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

Ahuachapán Department Ahuachapán () is a department of El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific ...

in western

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. The district, 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 electricity generation, 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 i ...

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 Alfredo Espino (30 January 1900 – 24 May 1928), also known as (), was a Salvadoran poet known for his posthumous anthology of 96 poems, (), which has become one of the most well known poetic works in El Salvador. His poetry has been described ...

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 ...

people 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 district of Ahuachapán is located 100 km from the capital city

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

. To the north it borders

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

and the

Republic of Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. It is surrounded by

Atiquizaya Atiquizaya is a district in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on t ...

and

Turín Turín is a district 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 Maya arc ...

; by

Juayúa Juayúa is a city and municipality in the Sonsonate department of El Salvador. It is a small town up in the mountains, founded in 1577. Juayua is located in the western part of El Salvador, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from San Salvador. Hi ...

Apaneca Apaneca is a district 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 *Que ...

, and

Tacuba Tacuba is a district 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 Ahuac ...

to the south. The climate of the district is very warm with the temperatures oscillating between 22 °C and 27 °C. The principal river is the

Río Paz The Río Paz () is a river in southern Guatemala. Its sources are located in the Quezalapa mountains in the north of Jutiapa. From there it flows in a south-westerly direction and marks the border with El Salvador for most of its course before r ...

. There are other tributaries but the Río Paz forms a natural border between

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Local attractions

Monuments/main attractions

Near the

Iglesia La Asunción Iglesia may refer to: * Iglesia, the Spanish form of church * Iglesia Department * Iglesia ni Cristo * Iglesia Filipina Independiente The Philippine Independent Church (; ), officially referred to by its Philippine Spanish name (IFI) and coll ...

, the Francisco Menéndez Park has a monument to honor General

Francisco Menéndez Francisco Menéndez Valdivieso (3 December 1830 – 22 June 1890) was Provisional President of El Salvador from 22 June 1885 to 1 March 1887, then President of El Salvador from 1 March 1887 until his death on 22 June 1890. General Francisco Me ...

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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, on 12 March 1822. . Other attractions include

Los Ausoles Los Ausoles are a group of hot springs located north of Ahuachapán in El Salvador. The area has been described as "the capital of Central American Geothermal activity, geothermal." Many of the springs in the area produce heavy steam, and as of 1 ...

(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 district is divided into 29 cantons (regions). 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 district

*Agua Shuca *Ahuachapán *Ashapuco *Ataco *Calapa *cara sucia *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

The most important industries are

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...

, coffee, textiles and construction materials.

Traditions

The most important tradition is the

Día de los Farolitos DIA or Dia may refer to: Government establishments * Defence Industry Agency, Turkey * Defense Intelligence Agency, United States foreign military intelligence agency * Defence Intelligence Agency (India) Indian foreign military intelligence ag ...

(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 was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Notable people

Ricardo Trigueros Deleón Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name * Ricardo de Araújo Pereira (born 1 ...

* Humberto Escapini * Roberto Galicia * Miguel Ángel Espino *

Santiago José Celis Santiago José Celis (1782 in Ahuachapán – April 16, 1814 in San Salvador, El Salvador) was a El Salvador, Salvadoran physician who participated in the 1811 Independence Movement. Biography Celis was born into a Creole peoples, Creole family. ...

* Mauricio Linares Aguilar *

* Alvaro Magaña Borja *

Timoteo Menéndez Timoteo Menéndez (born in Ahuachapán) was a Salvadoran politician who served twice (1837 and 1838 to 1839) as head of state of El Salvador when it was a state within the Federal Republic of Central America. He first took over the office from ...

Mario Benjamín Castro Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. ...

* Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales

Sports

The

Once Municipal Club Deportivo Once Municipal was a Salvadoran football team from Ahuachapán that last competed in the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador, Primera División, the premier division of Football in El Salvador, in 2018. It was nicknamed "' ...

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

Estadio Simeón Magaña Estadio Simeón Magaña is a multi-use stadium in Ahuachapán Department, El Salvador. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Once Deportivo de Ahuachapan, Once Deportivo. Once Municipal h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahuachapan Municipalities of the Ahuachapán Department