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Guatemala, [a] officially the Republic of Guatemala, [b] is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically bordered to the south by the Pacific Ocean and to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras.
The flag of Guatemala, often referred to as the National Pavilion (Pabellón nacional) or the Blue-and-White (Azul y Blanco), features two colors: sky blue and white. According to decree, the two sky blue stripes represents strength, justice, truth and loyalty.
The history of Guatemala traces back to the Maya civilization (2600 BC – 1697 AD), with the country's modern history beginning with the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in 1524. By 1000 AD, most of the major Classic-era (250–900 AD) Maya cities in the Petén Basin , located in the northern lowlands, had been abandoned.
The Resplendent quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala and represents freedom and independence of the nation. The crossed Remington rifles are the type used during the 1871 Liberal Revolution and represent the will to defend Guatemala's interests. The crossed swords represent justice and honor. The laurel wreath represents victory.
Spanish is the official language of Guatemala. Guatemalan Spanish is the local variant of the Spanish language.. Twenty-two Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as two non-Mayan Amerindian languages: Xinca, an indigenous language, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast.
Quetzaltenango (Xela) is the center of many schools and Universities that provide Education to locals and many thousands of students from the surrounding cities and departments (states) and international students from North America and Europe, that's the reason it's a very important city for the south-west/north-west region of the Country of ...
Guatemala's national instrument is the marimba, an idiophone from the family of the xylophones, which is played all over the country, even in the remotest corners.Towns also have wind and percussion bands that play during the Lent and Easter-week processions, as well as on other occasions.
In addition, Guatemala has claimed that all or part of the nation of Belize is a department of Guatemala, and this claim is sometimes reflected in maps of the region. Guatemala formally recognized Belize in 1991, but the border disputes between the two nations have not been resolved. [4] [5]