Huehuetenango facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Huehuetenango
Xinabahul
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Municipality
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The city center of Huehuetenango
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| Nickname(s):
Huehue
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 Huehuetenango
Location in Guatemala
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| Country |  Guatemala |
| Department |  Huehuetenango |
| Municipality | Huehuetenango |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 222 km2 (86 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,901 m (6,237 ft) |
| Population
(census 2018)
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| • Municipality | 117,818 |
| • Density | 530.7/km2 (1,374.5/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 117,818 |
| • Ethnicities | Mam Ladino |
| • Religions | Roman Catholicism Evangelicalism Maya Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Climate | Cwb |
Huehuetenango (say "Way-way-teh-NAHN-go") is a city and a municipality in the western highlands of Guatemala. It is also the main city of the Huehuetenango Department. The city is about 269 kilometers (167 miles) from Guatemala City. It is the last major city on the Pan-American Highway before you reach the border with Mexico. A main product that Huehuetenango sends to other places is coffee.
Contents
What is Huehuetenango Like?
Huehuetenango was originally called Xinabajul in the Mam language. It was an important Maya settlement. This was true even before the Spanish arrived and conquered the strong city of Zaculeu. Zaculeu was the capital of the Mam kingdom. It was located just a few kilometers from Xinabahul.
The name 'Huehuetenango' means "place of the ancients" or "place of the ancestors". This name comes from the Nahuatl language. Gonzalo de Alvarado used this name. He learned it from his Nahua allies after Zaculeu and Xinabahul were taken over.
Many people who are descendants of the Mam still live in and around Huehuetenango. The old ruins of Zaculeu are a popular place for tourists to visit. These ruins look different from other Maya sites. The original stones were covered with plaster during restoration work in the 1940s. There is also a small museum at Zaculeu. It has statues and small items found at the site.
The Huehuetenango Airport (airport codes: HUG, MGHT) is located within the city. It has a paved runway that is 825 meters (2,707 feet) long. There is also a small terminal building. Right now, there are no regular airline flights from this airport.
Climate in Huehuetenango
The city has a subtropical highland climate. This means it has warm summers and mild winters. It's classified as a Cwb climate by the Köppen climate classification.
| Climate data for Huehuetenango (Huehuetenango Airport) (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.0 (87.8) |
33.8 (92.8) |
35.4 (95.7) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.4 (93.9) |
32.4 (90.3) |
34.2 (93.6) |
29.8 (85.6) |
29.0 (84.2) |
28.6 (83.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.2 (86.4) |
35.4 (95.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24.6 (76.3) |
26.1 (79.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
28.1 (82.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.9 (75.0) |
24.1 (75.4) |
25.5 (77.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.7 (62.1) |
17.8 (64.0) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.2 (68.4) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.1 (66.4) |
18.4 (65.1) |
17.4 (63.3) |
16.8 (62.2) |
18.6 (65.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) |
9.0 (48.2) |
10.2 (50.4) |
11.7 (53.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
14.1 (57.4) |
13.2 (55.8) |
13.3 (55.9) |
14.0 (57.2) |
13.4 (56.1) |
11.2 (52.2) |
9.4 (48.9) |
11.8 (53.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.2 (26.2) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
3.3 (37.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
7.1 (44.8) |
9.1 (48.4) |
7.6 (45.7) |
7.9 (46.2) |
8.6 (47.5) |
6.0 (42.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4.6 (0.18) |
3.7 (0.15) |
17.4 (0.69) |
56.8 (2.24) |
131.0 (5.16) |
216.0 (8.50) |
94.2 (3.71) |
133.1 (5.24) |
231.4 (9.11) |
129.6 (5.10) |
29.1 (1.15) |
8.7 (0.34) |
1,055.6 (41.56) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 6.1 | 12.4 | 18.0 | 10.1 | 11.9 | 18.3 | 12.4 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 96.4 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Sports in Huehuetenango
The city has a football (soccer) team called Xinabajul. They play in Guatemala's top football league, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala.
Famous People from Huehuetenango
- Efraín Ríos Montt was born in Huehuetenango in 1926. He later became the president of the country.
- His younger brother, Mario Enrique Ríos Montt, was born in 1932. He became an important bishop in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala.
See also
In Spanish: Huehuetenango (municipio) para niños
