Masatepe

Masatepe Matapalete or Popocatepetl
Municipality
Masatepe Location in Nicaragua
Coordinates: 11°55′N 86°09′W
Country	Nicaragua
Department	Masaya
Area
• Municipality	23 sq mi (59 km2)
Population  (2005)
• Municipality	31,583
• Urban	15,482
Climate	Aw

Masatepe (Spanish pronunciation: [masaˈtepe]) Masatepe is one of the nine municipalities of the Department of Masaya in Nicaragua. It is located on the plateau of the villages 50 kilometers from Managua along the road to Masaya. It belongs to the tourist corridor of Los Blancos people. The origin of name Masatepe is derived from Nahuatl Mazatl-tepec, «populated deer» or mazatl-tepetl, 'Deer Hill'.

History

The name Mazatepetl, meaning in Nahuatl: "Deer Mountain". The population of Chorotega origin, settled in the foothills of the Masaya Volcano, it is important to emphasize that in research deeper envelope the Aboriginal time appears the name Mazatepetl, but Matapalete or Popocatepetl than in Nahuatl means: "Burning Hill".

The ancestors settled from the Laguna de Masaya to the Pochote in the margins of the Masaya Volcano, then was moved to Nimboja and Jalapa.

According to Chronicles of the colony, 1 September 1528 to 5 May 1529, Fray Francisco de Bobadilla visited Matapalete and named a total of 154 aborigines living in the place. In an article of the year 1613 historian Fray Juan Torquemada appears registered as municipality Masatepe.

In 1835 during the modern era and when Nicaragua had only four departments, Masatepe belonged to Granada.

Sports

The town is home of football club Deportivo Masatepe.

External links

• Alcaldía Municipal de Masatepe Official Web Site of Masatepe (Spanish)
• Masatepe.org In the internet since 2001. General Information about the city, photos, videos and much more about this city, including a virtual tour (Spanish)
• MasatepeCity.com Information and videos of Masatepe (Spanish)
• [1] Web site of the Partnerschaftsverein Kreis Gross-Gerau - Masatepe (German, Spanish)