History of Guatemala City
Under Jorge Ubico (1878-1946, ruled 1931-1944), in the 1930s a hippodrome and many new public buildings were constructed, although peripheral poor neighborhoods that formed after the 1917–1918 earthquakes continued to lack basic amenities.
During the long-running strife of the Guatemalan Civil War, terror attacks beginning with the burning of the Spanish Embassy in 1980 led to severe destruction and loss of life in the city.
Many of the outlying ruins, along with several hundred temple mounds, were covered over with freeways, shopping centers, businesses, luxury hotels and residential areas.
However, at that time the political climate was very tense in the country and when the civil war between liberal and conservative parties escalated, Galvez was overthrown and the theater was not built.
Initially, construction was to be supervised by engineer Miguel Rivera Maestre, but he quit after a few months and was replaced by German expert José Beckers, who built the Greek façades and added a lobby.
President Estrada Cabrera moved his residence to "La Palma", located where in 1955 the "Teodoro Palacios Flores" national gym had been built.
Among the destroyed public buildings were the Palace of La Reforma built by Reyna Barrios and the Joaquina maternity home; because of this, the historical infrastructure that existed during this time has been forgotten by new generations of Guatemalans.
The Hipódromo del Sur (English: "Southern Horse Track") was officially inaugurated in 1923 by then president general José María Orellana, and it was a very popular recreation place in "La Aurora" National Park.
[13] In the early days of general Jorge Ubico's term in office (1931-1934) new facilities were completed; a presidential suite, and field referee quarters were added.
During the next years of Ubico's regime, the city expanded towards the South, with the construction of "La Aurora" International Airport and exposition halls for the "November Fair".
[14] The elite homes were placed along "Avenida Reforma" (Reform Avenue), and were built of wood, American style, to resist earthquakes; much open space was retained in that area, which contributed to the peace and quiet of the zone.
[15] In those days, Ubico designated the city mayor who was in charge of modernizing the utilities of downtown and the south area, since the elite had started to relocate there; besides, the palace buildings took 35% of the cement production of the country.
[18] In his place in the party, Julio César Méndez Montenegro became the candidate and was elected president, after signing a pact with the Guatemalan Army,[citation needed] leading to a repressive regime.
[22] A group of native people from El Quiché occupied the embassy in a desperate attempt to bring attention to the issues they were having with the Army in that region of the country, which was rich in oil and had been recently populated as part of the "Franja Transversal del Norte" agricultural program.
[23] In the end, thirty seven people died after a fire started within the embassy after the police force tried to occupy the building; after that, Spain broke its diplomatic relationships with Guatemala.
[25][d] "Beheaded corpses hanging from their legs in between what is left from blown up cars, shapeless bodies among glass shards and tree branches all over the place is what a terrorist attack caused yesterday at 9:35 am.
El Gráfico reporters were able to get to exact place where the bomb went off, only seconds after the horrific explosion, and found a truly infernal scene in the corner of the 6th avenue and 6th street -where the Presidential Office is located- which had turned into a huge oven -but the solid building where the president worked was safe-.
The attacks against private financial, commercial, and agricultural targets increased in the Lucas Garcia years, as the leftist Marxist groups saw those institutions as "reactionaries" and "millionaire exploiters" that were collaborating with the "genocidal government".
On the night of 27 May 2010, Pacaya volcano erupted; the ash column reached 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) above the crater and severely impact the city and three adjacent regions.
President Álvaro Colom declared a State of Emergency and the Secretary of Education suspended classes in the affected regions: Guatemala, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez.
[32] On 29 May 2010, two days after the Pacaya eruption, Guatemala City was impacted by Tropical Storm Agatha, which caused an extreme amount of rain over a very short period.
Geologists Sam Bonis and T. Waltham argue that the recurring piping features in Guatemala City are caused by sewer leaks eroding the soft volcanic deposits that form the floor of the Valle de la Ermita.
