Salamá
| Salamá | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Guatemala | |
San Mateo church
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 Salamá
|
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| Coordinates: 15°06′N 90°16′W / 15.100°N 90.267°W | |
| Country |
 Guatemala
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| Department |
 Baja Verapaz
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| Government | |
| • Mayor (2016-2020) | Byron Tejeda (PP) |
| Area | |
| • Water | 300 sq mi (776 km2) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 47,264 |
| Climate | Aw |
Salamá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Baja Verapaz and it is situated at 940 m above sea level. The municipality of Salamá, for which the city of Salamá serves as the administrative centre, covers a total surface area of 776 km² and contains 40,000 people.
Salamá was settled as a doctrine by the Order of Preachers in the 1550s, as part of the Tezulutlán Capitulations that friar Bartolome de las Casas lobbied from the Crown. The friars had thousands of acres with hills, forest, a section of the plain and abundant water supply. Both location and weather were ideal for vines; the characteristic soil and dried grass from the rest of the plain was replaced by vines thanks to a superb irrigation system the friars built inspired by the Romans.
After independence in 1821, the Central Ameran liberal criollos tried to remove the Catholic Church from power, along with the Guatemalan aristocrats of the Aycinena family. By 1829, the liberal forces of general Francisco Morazán expelled both the aristocrats and the regular orders from Central America, including the Order of Preachers, one of the richest; in Salamá, they had to leave behind their monastery, church and vines which were confiscated by the Guatemalan State government, but remained abandoned due to the political turmoil of the times.
In early 1838, Morazán's liberal forces were back in Guatemala after a peasant revolt ousted Guatemalan governor Mariano Galvez. Morazán and his Guatemalan ally José Francisco Barrundia invaded Guatemalan soil and when they arrived in San Sur, they summarily executed Chúa Álvarez, general Rafael Carrera's father-in-law, for Carrera was the leader of the revolt. Morazán's soldiers placed Álvarez' head on top of a spike as a warning to Carrera's followers. Upon learning the news, both Carrera and his wife, Petrona Álvarez -who had left Guatemala City to face Morazán and were in Mataquescuintla- promised to avenge Chúa even after Morazán's death. The liberals sent several envoys to try to meet with Carrera, but he did not want to talk to them -especially Barrundia, who was told that he should not try to come in to talk to Carrera if he wanted to remain alive. After this, Morazán began a strong offensive, destroying every single town in his path, stealing their few belongings and forcing Carrera militants to hide in the mountains.
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Wikipedia