San Lorenzo () is a city, with a population of 35,560 (2023 calculation), and 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 Honduran department of Valle. The city was established by

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

as a village in 1522 but not granted city status until 1909. It is the primary Honduran

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast and lies on the

Pan American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

Geography

San Lorenzo is located in the department of Valle. It is located at approximately 13.42 North 87.45 West. San Lorenzo is located 60 miles (2 hours) south from

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

, the capital of Honduras, 21 miles east of the border crossing to

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 ...

at El Amatillo and 50 miles west from

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. San Lorenzo is also located about 8 miles south of Jicaro Galan, Valle (located at the crossroads of the Pan American Highway and the Southern Highway). The next closest sizeable cities are Nacaome, Valle to the north and Choluteca, Choluteca which is 19 miles to the east. According to the 2001 Honduran National Census, San Lorenzo is the 20th largest city with a population of 21,043. According to census, the population was divided between 19 colonias and barrios. It had a population of 15,294 in 1988 and 9,467 in 1974 fin.

Demographics

At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, San Lorenzo municipality had a population of 41,297. Of these, 97.38% were

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

, 2.10%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.42% Black or Afro-Honduran, 0.08% Indigenous, and 0.03% others.Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), bases de datos en línea
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Economy

It has become one of the most developed cities in southern Honduras. Its economy is based around the seafood industry (

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

), tourism and agriculture (

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

, melon and other fruits). The city has one public market, six banks, one cooperative and many restaurants located in La Cabaña, the tourist area. The modern public market was built by the Spaniards c. 2005. The largest hotels include El Gran Hotel Miramar, Hotel Club Morazán and Villas Concha Mar Condominiums.

Culture

The patron saint celebration takes place in August. San Lorenzo's best secret is the " Sopa Marinera," a strong, tasty seafood soup. Many tourists visit the area, including Europeans sailing in the

Gulf of Fonseca The Gulf of Fonseca (; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The waters of the gulf are shared among all three countries. History Fonseca Bay was discovered by European ...

. A small city park has several concrete marine animals including a shrimp, shark, crab and a pelican for children to play on. A new park was built in late 2007. It is located near La Cabaña and the Miramar Hotel. It includes a monument dedicated to present and past mariners including those that once worked in pangones, transporting wood and other articles from Amapala.

Transportation

Most streets are paved. An abandoned 4,400 airstrip with an elevation of 26 feet above sea level can be found northwest of the city center. However, the closest airport with scheduled flights is Toncontin International Airport (MHTG) in Tegucigalpa. Puerto de Henecan opened in 1979, which replaced the port at Amapala.

References

External links

San Lorenzo Website
Municipalities of the Valle Department Port settlements in Central America {{Honduras-geo-stub