San Antonio, Toledo

San Antonio
Roman Catholic Church in San Antonio
San Antonio
Coordinates: 16°14′40″N 89°01′25″W
Country	Belize
District	Toledo
Constituency	Toledo West
Population  (2010)
• Total	1,204[1]
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central)
Climate	Af

San Antonio is a village in the Toledo District of Belize. It is the largest Maya settlement in Belize, with a population of approximately 1,000 people, predominantly Mopan Maya.[2] About 88% of the inhabitants are Catholic, with 8% belonging to other Christian denominations, and 4% being non-denominational.[2] Along with 29 other mission parishes in the Toledo District, it is pastored by Jesuits from St. Peter Claver church in Punta Gorda.

Ulrich with Maya

The village was founded in 1883 by Maya fleeing persecution in Guatemala.[3] This was a part of a larger migration which also included Q’eqchi’ from Alta Verpaz who settled further south in the Crique Sarco, Dolores, and later Sarstoon, Temash, and Moho River areas.[4]

Economic development came to San Antonio in the early 1950s with the founding of a credit union and cooperative that enabled villagers to market their own produce. Fr. William Ulrich, S.J., spearheaded this movement.[5]

San Antonio features several attractions, including San Antonio Falls, a stone church built in 1950, and ecotourism guest houses.[2]

Demographics

At the time of the 2010 census, San Antonio had a population of 1,204. Of these, 94.6% were Mopan Maya, 1.3% Ketchi Maya, 1.3% Mixed, 1.2% Mestizo, 0.4% Yucatec Maya, 0.2% Creole, 0.2% Caucasian, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Garifuna, 0.1% Mennonite and 0.5% others.[6]

References

1. "Population Data – Census 2010". Statistical Institute of Belize. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
2. Nystrom, Andrew Dean, ed. (1997). Maya Atlas: The Struggle to Preserve Maya Land in Southern Belize. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Book. p. 44. ISBN 1556432569.
3. Eltringham, Peter (2010). The Rough Guide to Belize (5th ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 230–231. ISBN 1848365128.
4. Burns, Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell (1949) Colonial Civil Servant
5. Woods, Charles M. Sr., et al. (2015). Years of Grace: The History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524-2014. Belize: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan. p. 243.
6. Population & Housing Census

External links

San Antonio Water Falls

• San Antonio at Wikivoyage
• Photo archive, early 20th century