Santa Catarina Palopó facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Santa Catarina Palopó
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Municipality
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Street in Santa Catarina Palopó leading to Lake Atitlán
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 Santa Catarina Palopó
Location in Guatemala
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| Country | Guatemala |
| Department | Sololá |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 8 km2 (3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,662 m (5,453 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Municipality | 5,000 |
| Time zone | UTC−6 |
| • Summer (DST) | CTZ |
| Area code | 502 |
Santa Catarina Palopó is a small town, also called a municipality, in the Sololá department of Guatemala. It sits right on the edge of Lake Atitlán. This town is about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Panajachel, which is a well-known place for tourists. To its southeast is another town called San Antonio Palopó. These three towns are connected by one paved road that goes directly through Santa Catarina Palopó.
Contents
People and Culture
About 5,000 people live in Santa Catarina Palopó. This number comes from a count done by the town in 2011. Most of the people living here are indigenous. They are descendants of the Kaqchikel Maya.
Language and Daily Life
The most common language spoken in the village is Kaqchikel. However, many people also understand Spanish. For most families, their main ways of making a living are farming and fishing. This means they grow food and catch fish mostly for themselves.
Recently, more tourists have started visiting. This has created new ways for people to earn money. They now sell souvenirs and offer services to visitors.
Traditional Clothing
One of the easiest ways to recognize people from Santa Catarina Palopó is by the blue huipil. A huipil is a special blouse worn by women in the community. Women have worn huipils since the 16th century. The blue style, however, is a more recent change. It came about because of influences from outside the community.
Painting Project
There is a special project in the town called Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó. The goal of this project is to paint houses and other buildings. This helps to make the town look even better. Families get to choose the main colors for their houses. They also pick details to paint, like pictures of animals such as deer and birds.
Climate
Santa Catarina Palopó has a tropical climate. This means the temperatures stay pretty much the same all year round. It is known as an Aw climate according to the Köppen climate classification system.
| Climate data for Santa Catarina Palopó | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.7 (78.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.8 (78.4) |
23.8 (74.8) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.2 (77.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.2 (77.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.8 (67.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
20.0 (68.0) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.6 (67.3) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.1 (66.4) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.1 (66.4) |
18.8 (65.8) |
19.3 (66.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) |
12.1 (53.8) |
13.0 (55.4) |
13.7 (56.7) |
14.3 (57.7) |
14.8 (58.6) |
14.4 (57.9) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.0 (57.2) |
13.9 (57.0) |
13.1 (55.6) |
12.2 (54.0) |
13.5 (56.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 2 (0.1) |
16 (0.6) |
15 (0.6) |
49 (1.9) |
138 (5.4) |
364 (14.3) |
184 (7.2) |
194 (7.6) |
343 (13.5) |
190 (7.5) |
40 (1.6) |
11 (0.4) |
1,546 (60.7) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org | |||||||||||||
Things to Do and See
Even though Santa Catarina is a small village, there are interesting places to visit.
Local Attractions
The village has a museum where you can learn about the local culture. Inside the village, there is also a Confraternity. This is a group that shares information about Guatemalan Catholic saints.
On the Church Plaza, which is the main square, you can buy locally grown coffee. There are also several restaurants along the main street. Many of these are close to the Hotel Villa Santa Catarina, which is near the lake and the pier.
Shopping and Views
The village has many street shops. They sell traditional Kaqchikel clothes. Selling these clothes is one of the main ways local people earn money.
From the pier, you can see the beautiful lake and the three volcanoes around it. The best time to see this amazing view is in the early morning, right after the sun comes up. The weather is usually very clear then.
See also
In Spanish: Santa Catarina Palopó para niños
