues northwards to Sacapulas and climbed the steep southern slopes of the Cuchumatanes. On the upper slopes they clashed with a force of between four and five thousand Ixil warriors from Nebaj and nearby settlements. A lengthy battle followed during which the Spanish cavalry managed to outflank the Ixil army and forced them to retreat to their mountaintop fortress at Nebaj. The Spanish force besieged the city, and their indigenous allies managed to scale the walls, penetrate the stronghold and set it on fire. Many defending Ixil warriors withdrew to fight the fire, which allowed the Spanish to storm the entrance and break the defences.^[7] The victorious Spanish rounded up the surviving defenders and the next day Castellanos ordered them all to be branded as slaves as punishment for their resistance.^[8] The inhabitants of Chajul immediately capitulated to the Spanish as soon as news of the battle reached them. The Spanish continued east towards Uspantán to find it defended by ten thousand warriors, including forces from Cotzal, Cunén, Sacapulas and Verapaz. The Spaniards were barely able to organise a defence before the defending army attacked. Although heavily outnumbered, the deployment of Spanish cavalry and the firearms of the Spanish infantry eventually decided the battle. The Spanish overran Uspantán and again branded all surviving warriors as slaves. The surrounding towns also surrendered, and December 1530 marked the end of the military stage of the conquest of the Cuchumatanes.^[9]

Population

According to official census done by the Guatemalan National Statistics Institute (INE), the municipality had a total population of 14137 in 1994; in 2002 this grew by 42% and in 2008 a study determined that there was an additional 29% increase. The following tables show the difference population classification in San Juan Cotzal:^[10]

By gender[10] Gender Total 1994 Census % 1994 Census Total 2002 Census % 2002 Census Total estimated in 2008 % estimated in 2008 Male 6631 47 9,611 48 12713 49 Female 7506 53 10,439 52 13232 51 TOTAL 14137 100 20050 100 25945 100	By age[11] Age range Total 1994 Census % 1994 Census Total 2002 Census % 2002 Census Total estimated in 2008 % estimated in 2008 From 0 to 6 3436 24 5168 26 7005 27 From 7 to 14 3201 23 4493 22 5967 23 From 15 to 64 7080 50 9686 48 12194 47 More than 65 420 3 703 4 779 3 TOTAL 14137 100 20050 100 25945 100
By ethnic group[12] Ethnic group Total 1994 Census % 1994 Census Total 2002 Census % 2002 Census Total estimated in 2008 % estimated in 2008 Native 13236 94 19520 97 25167 97 Non-native 901 6 530 3 778 3 TOTAL 14137 100 20050 100 25945 100	By location[13] Area Total 1994 Census % 1994 Census Total 2002 Census % 2002 Census Total estimated in 2008 % estimated in 2008 Urban 5,069 36 9037 45 13232 51 Rural 9,068 64 11013 55 12713 49 TOTAL 14137 100 20050 100 25945 100

Dwelling

86% of the population owns their home, while the rest live in borrowed (12%) or rented houses(2%).^[14] Most of the urban structures are made of zinc sheets roofing and brick walls.^[15] On the other hand, rural area homes are built out of wood and "teja", and lack any kind of flooring.^[15]

Occupation and salaries

Agriculture is by far the main productive activity of the area,^[15] and those who work their own land are the ones that fare better income-wise.^[15]

Occupation (2008)[15] Activity Urban area Rural area Total % Agriculture 93 371 464 61 Management 80 48 128 17 Artinsan work 42 45 87 11 Commerce 33 24 57 8 Livestock 2 11 13 2 Industry 5 5 10 1 TOTAL 255 504 759 100

Income sources(2008) Income source Urban area Rural area Total % Total Work own land 79 193 272 52 Labor force 69 115 184 36 Own business 26 21 47 9 Family remittances 8 1 9 2 Retirement 5 2 7 1 TOTAL 187 332 519 100

Income levels (2008)[16] In Quetzales Homes % 0 to 400 173 33 401 to 800 174 33 801 to 1200 85 16 1201 to 1600 38 7 1601 to 2000 26 4 2001 to 2400 9 2 2401 to 2800 9 2 2801 to 3200 10 2 3201 to 3600 0 0 3601 or more 3 1 TOTAL 527 100

82% of the population had an income of Q1,200.00/month, which was less than minimal wage at the time.^[16] Area development halted during the Guatemalan Civil War, although economic conditions were not all that prosperous even before it.^[16]

Education

San Juan Cotzal has numerous educational institutions: twenty two of them are public schools run by the Government.^[17]

Enrolled students by education level[18] Level 1994 2008 Public Private Cooperative Total Public Private Cooperative Total Preschool 377 - 108 485 478 - 136 614 Elementary 1756 - 37 1793 3118 63 51 3232 Middle level Junior High School - - 84 84 - - 558 5582 High School - - - - - - 77 77 TOTAL 2133 - 229 2362 3596 63 822 4481	Teachers by education level[18] Level 1994 2008 Public Private Cooperative Total Public Private Cooperative Total Preschool 12 - 3 15 22 - N.A 22 Elementary 30 - 2 32 96 - N/A 96 Middle level Junior High School 8 - 6 14 23 - 9 32 High School - - - - - - 10 10 TOTAL 50 - 11 61 141 - 19 160
Coverage by education level[19] Education level Student population in 1994 Student population in 2008 Enrolled students Coverage % Enrolled students Coverage % Preschool 2436 485 20 6237 614 10 Elementary 3201 1793 57 4490 3232 72 Middle level Junior High School 2080 84 4 3908 558 14 High School - - - 5664 77 1 TOTAL 7717 2362 20299 4481	Education level[17] Level 1994 2008 Public Private Cooperative Total % Public Private Cooperative Total % Preschool 36 - 22 58 67 18 - 8 26 9 Elementary 9 - 2 11 13 135 5 52 192 68 Middle level Junior High School 12 - 5 17 20 53 - 5 58 21 High School - - - - - - - 5 5 2 TOTAL 57 - 29 86 100 206 5 70 281 100

Economy

The production activity details are shown in the following tables:

Agriculture[20] Product Production en quintals Total value in Quetzales Corn 6691 802920 Beans 679 203700 Coffee 51780 10,356,000 TOTAL 59150 11,362,620	Private services[21] Business type Establishments Total value in Quetzales Bus 20 2,520,000 Nixtamal mill 70 1,260,000 Cable TV 3 540000 Barber shops 12 201600 Photo shops 4 156000 Photocopy centers 5 150000 Entertainment establishments 2 144000 Hotels 3 144000 Workshops 3 99000 Computation academy 2 84000 Dentistry 1 60000 Radio stations 1 42000 Music ensembles 1 36000 Shoemaker shops 5 30000 Typewriting 3 28800 Language schools 1 24000 Pulpero leasing 8 2880 TOTAL 144 5,522,280	Commercial activity[22] Business Establishments Total value in Quetzales Family grocery stores 260 3,540,000 Butcher shops 22 1,200,000 Gas stations 51 612000 Hardware stores 4 576000 Food establishments 7 315000 Smithy 3 288000 Carpentry 6 240000 Bakery 6 216000 Dollar stores 12 172800 Weave stores 2 168000 Drug stores 7 142800 Liquor stores 3 131400 Cell phone parts 6 129600 Bookstores 7 100800 Shoe stores 4 96000 Propane shop 2 43200 Clothing 1 42000 Ice cream shops 1 36000 Agriculture supplies 1 24000 Newspaper stands 1 2400 TOTAL 406 8,076,000
Animal husbandry[23] Product Cattle heads Total value in Quetzales Bovine 124 496000 Poultry 1,490 89400 Porcine 69 31050 Ovine 37 29600 Caprino 23 18400 TOTAL 1743 664450	Artisan activities[24] Activity Units Total value in Quetzales Fabrics 6840 674400 Maguey products 9000 125280 Carpentry 252 91980 Smithy 90 41318 Tailoring 225 13500 Bakery 25000 7500 Candle making 6000 6000 TOTAL 47407 959,978

Source: Grupo EPS, 2010^[25]

Climate

San Juan Cotzal has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

Climate data for San Juan Cotzal
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	21.4 (70.5)	22.4 (72.3)	24.2 (75.6)	24.7 (76.5)	24.3 (75.7)	23.3 (73.9)	22.7 (72.9)	23.1 (73.6)	23.0 (73.4)	22.0 (71.6)	22.1 (71.8)	21.8 (71.2)	22.92 (73.25)
Daily mean °C (°F)	15.5 (59.9)	16.0 (60.8)	17.5 (63.5)	18.2 (64.8)	18.3 (64.9)	18.3 (64.9)	17.6 (63.7)	17.6 (63.7)	17.6 (63.7)	17.0 (62.6)	16.5 (61.7)	16.0 (60.8)	17.18 (62.92)
Average low °C (°F)	9.6 (49.3)	9.6 (49.3)	10.8 (51.4)	11.7 (53.1)	12.4 (54.3)	13.3 (55.9)	12.5 (54.5)	12.1 (53.8)	12.3 (54.1)	12.0 (53.6)	10.9 (51.6)	10.2 (50.4)	11.45 (52.61)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	44 (1.73)	29 (1.14)	40 (1.57)	53 (2.09)	118 (4.65)	284 (11.18)	231 (9.09)	199 (7.83)	227 (8.94)	197 (7.76)	104 (4.09)	46 (1.81)	1,572 (61.88)
Source: Climate-Data.org[26]

Geographic location

San Juan Cotzal is 269 km from Guatemala City and 104 km from Santa Cruz del Quiché through the Quiché 6 West highway.^[27]

See also

• Guatemala Civil War
• Franja Transversal del Norte

Notes and references

1. This was confirmed by Antonio Rodríguez, from Sacapulas, who witnessed the contact his family had with Rabinal, San Miguel Chicaj and Salamá in the 1950s. They knew that their families were related and always brought Sacapulas produce into those municipalities.^[1]

References

1. Tz’unun, Francisco Luis; Chom, Miguel Antret; Terga, Ricardo (n.d.). Transcripción de la tradición oral de Cubulco (in Spanish). Guatemala.
2. Limón Aguirre 2008, p. 10.
3. Limón Aguirre 2008, p. 11.
4. Lovel 2005, p. 71
5. Lovell 2005, p. 64
6. Lovell 2005, pp. 64–65.
7. Lovell 2005, p. 65
8. Lovell 2005, pp. 65–66.
9. Lovell 2005, p. 66
10. Bran Prado, Byron Rafael et al. 2010, p. 13
11. Bran Prado, Byron Rafael et al. 2010, p. 14.
12. Bran Prado, Byron Rafael et al. 2010, p. 15.
13. Bran Prado, Byron Rafael et al. 2010, p. 16.
14. Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel et al. 2010, p. 16.
15. Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel et al. 2010, p. 17
16. Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel et al. 2010, p. 19
17. Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel et al. 2010, p. 24
18. Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel et al. 2010, p. 22
19. Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel et al. 2010, p. 23.
20. Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo et al. 2010, p. 18
21. Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo et al. 2010, p. 24.
22. Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo et al. 2010, p. 25.
23. Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo et al. 2010, p. 22.
24. Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo et al. 2010, p. 23.
25. Zarceño Guzmán, Sandra Judith; Rodas Ramírez, Berta Julissa; Bran Prado, Byron Rafael; Cuyuch Martínez, Marta Rossibell; López Matheu, Jorge Javier; Mazariegos Cuyuch, Melvin Orlando; Yupe Ramírez, José Guillermo; García Valenzuela, Francisca; Rojas Escalante, Pabla Bartola; Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo; Cabrera Ruano, Miriam Alicia; Marroquín López, Marvin Ottoniel; Rodríguez Lemus, Gerson Giovanni Steve (2010). Diagnóstico socioecnómico: potentialidades productivas y propuestas de inversión. Municipio de San Juan Cotzal, departamento de El Quiché. Informe general (PDF). Investigación de Campo, Grupo EPS (in Spanish) (Guatemala: Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala).
26. "Climate: San Juan Cotzal". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
27. SEGEPLAN. "Municipios de Quiché, Guatemala". Secretaría General de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia de la República (in Spanish). Guatemala. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.

Bibliography

• Bran Prado, Byron Rafael; et al. (2010). "Diagnóstico de inversión social". Diagnóstico socioeconómico: potentialidades productivas y propuestas de inversión. Municipio de San Juan Cotzal, departamento de El Quiché. Informe general (PDF). Investigación de Campo, Grupo EPS (in Spanish) 2 (Guatemala: Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala).
• Flores Moreno, Nery Osvaldo; et al. (2010). "Diagnóstico financiero municipal". Diagnóstico socioeconómico: potentialidades productivas y propuestas de inversión. Municipio de San Juan Cotzal, departamento de El Quiché. Informe general (PDF). Investigación de Campo, Grupo EPS (in Spanish) 10 (Guatemala: Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala).
• García Valenzuela, Francisca; et al. (2010). "Diagnóstico de las fuentes de financiamiento municipal". Diagnóstico socioecnómico: potentialidades productivas y propuestas de inversión. Municipio de San Juan Cotzal, departamento de El Quiché. Informe general (PDF). Investigación de Campo, Grupo EPS (in Spanish) 11 (Guatemala: Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala).
• Limón Aguirre, Fernando (2008). "La ciudadanía del pueblo chuj en México: Una dialéctica negativa de identidades" (PDF) (in Spanish). San Cristóbal de Las Casas, México: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur – Unidad San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
• Lovell, W. George (2005). Conquest and Survival in Colonial Guatemala: A Historical Geography of the Cuchumatán Highlands, 1500-1821 (3rd ed.). Montreal, Canadá: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 0-7735-2741-9. OCLC 58051691.
• Marroquín Lopez, Marvin Ottoniel; et al. (2010). "Costos y rentabilidad de unidades pecuarias (crianza y engorde de ganado bovino)". Diagnóstico socioecnómico: potentialidades productivas y propuestas de inversión. Municipio de San Juan Cotzal, departamento de El Quiché. Informe general (PDF). Ejercicio Profesional Supervisado (in Spanish) 4 (Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala).
• Thompson, John Eric Sidney (1990) [1977]. Maya History and Religion. Civilization of the American Indian series 99. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 415. ISBN 9780806122472.

External links

• Media related to Cotzal at Wikimedia Commons