San Miguel Petapa

Petapa on the map of Guatemala

Petapa (formerly San Miguel Petapa ) is a small town in Guatemala and the administrative seat of the homonymous municipios in the department of Guatemala. The village is located about 20 kilometers south of Guatemala City at 1,260 m altitude.

Municipio

The 30 km ² smallest of the 17 municipios of the department of Guatemala in the south of Guatemala City and, with parts to their agglomeration. In the southwest, the municipality has access to Amatitlán Lake. It has around 110,000 inhabitants, of which the majority lives in suburban settlements and villages, including Santa Inés.

Adjacent Municipalities are Guatemala City in the north, Villa Canales in the east and south, Amatitlán in the southwest of a sea, and Villanueva in the West.

History

Petapa was founded in 1549 around four kilometers south-east of its current location as San Miguel Petapa by the Spaniards. In an area defined as Taltic or Taltique were Pocomam that originally came from Chinautla, in the village Popah (or Popoyá ) contracted. The old name Popah, goes back to the Petapa, means " mat ". With the village, the settlement of Santa Inés Petapa in which people lived in slave- like position belonged. Also, due to the important trade route ( Camino Real), led by Antigua Guatemala on San Miguel to the east ( Oriente ), the place soon came to a certain prosperity. On October 9, 1762 occurred after storms rivers Villalobos, Morán, Molino and Tulujá on the shore. A tidal wave of mud and tree trunks destroyed San Miguel Petapa almost completely. Not so much because of the devastation, but rather to distinguish themselves from the indigenous population, closed on January 22, 1763 about 500 Ladinos about ten kilometers to the north-west and founded Villa Nueva ( "new town "). On April 12, 1763 they were followed by indigenous people who founded three kilometers northwest of the old town at Llano de la Majada the new San Miguel Petapa (Pueblo Nuevo de Patapa ). The old place to the left some long-established families Pocomam was henceforth called Pueblo Viejo ( " Old Village "). From him the present Villa Canales emerged.

The new San Miguel Petapa was destroyed on April 23, 1840 by an earthquake. After disputes over land matters was issued on November 21, 1831 statement to build the place about a kilometer to the northwest of the Valle de la Horca new. There he is today.