Nueva Santa Rosa facts for kids
Nueva Santa Rosa is a town and municipality in the Santa Rosa department of Guatemala. It's a place where many people live, with a population of about 36,464 people as of 2018. The whole area of the municipality covers about 147 square kilometers.
The main town of Nueva Santa Rosa is located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Guatemala City, which is the capital of Guatemala. In 2018, about 13,535 people lived in the town itself. Some of the towns and areas nearby include El Riachuelo, El chupadero, Palin, El Valle, Chapas, Espitia Real, and Jumay.
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A Look Back: History of Nueva Santa Rosa
Nueva Santa Rosa is found in the northern part of the Santa Rosa Department in Guatemala. It became an official municipality on May 22, 1917. This happened during the time when Manuel Estrada Cabrera was president of Guatemala (from 1898 to 1920).
Before it became a municipality, people who lived nearby used to call it the "VILLAGE OF THE EASTERN BORDERS." But today, everyone knows it as Nueva Santa Rosa. The town is located about 1,001 meters (or about 3,285 feet) above sea level. Some parts of the city, like the Linda Vista hill, can reach even higher, up to 1,845 meters (about 6,053 feet) above sea level.
In 2008, a study showed that the city covered about 67 square kilometers and had around 32,727 people living there. Most of the people, about 52%, were between 15 and 64 years old.
Where is Nueva Santa Rosa?
Nueva Santa Rosa is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Cuilapa, which is the capital of the Santa Rosa department. It's also about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Guatemala City.
The area is known as the volcanic highlands. This means the soil is made from volcanic ash, called pumice. The region gets a good amount of rain, usually between 1,100 and 1,350 millimeters (about 43 to 53 inches) each year. The average temperature is around 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), but it can get as cool as 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). The land here is mostly hilly, but the slopes are not too steep.
Nueva Santa Rosa shares its borders with other cities and departments:
- To the north, you'll find Casillas and San Rafael las Flores.
- To the south and east, it borders Cuilapa.
- To the west, it's next to Santa Rosa de Lima and Santa Cruz Naranjo.
Languages Spoken Here
In Guatemala, the official language is Spanish. However, only about 60% of the people speak Spanish as their first language. The other 40% speak one of the many native languages, which are often called dialects. There are about 28 different native languages in Guatemala!
These languages belong to five main groups: Quiche, Mam, Pocomam, Chol, and the Mayan family of languages. The Mayan family includes languages like Carib, Kekchi, Garifuna, and Cakchiquel.
One very special language is Xinca. This is an ancient language that was only spoken in the Santa Rosa department, where Nueva Santa Rosa is located. The Xinca language is unique because it's not related to any other language in the region. It had four different types or classes. Sadly, two of these Xinca languages are now completely gone. For the other two, there are only a few people left who can speak them a little bit.
Even though Spanish is the main language spoken today, there are still people in Nueva Santa Rosa who identify as Xinca. They are the descendants of the ancient Mayan people who spoke this unique language. Even if they don't speak the old language, they keep their Xinca identity alive.
See also
In Spanish: Nueva Santa Rosa para niños
