Zinacantán
Zinacantán | |
|---|---|
Town and Municipality | |
Partial view of Zinacantan with San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence) Church in the middle | |
| Coordinates: 16°45′35″N 92°42′20″W / 16.75972°N 92.70556°W | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Chiapas |
| Government | |
| • Presidente municipal | Mariano Francisco Sanchez Hernandez |
| Area | |
• Total | 66.2 sq mi (171.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 8,392 ft (2,558 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
• Total | 36,489 |
| • Density | 550/sq mi (210/km2) |
| Climate | Cfb |
San Lorenzo Zinacantán ( /siˈnɑːnkɑːnˌtɑːn/) is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas in southern Mexico. 99.1% of its population is Tzotzil Maya, an indigenous people with linguistic and cultural ties to other highland Maya peoples.
Zinacantán literally means "land of bats" and comes from the Nahuatl language. People in Zinacantán speak Tzotzil (a Mayan language) and they call their own land "Sots'leb", that is, "land of bats" in their own language.