| Official Name: | Chichicastenango |
| Nickname: | Chichi |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Pushpin Map: | Guatemala |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Guatemala |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Guatemala |
| Subdivision Type1: | Department |
| Subdivision Name1: | El Quiché |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Chichicastenango |
| Government Type: | Municipal |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Area Total Km2: | 270 |
| Population As Of: | Census 2018 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 141,567 |
| Population Urban: | 71394 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank1: | K'iche' people (98.5%)[2] Ladino (1.5%) |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Population Blank2: | Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Maya |
| Coordinates: | 14.9333°N -98°W |
| Elevation M: | 1965 |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
| Blank Info: | Cwb |
| Website: | Chichicastenango online |
Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town, with a population of 71,394 (2018 census),[3] and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name in the El Quiché department of Guatemala. It is located in a mountainous region about 140km (90miles) northwest of Guatemala City, at an altitude of 1,965 m (6,447 ft).[4] The Spanish conquistadors gave the town its name from the Nahuatl name used by their allied soldiers from Tlaxcala: Tzitzicaztenanco, or City of Nettles. Its original name was Chaviar.
Chichicastenango is a K'iche' Maya cultural centre. According to the 2012 census, 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche. Of the population, 21% speak only K'iche, 71% speak both K'iche and Spanish, and the remaining 8% speak only Spanish.[2]
Chichicastenango hosts market days on Thursdays and Sundays where vendors sell handicrafts, food, flowers, pottery, wooden boxes, condiments, medicinal plants, candles, pom and copal (traditional incense), cal (lime stones for preparing tortillas), grindstones, pigs and chickens, machetes, and other tools.
Among the items sold are textiles, particularly women's blouses. Masks used by dancers in traditional dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest, are also manufactured in Chichicastenango.
See main article: Iglesia de Santo Tomás. Next to the market is the 400-year-old church of Santo Tomás. It is built atop a Pre-Columbian temple platform, and the steps originally leading to a temple of the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization remain venerated. K'iche' Maya priests still use the church for their rituals, burning incense and candles. In special cases, they burn a chicken for the gods. Each of the 18 stairs that lead up to the church stands for one month of the Maya calendar year. Another key element of Chichicastenango is the Cofradia of Pascual Abaj, which is an ancient carved stone venerated nearby and the Maya priests perform several rituals there. Writing on the stone records the doings of a king named Tohil (Fate).[5]
The Chichicastenango Regional Museum lies in its grounds.
At least three songs have been written about the town.
In addition, the character Rosie from Bye Bye Birdie sings sarcastically of being the toast of Chichicastenango.
Chichicastenango is composed of the municipal seat and 81 rural communities.[6] Nearby village communities include Paquixic (1.0 nm), Chucam (1.0 nm), Chujupen (1.4 nm), Camanibal (2.2 nm), Chontala (2.2 nm) and Chucojom (1.0 nm).
See main article: The New Adventures of Tarzan.
See also: Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs. In 1935, the film The New Adventures of Tarzan, was filmed on location in Guatemala, taking advantage of the help from the United Fruit Company and president Jorge Ubico. Chichicastenango was among the locations used during filming.[7]
This 8-minute color travelogue devoted to Chichicastenango is one of James A. Fitzpatrick's TravelTalks. It is occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies as a filler between feature films.