Santa Clara 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

San Vicente Department San Vicente () is a department of El Salvador in the center of the country. The capital is San Vicente. On October 4, 1834, San Vicente City of Austria and Lorenzana (Ciudad de San Vicente de Austria y Lorenzana) was made the capital of State o ...

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 ...

. It is located approximately east of

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 ...

and approximately from San Vicente. The municipality has approximately 9,750 residents. The town is known for its fiestas and cultural traditions throughout the year, starting in August with Fiestas Patronales, in July the patron San Jose, and in December, the annual

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

carnaval.

Geography

Santa Clara is a municipality of the

. It is located towards the southeast of the centre of the country to the east of San Salvador and lies at an altitude of 590m. Bordering to the north is the municipality of

San Esteban Catarina San Esteban Catarina is a municipality in the San Vicente 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 Guatem ...

to the north east the municipality of Apastepeque, to the east with San Ildefonso, to the south with Ciudad de San Vicente (the department capital) and to the west with the municipality of San Cayetano Istepeque. It is 6 km from Ciudad de San Vicente and 60 km from San Salvador.

History

In July 1982, three civil defensemen were killed in an attack on Santa Clara by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

Arts and culture

Saint James the Great (Santiago apóstol) is the patron saint of Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a town with a rich religious and cultural tradition and character that fuses together the elements of precolonial and colonial influences with those of the new generation. One of the monuments in Santa Clara of great renown is the church that was built during the colonial period. However, it has been damaged several times due to

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s and recently underwent a reconstruction after the 2001 disaster. Notable fiestas are celebrated in the city such as that between August 12 to the 25 in honor of the patrona saint Saint Santa Clarita de Asis (Santiago Apóstol), where they indulge in much religious, cultural and social activity such as masquerades, dances and concerts.

Economy

Traditionally, the economy of the city has been based on

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 ...

, mostly

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

and cultivation.

Sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

forms a crucial pillar of the economy. The sugar cane is appreciated not only as a food product but for its medicinal qualities.

References

{{San Vicente Department Municipalities of the San Vicente Department