QUETZALTENANGO

formerly Quezaltenango, capital, Quetzaltenango department, southwestern Guatemala, 7,656 feet (2,334 m) above sea level near the foot of the Santa Mara Volcano. The city's high elevation causes the temperature to drop below freezing in the dry season. It is near the site of the battle in which the Spanish and their Indian allies from Mexico decisively defeated the Quich Indians in 1524. Before the conquest, Quetzaltenango had been the capital of a Quich kingdom known as Xelaj; Santa Mara Volcano, now dormant, destroyed the city in 1902. Now Guatemala's second largest city, Quetzaltenango is a centre for trade between the coast and the highlands, and a processing centre with textile factories, mills, and breweries. The city has preserved much of its dignified Neoclassical architecture. There are several university faculties, and many of Guatemala's best-known scholars, writers, and musicians have lived there. It is linked to Guatemala City, 70 miles (110 km) to the east, by paved highway and by air. Pop. (1989 est.) mun., 88,769.