You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (August 2019) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at [[:es:Coatepeque (El Salvador)]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|es|Coatepeque (El Salvador)}} to the talk page.
Coatepeque is the Hispanicized form of Kuatepek from the Nawat language: with kuat meaning snake and tepet meaning mountain. Thus translating to Snake Mountain, sometimes Mixcoatl Mountain (to honor of Mixcoatl, an Aztec god associated with hunting and war) or cerro de la serpiente in Spanish.[2]
History
Initially inhabited by the Poqomam Maya, it was conquered by the Nahuas of Cuzcatlan around the 1200s, forming the altepetl of the same name. It fell to Spanish rule after the Spanish conquest of El Salvador in the early 16th century. During the colonial period, it was under the Alcaldia Mayor de San Salvador. Post independence it was a part of the Sonsonate department until it's split, joining the newly created Santa Ana in 1855.[3] It was first granted the title of villa on October 12, 1858, and getting promoted to city on March 25, 1917.[4] Both the town and lake were one in the same before the municipality was split on March 20, 1933, to form El Congo. Due to the 2023 municipality restructuring, Coatepeque was re-categorized as a district and joined El Congo under the municipality of Santa Ana Este.
It was the epicenter of the Battle of Coatepeque, where Salvadoran forces successfully defended the city from invading Guatemalan forces.
Administration
The current mayor is Carolina Escobar from Nuevas Ideas, representing Santa Ana Este since 2024. Coatepeque is made up of 16 districts known as cantones and 83 hamlets:
Caña Brava
Conacastes
Concepción
El Cerro
El Tinteral
Jocotón
Junquillo
La Joya
Las Piletas
Palo Negro
Resbaladero
Solimán
Siete Príncipes
San Felipe
San Jacinto
Zacatal
Culture
Its patron saint is Saint Peter the Apostle, who is celebrated from June 20 to June 29.[5]
