{"id":8180,"date":"2021-01-10T07:11:33","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T15:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=8180"},"modified":"2021-02-01T07:33:49","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T15:33:49","slug":"los-altos-railway-the-altenses-dream-that-became-a-reality-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/los-altos-railway-the-altenses-dream-that-became-a-reality-3\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLOS ALTOS RAILWAY\u201d The Altenses dream that became a reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Christian D\u00edaz (Third Part)<\/strong><\/p>\n

IV. Honors to El El\u00e9ctrico<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

For the inauguration of the Los Altos Railway a piece was composed in marimba that later has been transported to many more version such as piano, violin, guitar, percussion, flutes, etc. the melody was called \u201cFerrocarril de Los Altos\u201d a foxtrot composed by Domingo Bethancourt, from Quetzaltenango.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today this piece of music still continues as one of the most famous of the time and is a reminder of the glorious golden age of Quetzaltenango and Los Altos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What few people know is that this iconic song has lyrics that are practically unknown to the most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In video: version of the musical piece \u201cFerrocarril de Los Altos\u201d by the Marimba de Bellas Artes under the direction of Alfonso Bautista. Check the following link:\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G0VGODoRy9o<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In image: Los Altos Railway as it passed through a platform station (possibly through La Dicha Station)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

V Decline of the Railway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Until 1933, Los Altos Railway did not present any damage to its mechanics, it\u2019s electrical or rail system since it was of the highest quality. However, the powerful winter of that year managed to cause some collapses in the railroad tracks, which made its use impossible for a brief period. The government of that time, headed by Jorge Ubico, viewed with total disapproval the repair of the rails ruined by the storms, arguing that it was not a of public necessity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Faced with this, the residents of the city of Quetzaltenango and from the Village of San Felipe joined together and suggested paying the expenses of the railway repair by themselves, however the government flatly denied it and as if that were not enough, Jorge Ubico demanded immediate dismissal to all the staff that worked on Los Altos Railroad, the only one of its kind and if this railway would remained today, it would continue to be an impressive economic engine for the region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let us remember that Jorge Ubico was one of the most centralist dictator presidents in the history of America. He tried to stop the development of Quetzaltenango and the region, because even without government support, the region was stood out throughout the national and international territory. Even at that time, the economic capital of Guatemala continued to be Quetzaltenango without the need for central support and with its own merits; but Jorge Ubico, in his eagerness to stop its progress decided not to support the reconstruction (which would not have been very big or expensive and were totally remediable in a short term).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In image: The Central Station with the Los Altos Railway sheltered from the storms, time before Jorge Ubico forced its decline.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A great offense for Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu for being deprived of their inherent right to economic progress in the winter of 1933, if Los Altos Railway would survive today, it would continue to be an essential economic engine for the region. The municipalities that were benefited from this project have never received another benefit of this category from the central government and Los Altos Railway would have already expanded to all the other Altense departments, including Soconusco.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The modern era in which Quetzaltenango began as a pioneer of Central America was overshadowed by the envy of a tyrant and its unjustified evil actions, Jorge Ubico who deliberately hated Quetzaltenango, and he made known in his speeches and public actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1933 the railway dream ended in Guatemala, because to date has never been seen in the national territory a project as innovative and impressive as the Electric Railway. The rails of the Los Altos Railway were detached and used as power poles and the wagons were sold to Argentina who reuses them because of their invaluable quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the rest there are still some vestiges kept in the heart of Quetzaltenango and in its museums, but above all the ideal still persists of wanting to stand out on their own without waiting for help from the central government, who have already shown countless times how they are not interested in the rest of the departments more than to produce the riches that are found here without returning anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In image: A photograph of Angel Prado dating from 1930 in which the Los Altos Railway is seen as it passes through one of its stations: \u201cLos Pirineos\u201d.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>VI Railway Vestiges<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

El <\/span>El\u00e9ctrico<\/span><\/i> will never be forgotten by the Altense people, who fulfilled the dream of development for their region with union and dedication between the departments of Retalhuleu and Quetzaltenango who joined in mutual development and thus their trade could consolidated as never before seen and still today does not happen again. (1)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nowadays, it remains in our hearts the memories of an unprecedented work and still in our time continues to be a pride, as well as a beautiful melody of that time that reflects the notable railway symbol that exclaimed for the progress of Los Altos<\/span>. (2)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0As for the material remains of the railway, the old Central Station located in zone 3 of Quetzaltenango city was converted into a military base of great importance for the country until 1996. Then it was finally destined to become \u201cThe Intercultural Center of Quetzaltenango\u201d in which large national events are taking place today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Los Altos Railway Museum was thus also inaugurated, which currently contains some pieces that were rescued from <\/span>El El\u00e9ctrico<\/span><\/i> and valuable photographs and documents of this work. (3)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What would it be of Los Altos if even in our time the railway continued to run through our departments, promoting our culture, economy and identity as Altenses for progress and eagerness to development!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let us never forget our history, let us never forget the <\/span>El\u00e9ctrico, <\/span><\/i>the glorious \u201cLos Altos Railway\u201d, may our hope continue in our convictions of reopening it someday in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In image: One of the first class wagons of the Los Altos Railway in which its name is read, courtesy of the newspaper \u201cEl Quetzalteco\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

———————–<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)<\/span> <\/span>The historian Francisco Cajas Ovando related that the Los Altos Railway was supported by only one president of the Republic of Guatemala in all of the history, and he was Manuel Estrada Cabrera (who born in the city of Quetzaltenango considered himself to be Altense to the bone) who supported and approved this project without conditions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(2)<\/span> <\/span>Named \u201cEl Ferrocarril de Los Altos\u201d a beautiful and cultural piece of music created by the Master Domingo Bethancourt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(3)<\/span> T<\/span>his museum is located in zone 3 of Quetzaltenango city, in the old Central Railway Station and is called \u201cMuseo del Ferrocarril de Los Altos, Octavio Ciani\u201d who is one of the forerunners of preserving the memory of the railway.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Christian D\u00edaz (Third Part) IV. Honors to El El\u00e9ctrico For the inauguration of the Los Altos Railway a piece was composed in marimba that later has been transported to many more version such as piano, violin, guitar, percussion, flutes, etc. the melody was called \u201cFerrocarril de Los Altos\u201d a foxtrot composed by Domingo Bethancourt, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[409,455,435],"tags":[2697,2698,2706,2699],"class_list":["post-8180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-pagetwo-en","category-xela-en","tag-los-altos-railway","tag-quetzaltenango-en","tag-railway-electrico","tag-xela-en"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-8.jpg?fit=890%2C505&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-27W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8161,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/los-altos-railway-the-altenses-dream-that-became-a-reality-2\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8180,"position":0},"title":"\u201cLOS ALTOS RAILWAY\u201d The Altenses dream that became a reality","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"10 enero, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For Christian D\u00edaz (Second Part) II. INAUGURATION Thanks to the excellent German planning on March 30th of 1930 excitement, joy and rejoicing broke out throughout the region, as Quetzaltenango received the first trip of Los Altos Railway from the initial station in the village of San Felipe, department of Retalhuleu\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-5.jpg?fit=650%2C476&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-5.jpg?fit=650%2C476&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-5.jpg?fit=650%2C476&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12199,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/intercultural-park\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8180,"position":1},"title":"Intercultural Park","author":"EntreMundos","date":"13 julio, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"BY VALERIA LEIVA \/ TRANSLATED BY SOPHIA OCA\u00d1A An urban park for the strengthening of cultures, the promotion of sports, the encouragement of arts, creative industries, and the dignification of historical memory. Following a deep reflection with artists, architects, and professionals regarding the different needs of the municipality, especially the\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/foto21-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/foto21-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/foto21-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/foto21-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/foto21-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8159,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/los-altos-railway-the-altenses-dream-that-became-a-reality\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8180,"position":2},"title":"\u201cLOS ALTOS RAILWAY\u201d The Altenses dream that became a reality","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"6 enero, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For Christian D\u00edaz History\u00a0 In 1902 two major natural events happened in the City of Los Altos, the eruption of Santa Mar\u00eda Volcano(1) and the San Perfecto Earthquake that left the city with severe disasters and human and material losses.\u00a0 For that reason, in that city came up with an\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ferrocarril-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6304,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/xela-guide\/cultural-activities-for-the-end-of-the-month\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8180,"position":3},"title":"Cultural Activities for the end of the month","author":"EntreMundos","date":"26 febrero, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Thrusday, February 27th: 17:30 hrs. Cian Meetup, Casa No\u2019j, free entrance. 18:45 hrs. Rutas en Ruedas, night rides, Utz Ulew Mall, free. 19:00 hrs. Storytelling, Innovation and Entrepreneourship at El Teatrito Xela, free entrance. Friday, February 28th: 11:00 hrs. Lovers Danceathon at Interplaza Xela. 14:00 hrs. Bird Photography Contest Exhibit\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abThings to Do\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Things to Do","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/xela-guide\/things-to-do\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/teatro.jpg?fit=720%2C481&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/teatro.jpg?fit=720%2C481&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/teatro.jpg?fit=720%2C481&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/teatro.jpg?fit=720%2C481&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6073,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/the-sixth-state-of-los-altos-2\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8180,"position":4},"title":"The Sixth State of Los Altos","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 febrero, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Christian D\u00edaz During the colonial period, the Kingdom of Guatemala was one of Spain\u2019s principal sources of wealth. Its vast territories contained a broad range of natural resources that enriched the criollo elite. (Criollo: European-descended but born in the Americas.) This elite did what it wanted with the classes\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/pag.-18-foto-para-cronicas-de-los-altos_-el-sexto-estado-de-la-republica-federal-de-centroamerica.jpg?fit=524%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12041,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/quetzaltenango-500-years-of-history-challengess-and-hope\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8180,"position":5},"title":"Quetzaltenango: 500 years of history, challengess, and hope","author":"EntreMundos","date":"16 mayo, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"BY SAMUEL ALVAREZ MORALES TRANSLATED BY GEOFF WATSON The history of the city dates back to pre-Columbian times. From that time on, it has been an important commercial and cultural center for the region. Its first inhabitants were the Mam, who would call it Kulaja; The Quich\u00e9s conquered it and\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/whatsapp-image-2024-05-03-at-5.26.36-pm-scaled.jpeg?fit=632%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/whatsapp-image-2024-05-03-at-5.26.36-pm-scaled.jpeg?fit=632%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/whatsapp-image-2024-05-03-at-5.26.36-pm-scaled.jpeg?fit=632%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8182,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8180\/revisions\/8182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}