Cuilco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cuilco
la perla escondida
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Municipality
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 Cuilco
Location in Guatemala
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| Country |  Guatemala |
| Department |  Huehuetenango |
| Municipality | Cuilco |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 592 km2 (229 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,150 m (3,770 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 3,300 m (10,800 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 1,000 m (3,000 ft) |
| Population
(Census 2002)
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| • Municipality | 46,407 |
| • Urban | 1,611 |
| • Ethnicities | Mam Ladino Tektitek |
| • Religions | Roman Catholicism Evangelicalism Maya |
| Climate | Am |
| Website | http://www.inforpressca.com/cuilco/ |
Cuilco is a special area called a municipality in Guatemala. It is part of the Huehuetenango region, which is like a state. Cuilco is found in the Cuchumatanes mountains, located in the southwestern part of Huehuetenango.
About Cuilco Municipality
Cuilco municipality covers a total area of 592 square kilometers. Imagine a square with sides about 24 kilometers long – that's how big it is!
Getting to Cuilco has become easier recently. The dirt road that connects it to the main Pan-American Highway has been improved and paved. This means it takes much less time to travel there now. However, the paved road stops at Cuilco. If you want to go to other parts of Guatemala or even to Mexico, you still have to use rough dirt roads. Because the roads inside the municipality are not always in good condition, it can take more than eight hours to travel from one side of Cuilco to the other.
The main town of Cuilco is where the local government is located. The municipal building, often called the "muni," is near the town's central plaza. In 2007, about 15 people worked there, providing many important services to the town and the smaller villages around it.
Economy and Products
The people of Cuilco grow several crops to sell. These include corn, coffee, and panela, which is a type of unrefined whole cane sugar.
Not many tourists visit Cuilco because it is quite far from Huehuetenango, the nearest big city. It takes more than two hours to drive there.
People of Cuilco
In 2018, about 57,000 people lived in Cuilco municipality. Most of these people are called Ladinos, and many of them have Mam Maya heritage. They live in over 100 smaller communities called aldeas and caserios, which are like small villages.
Many years ago, most people in Cuilco identified themselves as Mam Maya. Today, fewer people identify as Mam Maya, mainly those living in villages like Aldea Cancuc, Aldea Chejoj, El Chilcal, and Aldea Shequemebaj. Most people in Cuilco now speak Spanish, and the Mam Maya language is not spoken as much as it used to be.
During a challenging time in Guatemala in the 1980s, many people from Cuilco moved away. They went to the Mexican state of Chiapas, and also to the United States. In the U.S., many settled in Florida cities like Indiantown, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Immokalee, and Fort Myers. Others moved to Mississippi, Illinois, Morganton in North Carolina, Ohio, Marydel in Maryland, and California.
See also
- In Spanish: Cuilco para niños
