Reverse - Text |
Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
GUATEMALA, GUATEMALA. |
In early times, when the
State was under Spanish control,
Guatemala included the whole of
Central America and a part of
Mexico; but the name is now
restricted to the portion of that
area which constitutes an
independent republic. |
The city
of Guatemala is on a fertile
plateau, (over 5,000 feet above
the sea,) which is crossed by the
valley of the Rio de las
Vacas--Cow River--so-called from
the first specimen of the bovine
race introduced there by the
Spaniards. On nearly every side
it is surrounded by baraccas or
ravines. Like most
Spanish-American towns it is laid
out in wide and regular streets
and has extensive suburbs. Owing
to the prevalence of earthquakes,
the houses are of one story in
height, but they are solidly and
comfortably built, many of them
having gardens and courts. Plaza
Major, the chief public square,
contains the Cathedral, built in
1730--the Arch-episcopal Palace,
government buildings, mint, and
other public edifices. Plaza de
la Concordia is the favorite
resort of the people. The
theatre--one of the best in
Central America--erected in 1858,
is in the middle of another
square. There are many richly
ornamented churches. The most
important, besides the cathedral,
are those of San Francisco, La
Recoleccion, La Merces, and Santo
Domingo, the oldest church in the
town. Educational and benevolent
institutions abound. Although
destitute of either railway or
river communication with either
coast, it carries on a busy
trade. In the northwest of the
State, cocoa is most cultivated,
and the nibs are used as small
change throughout the country. |
The
general prosperity of the city of
Guatemala has won for it the name
of being the Paris of Central
America. The modern city is
properly called Guatemala le
Nueva; Old Guatemala, often
called merely Antigua, was
destroyed by the Volcan de Agua
in 1774. It had been a very rich
and beautiful city, and its ruins
are interesting. An older
Guatemala was carried away 17
years after its foundation, by
the great inundation, to which
Volcan de Agua owes its name. |
Population, 65,796. |
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