Apastepeque is a municipality in the

San Vicente Department San Vicente () is a department of El Salvador in the center of the country. The capital is San Vicente. On October 4, 1834, San Vicente City of Austria and Lorenzana (Ciudad de San Vicente de Austria y Lorenzana) was made the capital of State ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. It is located approximately 50 km east of

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

and approximately 6 km from San Vicente. The town has approximately 10,000 residents with 19,895 in municipality. The town is known for its fiestas and cultural traditions throughout the year, starting in January with Fiesta de los Moros, in May, Santa Rita's festivities, in July the patron Santiago, and in December, the annual Christmas carnaval.

Geography

Apastepeque is a municipality of the San Vicente Department. It is located towards the southeast of the centre of the country to the east of San Salvador and lies at an altitude of 590 m. Bordering to the north is the municipality of San Esteban Catarina, to the north east the municipality of Santa Clara, to the east with

San Ildefonso San Ildefonso (), La Granja (), or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the Province of Segovia, in the Castile and León autonomous region of central Spain. It is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mounta ...

, to the south with Ciudad de San Vicente (the department capital) and to the west with the municipality of San Cayetano Istepeque. It is 6 km from Ciudad de San Vicente and 58 km from San Salvador.

Arts and culture

Apastepeque is a city with a rich religious and cultural tradition and character that fuses together the elements of pre and colonial influences with those of the new generation. One of the monuments in Apastepeque of great renown is the church that was built during the colonial period. However it has been damaged several times due to earthquakes and recently underwent a reconstruction after the 2001 disaster. Notable fiestas are celebrated in the city such as that between 16 and July 25 in honor of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Saint James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

(''Santiago Apóstol''), where they indulge in much religious, cultural and social activity such as masquerades, dances and concerts. In the

Nahuatl language Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...

, Apastepeque means “Hill of the Alabastro”. Alabastro is a type of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. In the Nahuatl language, Saguayapa, a settlement adjacent to the main town means “Rivers of frogs and sands”. These twin towns, are separated by the Raymundo Street to the north of the parochial church Santiago Apóstol. The north part is occupied by Saguayapa and the south part by Apastepeque. Apastepeque celebrates many celebrations annually, initiating in the month of January to honor San Sebastián Martyr. This festival is regarded as the second most important in the city and the dances of the Moors and Christians which are deeply engrained in the history of the city are performed to celebrate the event.

Economy

Traditionally, the economy of the city has been based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, mostly

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

and cultivation

Sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

forms a crucial pillar of the economy. The sugar cane is appreciated not only as a food product but for its medicinal qualities. {{commonscat, Apastepeque Municipalities of the San Vicente Department