Why Guatemala

Guatemala is the nothernmost country in Central America. It is bordered on the North and West by Mexico; on the East by Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and the Caribbean and on the South by the Pacific Ocean. Administratively it is divided into 22 Departaments, which are equivalent to states or provinces and it has a terrtory of 108,889 square kilometers (42,042 square miles). 

The country enjoys moderate climate throughout the year in most of its territory, with an average temperature of 20C (75F). Guatemala's total estimated population is 13 millon inhabitants. The official language is Spanish but 23 indigenous languages are spoken through the land. It should be highlighted that Guatemala's native flora is extensive and unique. This makes is a natural paradise with a wide variety of landscape, from the tropical rainforest of Peten, through the volcanoes and lakes of the highlands, to the tropical beaches of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Due to the abundance and variety of flora and fauna, Guatemala ranks very highly in biological diversity among Central American countries.

The legacy of the Mayan civilization and the colonial period as well as its living cultures (customs and traditions) are among the main attractions of the country. The Mayans developed a very complex social, political, scientific and artistic organization. They developed a calendar as accurate as the gregorian calendar. Its architecture is based on pyramidal shaped-scaled buildings with huge staircases. They were the creators of hyroglyphic writing that has made it possible to interpret their legacy despite the passage of time. Scholars who study Mayan civilization have divided its evolution in three great periods: the pre-Classic (2000 to 250 A.D.); the Classic (250 A.D.) and the Post-Classic (900 A.D. until the arrival of the Spaniards). There is ahuge number of archaeological sites throughout the country, particulary in the departament of Peten, where Tikal is the most important ceremonial center of the Mayan World and was declared part of Mankind's Heritage by UNESCO in 1979. The Colonial period has its best expression in Antigua Guatemala, the third most important city in the Spanish colonies of America and the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala over a period of 233 years. The kingdom of Guatemala included the provinces of Chiapas and Soconusco

(today part of Mexico), Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Antigua Guatemala suffered from frequent earthquakes and was finally destroyed by the "Santa Marta" earhquake on July 29, 1773. As a result, the capital was transferred to the valley called "de la Ermita" or "Valle de la Virgen" (Valley of the Virgin) in 1776, where it is currently located. Today, Guatemala's culture has two clearly marked cultural exprerssions, one associated with Western culture and one clearly from the indigneous communities. The former is found primarily in Guatemala City, a modern, cosmopolitan and growing hub, and the latter, mainly in the highlands, where the customs and traditions of each village stand out, particularly with their colorful dress, their handicrafts and the celebration of their festivities. This is also apparent at various religious, cultural, social and sports events, where the muscial framework of the marimba, the national instrument, is never far away.