Sipacapa

Sipacapa
Municipality
Sipacapa

Location in Guatemala

Coordinates: 15°12′44″N 91°38′05″W / 15.21222°N 91.63472°W
Country Guatemala
Department San Marcos
Municipality Sipacapa
Government
  Type Municipal
Population (Census 2002)[1]
  Municipality 14,043
  Urban 623
  Ethnicities Sipakapense, Ladino
  Religions Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Maya
Climate Cwb

Sipacapa is a municipality in the San Marcos department, situated in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Sipacapa's population of around 14,000 is spread among 14 village communities, skattered over mountainous terrain. Sipacapa is considered a linguistic community, as Sipakapense is a Maya language unique to the municipality.

Sipacapa is currently the center of a dispute between local residents, who primarily identify as Maya (Sipakapense), and Goldcorp, a Canadian company that operates an open pit goldmine mostly the neighbouring municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, but partially in Sipacapa. This dispute has been documented in a documentary film production, Sipakapa No Se Vende (Sipacapa Is Not For Sale) .[2][3] Further information on the mine and the dispute is contained in the article on Marlin mine.

Notes

  1. "XI Censo Nacional de Poblacion y VI de Habitación (Censo 2002)". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. 2002.
  2. Mariano Aiello & Kristina Hille. "Open-pit mining of gold in Guatemala: Marlin Project". Manacudo Films. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  3. Dir. Álvaro Revenga. "Sipakapa No Se Vende". Caracol Producciones. Retrieved 2009-03-04.

External links

Coordinates: 15°12′44″N 91°38′05″W / 15.21222°N 91.63472°W