Guatemala City in the context of "Bus rapid transit"

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⭐ Core Definition: Guatemala City

Guatemala City (Spanish: Ciudad de Guatemala), also known colloquially by the nickname Guate, is the national capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala. It serves as the municipal capital of the surrounding Guatemala Department. Its metropolitan area is also the largest in Central America. The city is located in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita (English: Hermitage Valley) in the south-central part of the country.

Guatemala City is the site of the native Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu in Mesoamerica, which was occupied primarily between 1500 BCE and 1200 CE. The present city was founded by the Spanish after their colonial capital, now called Antigua Guatemala, was destroyed by the devastating 1773 Santa Marta earthquake and its aftershocks. It became the third royal capital of the surrounding Captaincy General of Guatemala; which itself was part of the larger Viceroyalty of New Spain in imperial Spanish America and remained under colonial rule until the nineteenth century.

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Guatemala City in the context of Youth Olympic Games

Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format, though in reverse order with the Olympic Winter Games held in leap years instead of the Games of the Olympiad. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012.

The idea of such an event was introduced by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria in 1998. On 6 July 2007, International Olympic Committee members at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City approved the creation of a youth version of the Olympic Games, with the intention of sharing the costs of hosting the event between the IOC and the host city, whereas the travelling costs of athletes and coaches were to be paid by the IOC. These Games will also feature cultural exchange programs and opportunities for participants to meet Olympic athletes.

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Guatemala City in the context of 2014 Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (Russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, romanisedXXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (Сочи 2014), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening rounds in certain events were held on 6 February 2014, the day before the opening ceremony.

These were the first Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency of Thomas Bach. Both the Olympics and Paralympics were organised by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOOC). Sochi was selected as the host city on 5 July 2007, during the 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala City. It was the first Olympics to be held in a CIS state and former Warsaw Pact state after the Revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1980.

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Guatemala City in the context of Federal Republic of Central America

The Federal Republic of Central America (Spanish: República Federal de Centro América), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), and a Federal District from 1835 to 1839. Guatemala City was its capital city until 1834, when the seat of government was relocated to San Salvador. The Federal Republic of Central America was bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south by Gran Colombia and on the east by the Kingdom of Mosquitia and British Honduras, both claimed by the federal republic.

After Central America (then the Captaincy General of Guatemala) declared its independence from the Spanish Empire in September 1821, it was annexed by the First Mexican Empire in January 1822 before regaining its independence and forming a federal republic in 1823. The Federal Republic of Central America adopted its constitution, based on that of the federal government of the United States, in November 1824. It held its first presidential election in April 1825, during which liberal politician Manuel José Arce was elected as the country's first president. Arce subsequently aligned himself with the country's conservatives due to liberal opposition to the concessions he granted conservatives to secure his election as president. The republic was politically unstable, experiencing civil wars, rebellions, and insurrections by liberals and conservatives. From 1827 to 1829, it fell into a civil war between conservatives who supported Arce and liberals who opposed him. Liberal politician Francisco Morazán led the liberals to victory, and was elected president in 1830. The republic descended into a second civil war from 1838 to 1840, by the end of which the states of Central America declared independence and the federal republic ceased to exist.

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Guatemala City in the context of New classical architecture

New Classical architecture, also known as New Classicism or Contemporary Classical architecture, is a contemporary movement that builds upon the principles of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the modern continuation of Neoclassical architecture, even though other styles might be cited as well, such as Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance or even non-Western styles – often referenced and recreated from a postmodern perspective rather than as strict revivals.

The design and construction of buildings in evolving classical styles continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, even as modernist and other non-classical theories broke with the classical language of architecture. The New Classical movement is also tied to a resurgence in new traditional architecture, which emphasizes craftsmanship rooted in local building traditions and materials.

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Guatemala City in the context of Quiché Department

Quiché (Spanish pronunciation: [kiˈtʃe]) is a department of Guatemala. It is in the heartland of the Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) people, one of the Maya peoples, to the north-west of Guatemala City. The capital is Santa Cruz del Quiché. The word Kʼicheʼ comes from the language of the same name, which means "many trees".

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Guatemala City in the context of 1830 Central American federal election

Federal elections were held in the Federal Republic of Central America in 1830. They followed the victory of rebel liberal leader Francisco Morazán in the First Central American Civil War in 1829 when he took Guatemala City. Following the end of the war, Morazán urged Congress for new elections.

The main presidential candidates were conservative leader José Cecilio del Valle and Morazán himself. After the popular vote, Morazán obtained 202 electoral votes and Valle 103, still less than required for both to win according to the constitution, a situation that had also occurred in the 1825 elections. This time the liberal-dominated Congress chose to respect the popular vote, which favoured Morazán, proclaiming him president for a four-year term. Valle accepted the results.

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Guatemala City in the context of Carlos Castillo Armas

Carlos Castillo Armas (locally ['kaɾlos kas'tiʝo 'aɾmas]; 4 November 1914 – 26 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right National Liberation Movement (MLN) party, his authoritarian government was closely allied with the United States.

Born to a planter, out of wedlock, Castillo Armas was educated at Guatemala's military academy. A protégé of Colonel Francisco Javier Arana, he joined Arana's forces during the 1944 uprising against President Federico Ponce Vaides. This began the Guatemalan Revolution and the introduction of representative democracy to the country. Castillo Armas joined the General Staff and became director of the military academy. Arana and Castillo Armas opposed the newly elected government of Juan José Arévalo; after Arana's failed 1949 coup, Castillo Armas went into exile in Honduras. Seeking support for another revolt, he came to the attention of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1950 he launched a failed assault on Guatemala City, before escaping back to Honduras. Influenced by lobbying by the United Fruit Company and Cold War fears of communism, in 1952 the US government of President Harry Truman authorized Operation PBFortune, a plot to overthrow Arévalo's successor, President Jacobo Árbenz. Castillo Armas was to lead the coup, but the plan was abandoned before being revived in a new form by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

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Guatemala City in the context of Motagua Fault

The Motagua Fault (also, Motagua Fault Zone) is a major, active left lateral-moving transform fault which cuts across Guatemala. It forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. It is considered the onshore continuation of the Swan Islands Transform Fault and Cayman trench, which run under the Caribbean Sea. Its western end appears not to continue further than its surface trace, where it is covered by Cenozoic volcanics.

The measured length of the fault is approximately 350 km and is the longest fault in Guatemala. Motion of the fault and others in the plate boundary have formed north–south trending grabens across the region that show evidence of counter-clockwise rotation over time. Guatemala City lies in one of these grabens, which may contribute to the seismic hazard posed to the city's inhabitants.

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Guatemala City in the context of Pacaya

Pacaya is an active complex volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. It rises to an elevation of 2,552 metres (8,373 ft). After being dormant for over 70 years, it began erupting vigorously in 1961 and has been erupting frequently since then. Much of its activity is Strombolian, but occasionally Plinian eruptions also occur, sometimes showering the area of the nearby Departments with ash.

Pacaya is a popular tourist attraction. It is even the home to the popular Guatemala Impact Marathon which pioneered the use of a running route across the lava field created by the 2010 eruption and supports the local communities through runners endeavouring to complete the challenge. It lies 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Guatemala City and close to Antigua. The volcano sits inside the Escuintla Department. Volcano Boarding is also practiced on the craters of Pacaya.

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