Sololá

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sololá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Sololá and the administrative seat of Sololá municipality.

The name is a hispanicized form of its pre-Columbian name, one spelling variant of which is T'zol'joly'a. The built-up portion of the municipality has about 14,000 people, but the municipality also includes the communities of Los Encuentros, El Tablón, San Jorge la Laguna, and Argueta.

Sololá is on a mountainside overlooking Lake Atitlán, some 600 meters below. It is a highland market center and is the headquarters fo the Catholic Bishopric encompassing Sololá and Chimaltenango Departments. Nearby, two kilometers before one reaches town, there is an extension of the University Del Valle. The campus was converted from a military base in 2000. Initial plans to turn the base into a school for military cadets were withdrawn after street protests by area residents.

Almost all residents of Sololá are Kaqchikel Mayas, except in Argueta, where most are K'iche' Mayas. A large percentage of both men and women continue to wear traditional Mayan clothing.