Ahuachapán () is a city, and municipality, and the capital of the

Ahuachapán Department Ahuachapán () is a department of El Salvador in the west of the country. The capital is Ahuachapán. In the South it has the Apaneca-Ilamatepec Range and the Cerro Grande de Apaneca (Apaneca Grand Hill). Its extension is and has more than 33 ...

in western El Salvador. The municipality, including the city, covers an area of 244.84 km² and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people. Situated near the Guatemalan border, it is the westernmost city in the country and is the center of an agricultural region producing primarily coffee. Ahuachapán is the site of a

geothermal power plant Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...

and a hydroelectric station. The local geothermal activity produces many steam vents, visible throughout the surrounding mountains. Among other things, Ahuachapan is also the birthplace of notable Salvadoran poet Alfredo Espino and is about an hour's drive from the national wildlife park El Imposible.

History

Ahuachapán was founded by

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

Indians of the Poqomam tribe in the 5th century, and was invaded in the 15th century by the Izalcos people. It officially gained city status in El Salvador on 11 February 1862 and became the departmental capital on 9 February 1899.

Geography

The municipality of Ahuachapán is located 100 km from the capital city San Salvador. To the north it borders San Lorenzo and the

Republic of Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. It is surrounded by San Lorenzo, Atiquizaya and

Turín Turín is a municipality in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador. Geography The town is located 4 km west of Atiquizaya, 10 km east of Ahuachapán, the department capital; and 12 km west of Chalchuapa and the neighboring Ma ...

; by Juayúa,

Apaneca Apaneca is a municipality in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador. It has an area of 45.13 square kilometers. Its population is of 8,597 inhabitants (Estimated 2006). The municipality is divided in 7 cantons: *El Saltillal *Palo Verde *Q ...

, and

Tacuba Tacuba is a municipality in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador. Church Of Tacuba It is located in Villa of Tacuba. It is head of the municipality of the same name in the department of Ahuachapán, at about 14 Kilometers of the city of Ahu ...

to the south. The climate of the municipality is very warm with the temperatures oscillating between 22 °C and 27 °C. The principal river is the Río Paz. There are other tributaries but the Río Paz forms a natural border between El Salvador and Guatemala.

Local attractions

Monuments/main attractions

Near the Iglesia La Asunción, the Francisco Menéndez Park has a monument to honor General Francisco Menéndez who was president of the republic. There is a bronze plate indicating the house where he lived. One of the main attractions is the Central Plaza, which contains: the Central Park, known as Parque Concordia, surrounded by City Hall (a modern style building with a little resemblance of art deco, rebuilt after a fire in the 1950s), the town's main church, Iglesia de La Asunción, which is over 100 years old, and the Pasaje Concordia, also known as "the new place in town," that was restored in the early twenty first century and is a pedestrian-only street.

Lagoon of El Espino

It was formerly called Huitziapan or "Laguna de la Espina" and is four kilometers to the north-west of the city of Ahuachapan, along the international highway to Guatemala. Between this body of water and the city of Ahuachapán, the first battle in the history of independent Central America took place; the battle of Espino, on 12 March 1822. . Central Geotérmica Ahuachapán 01

Other attractions include Los Ausoles (an area of geysers, small and large steam vents and bubbling hot fountains), the Lagoon Morán, Atehuecillas and Malacatiupán. Close to Las Chinamas is "Los Encuentros" where the "Rio Paz" river and the "El Pulula" river (Guatemalan river) merge. "La Poza de la Yerba Buena" of the Pueblo Viejo river in the Cantón Santa Cruz is nearby. El Arco Durán, situated in the perimeter of the city of Ahuachapán, is a replica of a famous French arch, with all kinds of delicious and typical Salvadorean "Pupusas" nearby.

Administrative divisions

Cantons

The municipality is divided into 29 cantons (regions/districts). These are: Ashapuco, Chancuyo, Chipilapa, Cuyanausul, El Anonal, Cantón Platanares, El Roble, El Tigre, El Barro, Guayaltepec, La Coyotera, La Danta, La Montañita, Las Chinamas (Puesto Fronterizo), Llano de Doña María, Llano de La Laguna o El Espino, Loma de La Gloria, Los Huatales, Los Magueyes, Los Toles, Nejapa, Palo Pique, Río Frío, San Lázaro, San Ramón, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa Acacalco, Suntecumat y Tacubita.

Towns and villages in the municipality

*Agua Shuca *Ahuachapán *Ashapuco *Ataco *Calapa *Chancuyo *Chipilapa *Cuyanausul *El Anonal *El Barro *El Espino *El Jobo *El Junquillo *El Mojón *El Roble *El Saitillal *El Tigre *Guayaltepec *Hacienda San Isidro *Hacienda San Luis *La Angostura *La Coyotera *La Danta *La Guascota *La Montañita *Las Chinamas *Las Delicias *Llano de Doña Maria *Llano de La Laguna *Loma de La Gloria *Los Horcones *Los Huatales *Los Magueyes *Los Toles *Palo Pique *Río Frío *San José *San Lázaro *San Luis *San Ramón *San Raymundo *San Venancio *Santa Cruz *Santa Rita *Santa Rosa Acacalco *Suntecumat *Tacuba

Climate

Economy

Coffee Processing in Ahuachapan, El Salvador

The most important industries are geothermal energy, coffee, textiles and construction materials.

Traditions

The most important tradition is the Día de los Farolitos (Day of the Little Lantern Lights), held every year on 7 September, where a parade and celebration is conducted to honor the birth of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

Notable people

* Alfredo Espino * Ricardo Trigueros Deleón * Humberto Escapini * Roberto Galicia * Miguel Ángel Espino * Santiago José Celis * Mauricio Linares Aguilar * Francisco Menéndez * Alvaro Magaña Borja * Timoteo Menéndez * Mario Benjamín Castro

Sports

The Once Municipal (Municipal Eleven) is the local professional association football club of the Department of Ahuachapán. The home stadium of Once Municipal is Estadio Simeón Magaña.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahuachapan Municipalities of the Ahuachapán Department