La Palma is a

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

in the

Chalatenango department Chalatenango () is a department of El Salvador located in the northwest of the country. The department's capital city is the city of Chalatenango, which shares the same name as the department. Chalatenango covers a land area of and contains ...

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 municipality, located in a mountainous area of the country, covers an area of 135.60 km² and as of 2006 had an approximate population of 24,000. It has historical importance since it played a fundamental role as a site for negotiations and battles between

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

s and the government during

Civil War of El Salvador The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

. Much of the municipality is mountainous and has a thriving artisan community. It is one of the most notable centres of craft in the country and the revenue generated from crafts through tourism and exports are crucial to the economy.

History

Arising from the colonial period, the name derives from a place formerly called the Palmita, a small village in the area located near Nonuapa River. After a flood of that river in 1882, their settlers moved to the present place and founded La Palma. In 1959 by Legislative Decree, it became a town and municipality, consisting of the cantons of Los Horcones, Los Planes, Las Granadillas, El Gramal, San José Sacaré, El Túnel, El Aguacatal and San Josecalera. The area has great relevance in the

History of El Salvador The history of El Salvador begins with several distinct groups of Mesoamerican people, especially the Pipil people, Pipil, the Lenca and the Maya people, Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating ...

since it played a prominent role in the solution of

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. From 1980, the municipality was a platform of the ideological work of the guerrillas and later, it served as a battleground for combat between the insurgents and the army. On October 15, 1984, the president

Jose Napoleón Duarte Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta * ...

and the leaders of the

Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional Frente! (or Frente) is an Australian folk-pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later replac ...

(FMLN) had their first encounter, initiating the treaty that would culminate with Peace Accords of Chapultepec.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of approximately 131,89 km ². Its jurisdictional borders are: to the north with

San Ignacio San Ignacio (the Spanish language name of St. Ignatius (disambiguation), St. Ignatius) is a common toponym in parts of the world where that language is or was spoken: Argentina * San Ignacio, Argentina, Misiones Province * San Ignacio Miní, a ...

, to the south with Agua Caliente, the east with

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and the municipalities of

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

San Francisco Morazán San Francisco Morazán is a municipality in the Chalatenango 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 Gua ...

and

La Reina La Reina (Spanish: "The Queen"; distorted from Larraín) is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, created in 1963 from an eastern portion of the Ñuñoa commune. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of Sa ...

, and to the west with Metapan and

Citalá Citalá is a municipality in the Chalatenango department of El Salvador. In Mayan-Ch’orti’ language its name means “the river of the stars”. As of 2013, it had a population of 4,270. Geography It is 47 km from Chalatenango and in ...

, borders by the

Lempa River The Lempa River () is a river in Central America. It is a transboundary river shared by El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Geography Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra del Merendón mountain ranges in southern ...

. La Palma is part of the mountainous zone of El Salvador, enjoying a cool climate. Administratively, the municipality is divided in 8 cantons and 87 small villages (caserios) in the rural area and 6 districts in the urban area. On July 1 of 1956, it was estimated that the population of La Palma was 5,337, 2,780 male and 2,957 female. In 2006, however it was calculated that municipality of La Palma had a total population of 24,000 inhabitants in the urban and rural areas.

Climate

Economy

The economy of La Palma is based principally on the arts and crafts. 75% of the population lives off this trade and the revenue from tourism. The other 25% is involved in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, the primary crops being

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

and

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

Arts

In the 1970s, Fernando Llort developed the arts in the municipality, developing an artisan industry that is the main employer in La Palma. There are around 100 crafts factories in the locality, half of which are dedicated to

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

. The growth of the artisan export in the municipality does not correspond to the national trend.

Agriculture

Coffee production is, according to the municipal economic report of 2006, the second most important industry in La Palma, although it has been decreasing due to the strong competition of foreign producers. In 1988, coffee production accounted for over half of El Salvador's revenue from exports, whereas for 2004 it has fallen dramatically to just 7%.

Tourist attractions

*13 kilometers outside La Palma town is Miramundo. It is located in the hill forest at an altitude of 2400 metres and is noted for its cool climate. The average temperature average of Miramundo is just 12 °C. *3 kilometers away is

, a small town at 1010 metres. There are hotels and several organized tourist activities in the area.

and the

are just a few minutes north of San Ignacio. *

Las Pilas Las Pilas (or El Hoyo) is a complex volcano located in the western part of Nicaragua. Part of a 30-km-long volcanic massif, Las Pilas has a series of well-preserved flank vents surrounding a central cone. Las Pilas last erupted in the 1950s and ...

is located in mountain forest of La Palma, with a very cold climate, even more so than Miramundo. The main agricultural products there are

blackberries BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

es,

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

and

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

s. *The Cayahuanca Stone (Piedra Cayahuanca) is to 4 kilometers to the north of San Ignacio between

and El Salvador, approximately 1550 metres above sea level. The rock marks the territorial border, giving a panoramic view of both countries. During

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

, the local inhabitants and visitors meet at the point of Cayahuanca the Stone and camp overnight. *

El Pital Cerro El Pital is a mountain in Central America, on the border of El Salvador and Honduras. It is located from the town of La Palma at a height of above sea level, and is the highest point in Salvadoran territory and the third from Honduras. ...

is 12 kilometers from the town of La Palma. At a height of 2730 metres it is the highest point of the Salvadoran territory. It is a mountain in the middle of a cloudy forest that has an average annual temperature of 10 °C. On April 13, 2004, the temperature hit record lows and much of the hill was covered by a frost and ice that caused commotion between the settlers, attributing the phenomenon to a supposed " nevada"

References

External links

La Palma - Chalatenango, El SalvadorArtisan communityLa Palma El Salvador Official Page
{{Chalatenango Department Municipalities of the Chalatenango Department