Senahú

Senahú on the map of Guatemala

Senahú (also San Antonio Senahú ) is a city in Guatemala and administrative seat of the greater community ( municipality ) in the department of Alta Verapaz. In the 336 km ² large municipality of about 62,000 people live in Senahú about 5000.

Geography

Senahú located in the southeast of Alta Verapaz to about 1000 m altitude. The municipality extends between the northeastern foothills of the Sierra de Xucaneb ( Montañas Piedras Blancas ) and the valley of the Río Cahabón in the far north and east. In the south of the mountain range borders from the municipality to the deep valley of the Río Polo Chic, which is already dominated tropical. In Senahú the climate is temperate.

The municipality is bordered to the northwest by the municipality of San Pedro Carcha, on the north by Lanquín and Santa María Cahabón, in the east and southeast by Panzós, on the south by Santa Catalina La Tinta, on the southwest by Tucurú and on the west by San Juan Chamelco.

Population

The population is mostly of Mayan ethnic group Kekchi, the rest are Ladinos. Many inhabitants are descended from German immigrants, as reflected in the many German family names. The municipality covers not only the main town Senahú still 63 villages and about 120 other rural settlements.

History

The village was founded in the mid 19th century due to the influx of Kekchi. First, he was named Sechimail, then Nahuc, finally he was called San Antonio Senahú. Until the formation of the municipios on July 27, 1869 Senahú belonged to Salamá, now the capital of Baja Verapaz. From 1870 onwards, a large number of immigrants from Germany came to Senahú, in the train of expropriation were given large tracts of land there and mainly cultivated coffee, which was mostly exported to Germany. The agricultural products were brought to neighboring, lying at the Polo Chic Panzós, embarked there and brought across the river, the Lake Izabal, the Río Dulce and the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

Economy and Transport

The road through the Lake Izabal and along the Río Polo Chic was once one of the most important trade routes in Guatemala. Therefore Senahú lay for a long time quite favorable. However, this changed with the construction of the Atlantic Highway CA 9, a little further south of Guatemala City leads through the valley of the Río Motagua to Puerto Barrios. Senahú is now off the main roads. At El Rancho branches 9, the well-developed highway CA 14 north towards Alta Verapaz on the Atlantic Highway CA. In the southernmost municipality Tactic in San Julian, the curvy and partially unpaved national road 7 runs eastwards through the Polo Chic - valley to Izabal. Shortly before Teleman ( Panzós ) branches off a side road to the north in the mountains of Senahú. In this way, there are around 280 km after Guatemala City and almost 140 km to Coban, the capital of Alta Verpaz. The most important industry in Senahú continues to be agriculture, especially the cultivation of coffee and cardamom. Also of importance is the craft, to a lesser extent, tourism, despite the very scenic countryside.