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Republic of El SalvadorRepública de El Salvador
Flag Coat of arms of El Salvador Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios, Unión, Libertad"  (Spanish) "God, Union, Liberty"
Anthem: Himno Nacional de El Salvador
Capitaland largest city	San Salvador
Official languages	Spanish
Government	Republic
• President	Antonio Saca
Independence
• from Spain	September 15 1821
• from the UPCA	1842
• Water (%)	1.4
Population
• July 2006 estimate	6,822,378 (97th)
• 1992 census	5,118,599
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$36.246 billion (93rd)
• Per capita	5,515 (101th)
Gini (2002)	52.4 high inequality
HDI (2006)	0.722 high (101th)
Currency	Salvadoran colón (1919–2001) United States dollar (2001–present)
Time zone	UTC-6
Calling code	503
ISO 3166 code	SV
Internet TLD	.sv
Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%).

El Salvador is a country in Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras, with a population of approximately 6.9 million people. El Salvador is the most densely populated nation on the American mainland and is undergoing rapid industrialization.

Name

Its official name is the Republic of El Salvador. In Spanish it is "la República de El Salvador". The country was named after the Spanish word for "The Saviour", in honor of Jesus Christ.

El Salvador was known as "Nequepio" to the Olmec & Quiche tribes which inhabited the region prior to the migration that came from neighboring tribes of northern Mesoamerica.

The Pipiles, who arrived from central Mexico, renamed the area "Cuzcatlan", because of the lushness and fertileness of the land. Cuzcatlan translates as "Land of Precious Jewels" in the native indigenous tongue known as Pipil-Nawat (Nahuatl).

History

In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadores ventured into Central America from Mexico, then known as the Spanish colony of New Spain. Spanish efforts to extend their dominion to the area that would be known as El Salvador were firmly resisted by the Pipil and their remaining Mayan-speaking neighbors. Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Hernan Cortes, led the first effort by Spanish forces in June 1524.

Led by a war leader tradition calls Atlacatl, the indigenous people defeated the Spaniards and forced them to withdraw to Guatemala. Two subsequent expeditions were required --the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528-- to bring the Pipil under Spanish control.

Towards the end of 1810, a combination of external and internal factors allowed Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish crown. The internal factors were mainly the interest the elites had in controlling the territories they owned without involvement from Spanish authorities. The external factors were the success of the French and American revolutions in the eighteenth century and the weakening of the military power of the Spanish crown because of its wars against Napoleonic France. The independence movement was consolidated on November 5 1811, when the Salvadorian priest, Jose Matías Delgado, sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a call for the insurrection. After many years of internal fights, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15 1821.

September 16, 1821, Mexico gained independence as the First Mexican Empire under the rule of Emperor Agustin de Iturbide, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces declared their independence from Spain and became part of the Mexican Empire. In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed by the five Central American states under General Manuel José Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador's early history as an independent state was marked by frequent revolutions.

From 1872 to 1898, El Salvador was a prime mover in attempts to reestablish an isthmian federation. The governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua formed the Greater Republic of Central America via the Pact of Amapala in 1895. Although Guatemala and Costa Rica considered joining the Greater Republic (which was rechristened the United States of Central America when its constitution went into effect in 1898), neither country joined. This union, which had planned to establish its capital city at Amapala on the Golfo de Fonseca, did not survive a seizure of power in El Salvador in 1898.

The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a mono culture export served as an impetus for the process whereby land became concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy of several hundred families. A succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadorian oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, throughout the last half of the nineteenth century generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant cash crop, on the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, on the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, on the passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient labour for the coffee fincas (plantations), and on the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.

The coffee industry grew inexorably in El Salvador. As a result the elite provided the bulk of the government's financial support through import duties on goods imported with the foreign currencies that coffee sales earned. This support, coupled with the humbler and more mundane mechanisms of corruption, ensured the coffee growers of overwhelming influence within the government.

El Salvador's early history as an independent state—as with others in Central America—was marked by frequent revolutions; not until the period was relative stability achieved. The economic elite, based on agriculture and some mining, ruled the country in conjunction with the military, and the power structure remained in the control of the "Fourteen Families" of wealthy landowners.

The economy, based on coffee-growing after the mid-19th century, as the world market for indigo withered away, prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. From 1931—the year of the coup in which Gen. Maximiliano Hernández Martínez came to power until he was deposed in 1944 there was brutal suppression of rural resistance. The most notable event was the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising, commonly referred to as La Matanza (the massacre), headed by Farabundo Martí and the retaliation led by Martinez's government, in which approximately 30,000 indigenous people and political opponents were murdered, imprisoned or exiled. Until 1980, all but one Salvadoran temporary president was an army officer. Periodic presidential elections were seldom free or fair.

Politics

The political framework of El Salvador takes place in a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of El Salvador (Elias Antonio Saca) is both head of state and head of government, and of a multiform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. A strongly Roman Catholic nation, El Salvador is one of three countries in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions, along with Chile and Nicaragua.

Departments and municipalities

El Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), which, in turn, are subdivided into 267 municipalities (municipios). The departments are:

Geography

El Salvador is located in Central America. It has a total area of 8,123 square miles (21,040 km²), making it almost the same size as the state of Massachusetts. El Salvador is the smallest country in continental America. Due to its size it is affectionately called the "Tom Thumb of the Americas" ("Pulgarcito de America"). It has 123.6 square miles (320 km²) of water within its borders. Several small rivers flow through El Salvador into the Pacific Ocean, including the Goascorán, Jiboa, Torola, Paz and the Río Grande de San Miguel. Only the largest river, the Lempa River, flowing from Honduras across El Salvador to the ocean, is navigable for commercial traffic. Volcanic craters enclose lakes, the most important of which are Lake Ilopango (70 km² / 27 sq mi) and Lake Coatepeque (26 km² / 10 sq mi). Lake Güija is El Salvador's largest natural lake (44 km² / 17 sq mi). Several artificial lakes were created by the damming of the Lempa, the largest of which is Embalse Cerrón Grande (350 km² / 135 sq mi).

El Salvador shares borders with Guatemala (126 mi / 203 km) and Honduras (212.5 mi / 342 km). It is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline. The highest point in the country is Cerro El Pital at 8,957 feet (2,730 meters).

Climate

El Salvador has a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons. Temperatures vary primarily with elevation and show little seasonal change. The Pacific lowlands are uniformly hot; the central plateau and mountain areas are more moderate. The rainy season extends from May to October. Almost all the annual rainfall occurs during this time, and yearly totals, particularly on southern-facing mountain slopes, can be as high as 200 centimeters. Protected areas and the central plateau receive lesser, although still significant, amounts. Rainfall during this season generally comes from low pressure over the Pacific and usually falls in heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Although hurricanes occasionally form in the Pacific, they seldom affect El Salvador, with the notable exception of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

From November through April, the northeast trade winds control weather patterns. During these months, air flowing from the Caribbean has had most of the precipitation wrung out of it while passing over the mountains in Honduras. By the time this air reaches El Salvador, it is dry, hot, and hazy.

Temperatures vary little with season; elevation is the primary determinant. The Pacific lowlands are the hottest and most humid region, with annual averages ranging from 25°C to 29°C. San Salvador is representative of the central plateau, with an annual average temperature of 23°C and absolute high and low readings of 38°C and 2°C, respectively. Mountain areas are the coolest, with annual averages from 12°C to 23°C and minimum temperatures sometimes approaching freezing.

Natural disasters

El Salvador lies along the Pacific ring of fire, and is thus subject to significant tectonic activity, including frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Recent examples include the earthquake on January 13, 2001 that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale and caused a landslide that killed more than eight hundred people; and the earthquake only a month later on February 13, 2001, killing 255 people and damaging about 20% of the nation's housing. Luckily many families, were able to find safety from the landslides caused by the earthquake. El Salvador's most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on October 1, 2005, when the Ilamatepec volcano spewed up a cloud of ash and rocks, which fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths (Óscar Armando Guerrero Ventura and José Rafael Guevara).  

El Salvador's position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe droughts, both of which may be made more extreme by the El Nino and La Nina effects. In the summer of 2001, a severe drought destroyed 80% of the country's crops, causing famine in the countryside. On October 4, 2005, severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which caused at minimum fifty deaths. El Salvador's location in Central America also makes it vulnerable to hurricanes coming off of the Caribbean, however this risk is much less than for other Central American countries.

Economy

{{Main|Economy of El

Tourism

The only airport serving international flights in the country is: Aeropuerto Internacional El Salvador (International Airport of El Salvador, airport code: SAL). This airport is located in Comalapa: about 45 minutes southeast of the capital. The airport is often also referred to as: Cuscatlan Airport or by its original name: Aeropuerto Internacional Comalapa.

Between 1996 and 2006, 7.3 million visitors Central Americans, and Europeans helped generate a record $1.7 billion. Most of the North American]] and European tourists are seeking out El Salvador's beaches and nightlife. More and more continue to be drawn by El Salvador's turbulent past. 

The latest tourist attractions in the former war-torn El Salvador are gun fragments, pictures, combat plans and mountain hideouts. Since 1992, residents in economically depressed areas are trying to profit from these remains.

The mountain town of Perquin was considered the "guerrilla capital". Today it is home to the "Museum of the Revolution", featuring cannons, uniforms, pieces of Soviet weaponry and other weapons of war once used by the FMLN's (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) headquarters.

El Salvador is a growing attraction. Tourism is rapidly growing more people all over the world European, North American, Asian, and Central American are drawn by all that El Salvador has to offer. 40% of El Salvador visitors want to enjoy the sun and the countries beautiful beaches, 38% of El Salvador visitors enjoy the colonial structures and the countries history, 22% enjoy the nature and El Salvador mountains. According to El Salvador news paper El Diario De Hoy the top 10 main attractions are the beaches in La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores, Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana where you find the countries tallest volcanoe, Nahuizalco, Apaneca, Juayua, San Ignacio. According to "la campaña del Ministerio de Turismo, El Salvador" Tourists visiting El Salvador are impressed by the countries Natural Beauty. ]

Culture

Spanish is the official language of El Salvador, but many locals speak English. The Roman Catholic religion plays an important role in the Salvadorian culture. Important foreign personalities in El Salvador were the Jesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuria, Ignacio Martín-Baró and Segundo Montes. Painting, ceramics and textile goods are the main manual artistic expressions. Writers Francisco Gavidia (1863–1955), Salarrué (Salvador Salazar Arrué) ), Claudia Lars, Alfredo Espino, Pedro Geoffroy, Manlio Argueta, José Roberto Cea and poet Roque Dalton are among the most important writers to stem from El Salvador. Notable twentieth century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio, artist Fernando Llort, and caricaturist Toño Salazar. Amongst the more renowned representatives of the graphic arts are the painters Noe Canjura, Carlos Cañas, Julia Díaz, Camilo Minero, Ricardo Carbonell, Roberto Huezo, and many others.

One noteworthy fact is that the wife of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of the children's book, The Little Prince) was a Salvadorian aristocrat, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry.

The local Spanish vernacular is called Caliche.

Cuisine

El Salvador's most notable dish is the pupusa. Pupusas are a thick hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz or masa de arroz, a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (queso) (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese called Quesillo con loroco), fried pork rind (chicharrón), chicken (pollo), refried beans (frijoles refritos), or/and queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America). New stuffings such as shrimp or ayote are used by adventurous restaurants.

Pupusas are from El Salvador, but immigrants have brought the dish to areas of residence such as Northern California (the San Francisco Bay Area), Southern California, Virginia, Washington D.C., and other locations, where there are now many pupuserias (a place where pupusas are sold). Pupusas are usually served with curtido (a type of spicy coleslaw), and tomato sauce. They are eaten with the fingers.

Pupusas come from the pipil-nahuatl word, pupushahua, which means tortilla filled with cheese, beans, chicharrón (pork), ayote, cream, carrots, etc. They were first eaten by the Natives there almost three millennia ago.

Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are Yuca Frita and Pan con Chumpe (Pavo). The Yuca Frita is deep fried and served with curtido (Salvadoran pickled cabbage salad) with chicharrones (pork cracklings) or pepesquitas (fried baby sardines) on top. The Pan con Chumpe (Pavo= Turkey) is a marinated turkey roasted and handpulled submarine sandwich (hoagie) that is sold at local stands and is very tasty because of the many Pipil spices used to roast the turkey.

Music

El Salvador is a Central American country whose culture is a mixture of Mayan, Pipil/Aztec and Spanish. Its music includes religious songs (mostly Roman Catholic) used to celebrate Christmas and other holidays, especially feast days of the saints. Satirical and rural lyrical themes are common. Popular styles in modern El Salvador include salsa, cumbia, hip hop and reggaeton.

Musicians include Bobby Rivas, Jhosse Lora, Marito Rivera y su Grupo Bravo, Los Hermanos Flores, Pastor Lopez and some of the more recent groups are Mecate, Heavy Clan, Pescozada, Cosa Nostra, Son 3/4, Adhesivo, La Chanchona de Arcadio, Anastasio y los del Monte, Las Nenas de Caña, Alto Mando, and DJ Emsy, Mr. Pelon 503, Alvaro Torres, Los Vikings de Usulutan, Los Apaches de Usulutan.

Demographics

El Salvador's population numbers around 7 million people. 90% of Salvadorans are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish origin), while 9% are White. The white population is mostly of Spanish descent, but there are also some of French, German, Swiss, and Italian descent. El Salvador is 1% indigenous, mostly Pipil and Lenca. Very few Amerindians have retained their native customs, traditions, or languages, especially in the wake of the deliberate 1932 massacres in which the Salvadoran military murdered up to 40,000 peasants.

El Salvador is the only Central American country that has no visible African population because of its relative inaccessibility to the Atlantic slave trade. However, Salvadorans with African heritage are present, most notably in San Salvador, the capital. In addition, General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez instituted race laws in 1930 that prohibited blacks from entering the country, this changed during the 1980s and the law was removed.

Among the few immigrant groups that reached El Salvador, Palestinian Christians stand out. Though few in number, their descendants have attained great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by President Antonio Saca and the flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by them.

Spanish is the official language and therefore spoken by virtually all inhabitants (some of the indigenous still speak their native tongues). English is also spoken by many throughout the republic since many have studied or lived in English speaking countries (mainly the U.S., but also Canada and Australia).

Although nominally Roman Catholic, Protestantism is growing rapidly and is already more than 20% of the population. Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist churches are all growing rapidly as are Pentecostals, Mormons and Muslims/ Musulmanes

The capital city of San Salvador has about 2.1 million people; an estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas. Urbanization expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador since the 1960s, driving millions to the cities and creating growth problems for cities around the country.

According to the most recent United Nations survey, life expectancy for men was 68 years and 74 years for women. Education in El Salvador is free through ninth grade. The national literacy rate is 84.1%.

As of 2004, there were approximately 3.2 million Salvadorans living outside El Salvador, some of whom are undocumented immigrants in the United States. Many other Salvadoran-Americans are legal immigrants, many becoming citizens or residents through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The USA has traditionally been the destination of choice for Salvadorans looking for greater economic opportunity. Salvadorans also live in nearby Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Other countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Sweden, Italy and Australia. The majority of the expatriates emigrated during the civil war of the 1980s and due to adverse economic and social conditions.

Notes and references

1. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html
2. http://www.laprensagrafica.com/especiales/2005/erupcion/.asp
3. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html
4. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/elsalvador/photo6.html
5. http://www.fiu.edu/~oberbaue/el_salvador.pdf
6. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html
7. http://www.aeropuertoelsalvador.gob.sv/
8. ^ Montgomery, Tommie Sue (1995). Revolution in El Salvador: from civil strife to civil peace. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.
9. International Religious Freedom Report 2005

Bibliography

• Bonner, Raymond. Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador. New York: Times Books, 1984.
• Danner, Mark. The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
• Vilas, Carlos. Between Earthquakes and Volcanoes: Market, State, and the Revolutions in Central America. New York: Monthly Review Press. 1995.

See also

Template:El Salvador portal

• Latin American culture
• Military of El Salvador
• Salvador (film)
• Salvadorean diplomatic missions
• Water supply and sanitation in El Salvador
• Scouting in El Salvador

External links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, El Salvador - Country Page
• Template:Dmoz
• Grupo de Usuarios GNU/Linux de El Salvador (Linux user group El Salvador)

Government sites

• Casa Presidencial (Website of the President)
• Asamblea Legislativa (Website of the Legislative Assembly)
• Ministerio de Defensa Nacional (Ministry of Defense)
• Fuerza Aerea Salvadoreña (Air Force of El Salvador)
• Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Ministry of the Environment and Natural resources)
• Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• Ministerio de Economía (Ministry of the Economy)
• Ministerio de Turismo (Ministry of Tourism)
• Corte Suprema de Justicia (Supreme Court of Justice)
• Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (Office of the judge advocate general for the Defense of Human rights)
• Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (El Salvador's Central Reserve Bank)

Non- Profits Working in El Salvador

• Sustainability
  • The Foundation for Self- Sufficiency in Central America

Salvadorian media

• News sites
  • Asociación de Periodistas de El Salvador
  • El Diario de Hoy
  • La Prensa Grafica
• Television sites
  • Canal 12
  • TCS
  • Canal 21
• Business and Info sites
  • Paginas Amarillas y Directorio Negocios(Yellow Pages)
  • Clasificados El Salvador. Compra y Venta(classifieds advertisements)
  • Camara Salvadoreña de Bienes Raices CSBR(Real Estate Association)

• Articles needing additional references from March 2006
• El Salvador
• Central American countries
• Former Spanish colonies
• Spanish-speaking countries