- Rabinal
Infobox City
official_name = Rabinal
nickname = Rabinal
image_caption = Baroque Catholic church, built in 1572
pushpin_
pushpin_label_position =bottom
pushpin_map_caption =Location in Guatemala
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name =
latd=15 |latm=6 |lats= |latNS=N
longd=90|longm=27 |longs= |longEW=W
established_title = Founded
established_date = 1537
area_total_km2 = 304
population_as_of = 2002
population_total = 45000
website = [http://www.inforpressca.com/rabinal/galeria.php Official Website of the Municipality of Rabinal]Rabinal is a small town located in the
Guatemala n department ofBaja Verapaz , at coord|15|6|0|N|90|27|0|W|. It serves as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The municipality covers 504 km² and, in 2004, had a population of around 36,000. The local people are predominantly Achi Maya Native Americans who speak theAchi Maya language .History
* 1537: The settlement of Rabinal is founded by
Bartolomé de Las Casas , during his expedition into the lands of the Maya.* 1572: Construction finished on the grand colonial Catholic Baroque church, a project begun by then Bishop of Chiapas
Bartolomé de Las Casas .*1850s:
Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg , serving as Parish Priest, conducts some of the first ethnographic studies of the highland Maya and collects folk tales and documents making the first translations into European languages, of theRabinal Achí .
* 1981-1982: Rabinal is the site of some of the bloodiest massacres in Guatemala's Civil War, including those of Plan de Sánchez and Río Negro. The actual town of Rabinal was also the site of a large-scale massacre during the Independence Day celebration of 1981.Culture
The town of Rabinal boasts a large, colonial-era baroque church. Alongside the church is a small municipal museum, with exhibits on the local culture (particularly native healing techniques) and a section dealing with the massacres of the 1980s. Various pre-Hispanic archaeological sites are also located in the surrounding hills.
The town's annual "fiesta patronal" takes place in late January each year and is famous for its dances, including one that recreates a legendary battle between the Achi and the K'iche Maya, declered a
UNESCO World Heritage Cultural monnument, know as TheRabinal Achí .External links
* [http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/15lac_uk.htm Rabinal Achí in the UNESCO web site]
* [http://www.enlacequiche.org.gt/centros/rabinal/intro.html Rabinal Achi Community Museum]
* [http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~sss4407/Book.htm "The Massacres in Rabinal"]
* [http://www.losttrails.com/pages/Tales/Rabinal.html "Rabinal:" extensive photographic essay about the town and its people]
* [http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1442/1/ "Guatemala: The Forgotten Spirits of Rabinal," by Thaddeus al Nakba, describes the Independence Day massacre in detail]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
