Olintepeque
Encyclopedia
Olintepeque is a municipality
in the Quetzaltenango department
of Guatemala
. It is located on the Xequijel (or Xequizel) River.
Olintepeque is known for being the place where the legendary K'iche' king
Tecún Umán
died in single combat with the Spanish conquistador
, Pedro de Alvarado
on February 18, 1524. The river Xequijel ("where the blood spread") takes its name from the famous battle.
The inhabitants of Olintepeque speak primarily Spanish
and K'iche'
. A chapel is dedicated to the folk saint
, San Juan Bautista
.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Quetzaltenango department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. It is located on the Xequijel (or Xequizel) River.
Olintepeque is known for being the place where the legendary K'iche' king
K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj
The K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj was a state in the highlands of modern day Guatemala which was founded by the K'iche' Maya in the thirteenth century, and which expanded through the fifteenth century until it was conquered by Spanish and Nahua forces led by Pedro de Alvarado in 1524.The K'iche'...
Tecún Umán
Tecún Umán
Tecún Umán was the last ruler and king of the K'iche' Maya people, in the highlands of what is now Guatemala...
died in single combat with the Spanish conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
, Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...
on February 18, 1524. The river Xequijel ("where the blood spread") takes its name from the famous battle.
The inhabitants of Olintepeque speak primarily Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and K'iche'
K'iche' language
The K’iche’ language is a part of the Mayan language family. It is spoken by many K'iche' people in the central highlands of Guatemala. With close to a million speakers , it is the second-most widely spoken language in the country after Spanish...
. A chapel is dedicated to the folk saint
Folk saint
Folk saints are dead people or other spiritually powerful entities venerated as saints but not officially canonized. Since they are saints of the "folk", or the populus, they are also called popular saints...
, San Juan Bautista
San Juan Bautista
San Juan Bautista is:* The Spanish-language name of Saint John the Baptist. See also the disambiguation page at San Juan. The name also may appear as a Spanish translation of the French Jean-Baptiste.As a toponym, San Juan Bautista may refer to:...
.