Guatemalan National Holiday

Independence Day

Five Central American countries -- Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica -- kick off their Independence Day celebrations on September 15, the date when, in 1821, they declared independence from Spain, while the following day Mexico holds its own independence celebrations.

Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, Honduras to the east and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km2 (42,043 sq mi) with an estimated population of 15,438,384. A representative democracy, its capital is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City.

The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. They had lived in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and eastern parts of El Salvador.