Santa María de Jesús

Santa María de Jesús on the map of Guatemala

Santa María de Jesús is a municipality in the Department of Sacatepéquez in Guatemala. In the 34 km ² large municipality about 18,000 people live, of which a large part in Santa María and a smaller part in the village of Cruz San Antonio.

Location

The Cakchiquel place located 10 km south- southeast of the capital Departaments Antigua Guatemala and 55 kilometers south-west of Guatemala City at the foot of Volcán de Agua to about 2,070 m above sea level. You can reach Santa María from Antigua via a well maintained, curvy, steep uphill road, inter alia, on the estate of the first bishop of Guatemala, Francisco Marroquín, passes (San Juan del Obispo ). The 24 km long road from Santa María by Palín in CA 9 highway is not paved and to deal with especially in the rainy season only by off-road vehicles.

Economy

Santa María de Jesús lives mainly from agriculture and tourism. Many climbers hike from here to the 3,766 m high volcano Agua. There are simple accommodations.

History

Santa María de Jesús was first mentioned in 1540 and was at that time the name El Aserradero ( " sawmill " ), because from here wood was brought from the surrounding forests to Antigua. A first settlement called Pueblo chiquito ( " small village ") was spilled in 1816 and relocated to the El Aserradero, who later was named the patron saint of Santa María de Jesús.