Cojutepeque () is the capital city of

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 ...

Cuscatlán department Cuscatlán () is a department of El Salvador, located in the center of the country. With a surface area of , it is El Salvador's smallest department. It is inhabited by over 252,000 people. Cuscatlán or Cuzcatlán was the name the original in ...

. It also served as the capital of San Salvador during several years. It also serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of Cojutepeque. Its population is estimated at 70,000 people with about 85% living in the urban areas of the municipality. The

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

connects Cojutepeque with

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 it ...

33 km away. Its height is 850 meters above sea level; it enjoys a pleasant climate. Its nickname is "City of the Mists". The name ''Cojutepeque'' is derived from the

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

words for "at the hill of the coyotes". It received the title of city in 1846. The ancient churches of San Juan Degollado, San José and San Sebastián can be found in the city. Cojutepeque's

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 Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...

, and there is a fair in honor of

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

(''San Juan Degollado''). Cereals, sugarcane, loaf-sugar,

panela Panela () or rapadura (Portuguese pronunciation: ) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Central and Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other na ...

, and fruit are cultivated and grown here, and local industries include the manufacture of hats made out of palm-fronds. The sausages of Cojutepeque (''los chorizos de Cojutepeque'') are known throughout El Salvador. The football club Cojutepeque F.C. is based here. Its principal tourist attraction is Cerro de las Pavas, from which the lake of Ilopango, the volcano of San Vicente, and the Valley of Jiboa can be seen.

Climate

Cerro de las Pavas

The peak known as Cerro de las Pavas can be reached via two roads from Cojutepeque: one for cars, the other a zigzagging path for pedestrians. In 1924, Governor

Fidel Novoa Fidel most commonly refers to: * Fidel Castro (1926–2016), Cuban communist revolutionary and politician * Fidel Ramos (1928–2022), Filipino politician and former president Fidel may also refer to: Other persons * Fidel (given name) Film * ...

began an improvement program for the peak and built the park known as Parque de Montaña. During the administration of President

Óscar Osorio Óscar Osorio Hernández (December 14, 1910 – March 6, 1969) ruled as a member of the Revolutionary Council of Government from December 14, 1948 to September 14, 1950. He was President of El Salvador from September 14, 1950 until Septem ...

, the pathways leading to the peak were improved thanks to the efforts of the poet Raúl Contreras. There is a

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high t ...

on the peak that displays an image of the

Our Lady of Fátima Our Lady of Fátima ( pt, Nossa Senhora de Fátima, ); formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima) is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the ...

. A

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to this grotto occurs in May and is a major religious festival in El Salvador.

Chorizos

Cojutepeque is known in El Salvador for various sausages or

chorizos Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

, especially the Chorizos de Cojutepeque. These chorizos are typically tied with corn husks between the links. The chorizos are shipped to other parts of the country and sold. The example on the left is made with pork, beef, iodized salt, and additives (soy protein,

sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. ...

sodium benzoate Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, widely used as a food preservative (with an E number of E211) and a pickling agent. It appears as a white crystalline chemical with the formula C6H5COONa. Production Sodium benzoate is commo ...

achiote ''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide. The tree is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also called or ) obtained ...

, herbs, and spices).

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the Cuscatlán Department