Malacatán facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Malacatán
Municipality
Malacatán Location in Guatemala
Country	Guatemala
Department	San Marcos
Area
• Municipality	89 sq mi (231 km2)
Population  (2019 census)
• Municipality	92,816
• Density	1,040.7/sq mi (401.8/km2)
• Urban	8,689
Climate	Am

Malacatán is a town and municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala, located to the west of San Marcos town. It is fairly close to the border with Mexico - the border-crossing point is in the nearby village of El Carmen.

History

Spanish colony: Mercedarian doctrine

Mercedarian coat of arms.

The colonial Catholic Church built by the Mercedarians in the central plaza.

After the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in the 1520s, the "Presentación de Guatemala" Mercedarian province was formed in 1565; originally, the order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy had gotten from bishop Francisco Marroquín several doctrines in the Sacatepéquez and Chimaltenango valleys, close to the capital Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, but they traded those with the Order of Preachers friars in exchange for the doctrines those had in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes area. During the first part of the 17th century they also had doctrine in four town close to the city of Santiago, which eventually became city neighborhoods: Espíritu Santo, Santiago, San Jerónimo and San Anton —which was the capital of the Mercedarians, where they had their convent and where their comendador lived.

According to bishop Juan de las Cabezas memoir in 1613 and the bishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz parish visit minutes from 1770, the Mercedarians came to have nine doctrines, and numerous annexes, which were: Santa Ana de Malacatán, Concepción de Huehuetenango, San Pedro de Solomá, Nuestra Señora de la Purificación de Jacaltenango, Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Chiantla, San Andrés de Cuilco, Santiago de Tejutla, San Pedro de Sacatepéquez, and San Juan de Ostuncalco.

However, in 1754, due to the borbon reforms implemented by the Spanish kings, the Mercedarins -and the rest of the regular clergy for that matter-, had to transfer their doctrines to the secular clergy, thus losing their San Juan Ostuncalco doctrine.

Sports

Deportivo Malacateco football club played the 2010/2011 season at the highest level of Guatemalan football, the Liga Mayor. They play their home games in the Estadio Santa Lucia.

Climate

Malacatán has tropical climate (Köppen:Am), with a long rainy season from April to November, and a short dry season during the "winter". Although there is little variation in temperatures, April is normally the warmest month and October is normally the coolest month. The daytime afternoon temperatures are the warmers in February and March and coolest in September and October.

Geographic location

It is surrounded by San Marcos Department municipalities, except on the West, where it borders Chiapas, a state of México.

		Tajumulco Chiapas, state of México	San Pablo
	Chiapas, state of México		San Pablo and Catarina
		Malacatán
		Ayutla