Cuauhtemallan

Cuauhtemallan gives its name to a highland valley in the heart of Guatemala, surrounded by volcanic mountains and cut by deep ravines. The name Guatemala was carried into Spanish use from the Nahuatl language of the conquerors’ Indigenous allies. The fertile valley eventually became the site of the capital of a territory stretching across much of Central America.

The Spanish city of Santiago de Guatemala was founded at Iximché in 1524 and moved more than once. After the Santa Marta earthquakes devastated its settlement in the Panchoy valley in 1773, authorities chose the valley of La Ermita for a new capital. The city was formally established there in 1776, with streets and public buildings laid out for the seat of colonial government. It remained the political center through Central America’s independence from Spain in 1821.