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Guatemala

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GUATEMALA

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CAPITAL	Guatemala city

AREA	109,000 sq km

POPULATION	12.6 million

LANGUAGE	Spanish

CURRENCY	Quetzal

TIME	GMT -6

TELEPHONE CODES	00 502

ELECTRICITY	115V to 125V



Guatemala

Local dishes: Guatemalan cuisine can't compete with that of Mexico, although standard Mexican fare such as tortillas and tacos can be found. You will encounter a lot of grilled or fried meat. Beans and rice are often the cheapest and best alternative, and the country has a surprising number of Chinese restaurants. Coffee is available everywhere - sometimes spectacularly good, but the best beans are typically exported. Beer is prevalent, in light and dark versions, and rum and Quetzalteca are the nation's favoured drinks.

Good reading: I, Rigoberta Menchu is the autobiography of Guatemala's Indian Nobel Peace Prize winner - a very moving story of Mayan life and government repression. Time and the Highland Maya by Barbara Tedlock is an anthropological study of the Quiché Indians of Momostenango. Unfinished Conquest: The Guatemalan Tragedy by Victor Perera looks at the history of the Maya and their situation in modern Guatemala. The Central America Fact Book by Tom Barry & Deb Preusch examines the economic, political and military role of the USA in Central America.