Tucurú is a small town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

in the Guatemalan department of

Alta Verapaz Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and Baja ...

History

Verapaz Railroad

The Verapaz Railroad began on 15 January 1894 with a contract for 99 years between Guatemala, then ruled by president José María Reina Barrios and Walter Dauch, representative of the "Verapaz Railroad & Northern Agency Ltd." The contract settled the rules for the construction and maintenance of a 30 mile railroad line between Panzós and Pancajché. Passenger service travelled twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays; mail also arrived by ship every Wednesday and cargo came from

Livingston, Izabal Livingston is a town, with a population of 17,923 (2018 census), in Izabal Department, eastern Guatemala, at the mouth of the Río Dulce at the Gulf of Honduras. The town serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. It was G ...

. Besides, there were train stops in Santa Rosita, Santa Catalina La Tinta, and Papalhá. In 1898, it was reported that given the coffee prosperity in

Cobán Cobán ( kek, Kob'an), fully Santo Domingo de Cobán, is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from ...

, which in those days was the third largest city in Guatemala, the railroad was going to be extended to that city. The railroad was in operation until 1965, when it was superseded by truck and highways.

Image:Ferrocarrilverapaz1895.jpg, Verapaz Railroad maiden voyage in 1894. Image:Vaporferrocarrilverapaz1898.jpg, Verapaz Railroad steamboat sailing the

Polochic river The Polochic River () is a river in eastern Guatemala. It flows eastwards through a deep valley and flows into Lake Izabal at . The river is navigable for to Panzós. It was used many years ago to transport coffee and timber Lumber is wo ...

. Image:Vaporpolochic1898.jpg, Coffee transport. Image:Ferrocarrilverapaz1900.jpg, Verapaz Railroad engine in the 1900s.

Thomae family

One of the most powerful German families that settled in the region by the end of the 19th century was the Thomae family, who had their headquarters in neighbor

Purulhá Purulhá is a town and municipality in the Baja Verapaz department of Guatemala. It is situated at 1570 m above sea level. The municipality has a population of 56,822 (2018 census) and covers an area of 536 km². The annual festival is June ...

. Mauricio Thomae's early farmland had the following haciendas:

Years later, during general

Jorge Ubico Jorge Ubico Castañeda (10 November 1878 – 14 June 1946), nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan dictator. A general in the Guatemalan army, he was elected to the presidency in 1931, in an election where ...

's presidency (1931-1944), Thomae went on to become one of the most influential landlords in the German Verapaz, along with the Sarg, Sapper and Diesseldorf families. Ubico had been governor of Cobán during

Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he was a strong ruler (dictator) who modernised the country's industry and transportat ...

22-year regime and befriended several German families, including the Thomaes.

Climate

Tucurú has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Af'').

Geographic location

Notes and references

References

Bibliography

External links

Tucurú information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucuru Municipalities of the Alta Verapaz Department