El Salvador

El Salvador, whose capital is San Salvador, is nestled amidst the larger counties of Honduras and Guatemala. The Gulf of Fonseca separates El Salvador from Nicaragua. Most travelers bypass this small country in Central America but despite its size, it offers travelers with so much to see and experience. El Salvador is rich in history and the volcanic activities in the past, particularly in Joya de Cerén earned it the nickname Pompeii of the Americas. The incredibly well preserved ancient site was buried in layers of lava when the Loma Caldera erupted in 595 AD. The country may have had a violent past, but its natural wonders make up for it. Travelers will get to see the sparkling waters of some of the 14 lakes in the country and be enthralled by the wonders of its forests, its beautiful beaches suitable for surfing, galleries, museums and exciting nightlife.

El Salvador has a true rainforest, the Montecristo National Park that is forever covered in mist and clouds. Such areas are getting extremely rare and in this park you will be greeted by air plants, giant ferns and cool areas that have never been touched by sunlight. Bosque El Imposible or the Impossible Forest National Park will present you with other surprises. You will find nearly 300 species of birds and unique animals, butterflies belonging to several hundreds of species and about 400 species of trees. You may want to look for El Salvador’s national bird, the turquoise-browed mormot, related to the kingfisher. Its colorful plumage is truly attractive and its unique tail feathers are decidedly fantastic. Two tail feathers are extended with elongated shafts that are featherless and end with colorful feathers shaped like rackets.

After all the activities you can do in El Salvador, end your day sitting quietly in a café for a cup of locally grown coffee that can be a local respite. For you see, coffee is one of the major produce and export products of El Salvador.

:: Background of El Salvador ::

At least three early civilizations were the first peoples that inhabited the region that is now known as El Salvador. The Olmecs predate the Mayans and the Aztecs and were Mexico’s first prime civilization. The Olmecs were believed to have migrated to El Salvador around 2000 BC. There were also excavated ruins that proved that Mayans also inhabited El Salvador. Aztec descendants called the Pipil Indians came to stay in the region around the 11th century. They were believed to have come from the Nahóa tribe that spoke the Náhuatl dialect. While the Olmecs were descendants of the Aztecs, they also had Mayan influences and their agriculture was also centered on the production of maize. They knew hieroglyphics and were very well acquainted with mathematics and astrology.

The Pipil Indians were the inhabitants of the region when Spanish explorer Andrés Niño arrived on the coast of Conchagua in 1522. He named the area he saw as Golfo de Fonseca. Hernán Cortéz sent Don Pedro de Alvarado to conquer the region in 1524 but was repelled by the forces led by Indian Chief Atlacatl. The Spanish were able to succeed when they again invaded the region the following year. While Chief Atlacatl continued to resist the invaders, he was overpowered later and was put to death. The Indian Chief was considered a local hero and a monument dedicated to the Chief was erected in Antigua Cuscatlán in La Libertad.

Even before the Spanish came, or about 3,000 years prior to their arrival, El Salvador was already a prime trading location and archeological finds indicate that the native inhabitants of the region were trading with the Pipil Mayans, Lenca, Pok’omama, Chorti and Teotihuacán. When the Spanish settled, they introduced cotton, indigo and balsam, thus increasing the agricultural production of the region until the 1700s, with indigo as the prime export product. However, the farmers remained poor because land ownership belonged to a few elites.

Father José Matías Delgado, a very outspoken priest organized an uprising against the Spanish in 1811. Even if it was short-lived, it became inspirational for the revolt in 1821 that led to the independence not only of El Salvador but also other colonies in Central America that were ruled by Spain. September 15, 1821 became the independence day of El Salvador. Initially the Central American colonies formed an association with Mexico but two years later, in 1823, the colonies withdrew from Mexico and formed the Federal Republic of Central America. Father José Matías Delgado wrote El Salvador’s constitution and Manuel José Arce got elected as its president.

Even if the colonies were all located in Central America, each one had its own regional and cultural characteristics and traditions that did not match the rest of the regions and led to tension. The wealthy landowners remained and the poor were still penniless, even if their new constitution provided for the abolishment of slavery. A civil revolt was led by Anastacio Aquino in 1833. He was eventually captured and sentenced to death. Finally El Salvador left the Central American Federation but retained their date of independence from Spain.

The production and widespread use of synthetic dyes toward the latter part of the 19th century crippled the indigo market and El Salvador began to produce coffee, which became their prime cash crop. It opened a huge market for El Salvador and 95% of the country’s income depended on coffee revenues by the 20th century. Still, only 2% of the population of El Salvador at the time really benefited from coffee growing and sales.

Social unrest was inevitable and Augustín Farabundo Martí, founder of the Central American Socialist Party or the Frente Martí Liberación Nacional (FMLN) in Spanish, led the indigenous people and peasants of the country to an uprising on January 1932. It was a bloody revolt that led to the killing of 30,000 people. It became known as La Matanza or The Massacre. The leader of the revolt was sentenced to die by firing squad. The nation was placed under military control and soon military officers were forming alliances with the wealthy landowners and the farmers and peasants continued to be oppressed.

El Salvador’s economy went on a slow decline from the 1950s up to the 1970s and these years were very unsettled times for the country, when numerous pockets of civil uprisings occurred. It was not only the people who were suffering. Even the members of the clergy were already disgruntled by the turn of events and one outspoken priest, Archbishop Óscar Romero was assassinated while saying mass on the 24th of March 1980. This act led to an all-out civil war in El Salvador. The civil unrest further lowered the population of El Salvador, with over 300,000 inhabitants electing to leave their country to escape the civil war. Several factions, particularly the FMLN, were engaged in the revolt.

The United Nations finally mediated in April 1990 and talks between the FMLN and the government of El Salvador began, with human rights violations taking top priority. It was only on the 16th of January 1992 that a compromise agreement was signed by the two parties. The government agreed to put in place various reforms including the removal of the death squads and paramilitary groups. These were replaced by the national police force composed of civilians. Human rights violations were investigated and land was distributed. It was estimated that about 75,000 Salvadorans were killed in the 12-year uprising and the United States sent over US$6 billion to El Salvador. Land distribution also came at a price because that was done via loans that passed through USAID, for which the unpaid loans were erased in 1997.

Economic, political and social recovery is slow but continues to gain ground in El Salvador. They now employ foreign workers in the sugarcane and coffee plantations.

:: Geography of El Salvador ::

Location
El Salvador is located in Central America’s west coast, nestled between the countries of Honduras on its northern section and Guatemala on its northwest section. The southeastern part of the country is bounded by the Gulf of Fonseca while to the south of the country is the Pacific Ocean. It is the only country in Central America that does not have a coastline along the Caribbean Sea.

Geographic Coordinates
Located on Central America’s Pacific Coast, El Salvador’s latitude is 13° 50’ 00” north of the equator. Its longitude reading is 88° 55’ 00” west of Greenwich.

Area
El Salvador is the smallest country belonging to the Central American region. Its total land mass measures only 21,041 square kilometers. Out of the total country size, the land surface covers an area of 20,721 square kilometers, leaving only a small water surface measuring 320 square kilometers. In comparison with other areas, El Salvador is just a tiny tad smaller than the State of Massachusetts.

Land Boundaries
Being such a small country, its total land boundary only measures 545 kilometers with the larger portion or 342 kilometers shared with Honduras. The balance of 203 kilometers is shared with Guatemala. It is interesting to note that the tension and rioting during a tightly-contested football match between Honduras and El Salvador in the second qualifying round of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in North America will trigger a border dispute between the two nations. The four-day war occurred when the army from El Salvador attacked Honduras on July 14, 1969. It became known as the Soccer War. A ceasefire was negotiated by the Organization of American States on July 20, 1969 and El Salvador withdrew its troops the following month. The two nations only signed a peace treaty on the 30th of October 1980, eleven years after the Soccer War. Five sections of land boundary and disputed territory over the Gulf of Fonseca were mostly awarded to Honduras only in 1992 by the International Court of Justice and the border demarcation treaty signed six years later.

Coastline
The country is almost embraced by its two neighbors, Honduras and Guatemala, leaving El Salvador a very short coastline that measures only 307 kilometers long.

Maritime Claims
Under the law of the sea the country has a territorial sea claim that measures 12 nautical miles and a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles. El Salvador also claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles.

Climate
The prevailing climate in El Salvador is tropical and the country has two distinct seasons. Specifically, El Salvador has tropical climate near the coast while the rest of the country has temperate climate. The dry season, sequía in Spanish corresponds to summer or verano, which is warm and dry. Summer is from November to April. Light rainfall can occur during the summer months. The wet season or invierno, when the country experiences heavy rainfall or temporales starts in May and ends in the month of October. Annual maximum temperature in the country is 30 °C or about 90 °F, while the average minimum is about 18 °C or 64 °F. In the country’s capital, San Salvador, the average temperature in January is about 22°C or 72 °F and only goes slightly higher in July.

Terrain
From east to west two mountain ranges run parallel across El Salvador. These are the Cordillera Apeneca and the Southern Coastal Mountain Ranges. The southern mountains are made up of five clusters of about twenty volcanoes in a discontinuous chain. The mountain ranges effectively divide the country into three regions – the northern lowlands that are formed by the valleys of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas that originates from Mexico and the Lempa River; the coastal flat plains in the south, often referred to as the Pacific Lowlands and the central plateau that are dotted with volcanoes, several valleys and mountains.

Elevation Extremes
The Pacific Ocean is the lowest point in El Salvador. Although there are 25 active and extinct volcanoes in El Salvador as the country lies in the Ring of Fire, the highest point in the country is not a volcano but a mountain, Cerro El Pital, which rises to a height of 2,730 meters or nearly 9,000 feet. It is located on its border with Honduras.

Natural Resources
El Salvador is a country whose major source of income is derived from its fertile lands. Other natural resources in the country are petroleum and hydropower and geothermal power due to the presence of several volcanoes in the country.

Land Use
Over one-third of the land in El Salvador is allocated for agriculture. Nearly 12% of the land is planted with permanent crops while the rest is divided into forested areas, permanent pasture and other uses.

Natural Hazards
El Salvador is sometimes called the Land of Volcanoes, with the number of active volcanoes in the country. It is also located over a geographically unstable location, as El Salvador lies between active tectonic plates, the Cocos Plate under the Caribbean Plate and the North American Tectonic Plate. These tectonic plates cause frequent earthquakes to occur in El Salvador. The country is also vulnerable to hurricanes and volcanism. Some of the more active volcanoes are San Miguel that last erupted in 2002; San Salvador whose last eruption was in 1917; Izalco, Santa Ana, Ilopango and Conchaguita.

Current Environmental Issues
Industrialization and commercialization have downsides that bring environmental problems to a nation. El Salvador is not immune to these environmental issues and faces soil contamination due to the improper disposal of toxic wastes. The country is also susceptible to water pollution, soil erosion and deforestation.

International Environmental Agreements
El Salvador has signed the international environmental agreement regarding the law of the sea but the country is yet to ratify the agreement. It has also entered into agreements pertaining to endangered species, ozone layer protection, hazardous wastes, wetlands, desertification and biodiversity. The country also is part of the international discussion on climate change as well as the climate change-Kyoto protocol.

:: People of El Salvador ::

The inhabitants of El Salvador are called Salvadorans.

Ethnic Groups
90% of the population of El Salvador is mestizo. They are the group who are of mixed AmerIndian and Spanish descent. Those who are mainly Spanish belong to the white ethnic minority, which accounts for 5%. Only a few of the ethnic native groups, majority of which are Lenca and Pipil AmerIndians are left and they are now considered a minority. Some Swiss, Syrians, Chinese, Germans, Turks and Lebanese have elected to make El Salvador their home.

Languages
Spanish is the official language in El Salvador and spoken nearly by all of its inhabitants. Náhuat or Izalco is still spoken by the AmerIndians (Pipil) in selected regions. English is also widely spoken.

Religions
Roman Catholic is the dominant religion in El Salvador. The country is tolerant of other religions so there are several other followers of other religious faiths in the country, including Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Pentecosts and Protestants.

Population
According to estimates done in July 2011, the population of El Salvador has reached 6,071,774, with about 64% living in urban areas. Net migration is quite low, estimated to be around -8.95 for every one thousand inhabitants. The population growth is estimated to be just 0.318% while the fertility rate of women is placed at 2.08 children.

Age Structure
The majority of the population belongs to the 15 to 64 age group, accounting for 63%, with more females, numbering about 2 million against the 1.8 million males in this age bracket. In the 0- to 14-year group, which is 30.6% of the population, the males make up a larger number with over 950,000 while the females only account for slightly over 900,000. Those who are 65 years and over account for 6.4% of the population; again with the females registering a higher number at more than 215,000 while the males only account for 173,000.

Sex Ratio
Out of the total population, there is only 0.93 male born against one female according to 2011 estimates. The figures vary just slightly according to age brackets. At birth the ratio is 1.05 male over female, and the ratio remains the same in the under 15 age group. The ratio goes down slightly at 0.89 in the 15 to 64 age group and goes lower still at 0.81 for every female in the 65 years and over age category.

Median Age
El Salvador’s median age is 24.3 years. In terms of gender segregation, the median year for females is estimated to be 25.7 years in 2011 while it is 24.3 years for the males.

Birth and Death Rates
Based on the estimates for 2011, the birth rate in El Salvador stands at 17.75 births for every 1,000 inhabitants while the death rate is estimated to be 5.62 deaths for every 1,000 members of the populace.

Maternal and Infant Mortality Rate
Maternal mortality rate according to 2008 estimates is around 110 deaths for every 100,000 live births. On the other hand the infant mortality rate, based on 2011 estimates is 15.15 deaths for every 1,000 live female children born. The rate is higher for the males, estimated to be 22.36 deaths for every 1,000 live births.

Life Expectancy at Birth
Females outlive the males by a few years in El Salvador. Life expectancy at birth for the males is just 70.16 years while it is 76.87 years for the females. Overall, the average for the country is 73.44 years, according to 2011 estimates.

HIV/AIDS
Adult prevalence of HIV/AIDS in El Salvador is a low number, estimated in 2009 to be around 0.8% only. According to the same estimates, there are about 34,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country while deaths resulting from the disease are estimated to be around 1,400.

Literacy
Literacy in El Salvador is not overly high, which is only about 81.1%, although those aged 15 and over can read and write. According to the 2007 census, female literacy is about 79.6%. It is slightly higher in the male members of the population, which is around 82.8%. School children stay in school for 12 years.

:: References ::
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/es.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/el-salvador
http://wikitravel.org/en/El_Salvador
http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/elsalvad.htm

Geography of El Salvador: Important Geographical Information about El Salvador

The Republic of El Salvador, the smallest country among the nations in Central America is just 21,041 square kilometers large or about 8,142 square miles. It is about 110 kilometers long and 260 kilometers wide. It is flanked by Honduras, Guatemala and partly by the Pacific Ocean. The country is also close to Nicaragua, with the Gulf of Fonseca separating them.

The country has around 25 volcanoes, both active and extinct. The highest volcano is Santa Ana, which measures 2,386 meters or roughly 7,828 feet. Mount Izalco, another active volcano was known as the Lighthouse of the Pacific due to its numerous summit fires until 1956. Its last eruption was in 1966. Mount Chaparrastique, located in San Miguel is one of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador. The country is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Two rows of volcanoes run parallel from east to west, dividing the country into three topographical divisions.

Rio Lempa is the longest and the only navigable river in El Salvador and much of the country’s electric power is generated by the hydroelectric dams built on the river. Almost all of the 300 rivers in the country drain into the Rio Lempa, which in turn drains into the Pacific Ocean. Four notable lakes are found in the country, namely Lake Ilopango, Lake Guija, Lake Coatepeque and the Jocotal Lagoon. Lake Ilopango, the largest natural lake in the country is located in the crater of a volcano that has been eroded through the years. These lakes are of volcanic origin. One of the most notable features of Lake Ilopango is its emerald blue water. It also has several islets, forming a group called Islas Quemadas. These are lava domes that formed after several volcanic eruptions until 1880. Lake Coatepeque is the deepest lake in El Salvador. Up to now its deepest point is not yet known. The Jocotal Lagoon on the other hand is a permanent fresh water lake.

The Sierra Madre mountain range in the north of the country is one continuous chain. It was once heavily forested but is now semi-barren and the region has become sparsely populated. The elevation in the area ranges from 1,600 to over 2,000 meters. The southern mountain range is a discontinuous chain consisting of more than 20 volcanoes, while the western group of mountains, near the border with Guatemala included Santa Ana and Izalco. Most of the coffee plantations in El Salvador are found here, due to the richness of the volcanic soil.

Only 25% of the total land area of El Salvador is covered by the central plateau but this is where the largest cities of the country are located and where the most number of people live. Lava fields, geysers and rolling terrain are part of the landscape in the central plateau.

The Pacific lowlands can be found in the coastal region near the Pacific Ocean. This narrow section of land is where the low, flat areas of El Salvador are located and where parts of the volcanoes are already in the sea.

While it may be humid and quite hot neat the coast, the rest of the country experiences sub-tropical to temperate climate, particularly noticeable as the elevation increases. In the central plateau, the nights are comfortably cool while it is warm during daytime. Five months of the year, from May to October is the wet season in the country, with an average rainfall of 75 inches annually. The Pacific lowlands receive the heaviest rainfall. Temperatures in El Salvador do not vary that much, and is determine by the elevation of the region. The areas near the Pacific Coast experience the most heat, where the annual temperature average ranges form 25 °C to 29 °C (77 °F to 84 °F). In the central plateau where the nation’s capital is located, the average is around 23 °C or 73 °F, while extreme temperature can reach as high as 38 °C or 100 °F and dip down to about 7 °C or nearly 45 °F. On the highest elevations, the annual average temperature range is from 12 °C up to 23 °C or roughly from 54 °F to 73 °F. Freezing temperatures can also be experienced at times.

Agriculture is the main economic backbone of the country and gives employment to 34% of the country’s workforce. Coffee, cotton and sugar cane are the three major domestic and export crops. The various manufacturing industries also contribute to the nation’s economy. Some of the major manufacturing industries, mostly located in the nation’s capital of San Salvador include refined petroleum, leather goods, paper products, processed foods, chemicals, cigarettes and beverages. Aside from the three major crops, textiles are also exported. Shrimp caught on the Pacific Coast is also a major export product of El Salvador.

:: References ::
http://geography.howstuffworks.com/central-america/geography-of-el-salvador.htm
http://motherearthtravel.com/el_salvador/geography.htm
http://www.mapsofworld.com/el-salvador/geography/

Information about the Salvadoran Flag: Colors and Meaning of the Flag of El Salvador

The Republic of El Salvador’s flag has blue and white for its main colors. Two bands of blue are placed one at the top and one at the bottom of the flag. The bands run horizontally and are of equal size to the white band that is placed in the middle, between the two bands of blue. The design of the flag, with a proportion of 189 inches for its width and 335 inches for its length was patterned after the flag used in 1823 by the United Provinces of Central America when they gained independence from Spain. Centrally located on the white band is the coat of arms of El Salvador. The circular design of the coat of arms has the words Republica de El Salvador en la America Central on its outer edge, painted in yellow color. The flag was formally used on May 17, 1912.

:: References ::
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_El_Salvador
http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/el-salvador-flag.html
http://www.worldflags101.com/e/elsalvador-flag.aspx

Extensive List of Languages of El Salvador: Spoken and Extinct Languages

:: List of Languages ::

Cacaopera
[ccr] Extinct. Department of Morazán. Dialects: Similar to Matagalpa [mtn]. Classification: Misumalpan

Kekchí
[kek] 12,300 in El Salvador. Alternate names: Cacché, Quecchí. Classification: Mayan, Quichean-Mamean, Greater Quichean, Kekchi

Lenca
[len] Ethnic population: 36,858 in El Salvador (1987). Town of Chilango. Classification: Unclassified Nearly extinct.

Pipil
[ppl] 20 (1987). Ethnic population: 196,576 (1987). Municipio of Dolores, Ocotepeque Department, near the El Salvador border. No remaining speakers in Honduras. Alternate names: Nahuat, Nawat. Dialects: Not intelligible with Isthmus Nahuatl [nhk] of Mexico. Classification: Uto-Aztecan, Southern Uto-Aztecan, Aztecan, General Aztec, Pipil Nearly extinct.

Salvadoran Sign Language
[esn] Alternate names: El Salvadoran Sign Language. Classification: Deaf sign language

Spanish
[spa] 5,900,000 in El Salvador (1995). Alternate names: Castellano, Español. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian

:: Reference ::
Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/

Famous Salvadoran People: Salvadoran Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

El Salvador has an ancient history and has many archeological ruins that indicate that the Aztecs, Mayans and Pipil Indians inhabited the country before the Spanish came. Despite its small size, and the turmoil that El Salvador went through in the past, the country still has a host of famous people, some of them local heroes who have made their mark not only in El Salvador but also internationally. Some of them drew inspiration from their forefathers.

:: List of Famous People from El Salvador ::

Chief Atlacatl
He was one of El Salvador’s first heroes. He was the Indian Chief who led his people to repel the invasion led by Spain. He was mighty good with his bow and arrow as he and his men were able to stop the Spanish from invading the coast of Conchagua near the Gulf of Fonseca twice before succumbing to the invaders on their third invasion attempt. Chief Atlacatl became a local hero and a 2.2-meter statue dedicated to him was erected in Antigua Custatlán in La Libertad. Of course, nobody knew what he looked like so the sculptor, Valentin Estrada made it in his likeness.

Valentin Estrada
Art has always been a part of Salvadoran culture and the pre-historic cave drawings, particularly those found near Lake Guija are quite awesome. There are many Salvadoran artists who created marvelous art pieces through the course of time. One of them was Valentin Estrada, who was born in 1898. He was one of the foremost sculptors in El Salvador. In his lifetime he had created more than 250 sculptures made of stone as well as bronze. He drew inspiration for his pre-Hispanic predecessors and his works can be found around the country. Some of his most impressive works are the statue of Chief Atlacatl which he did in 1928; the bas relief works called Rotonda de los Próceres and the Obelisco y Medallón found in Los Planes de Renderos and the Monumento a la Madre.

José Arturo Castellanos Contreras
José Contreras was born in San Vicente on December 23, 1983. He was the Consul General of El Salvador and stationed in Geneva during the Second World War. He was also an army colonel in El Salvador. He became famous for saving more than 40,000 Central European Jews from persecution by the Nazis. He accomplished that with the help of György Mandl, a Jewish-Hungarian businessman. They provided the Jews with fake documents signifying they were Salvadoran nationals.

José Matías Delgado y León
José Matías Delgado was from San Salvador, the country’s capital, where he was born on the February 24, 1767. He was a doctor and a priest, and was widely known in the country as El Padre de la Patria Salvadoreña, or The Father of the Salvadoran Fatherland in English. Delgado became the leader of the independence movement in El Salvador together with Manuel José Arce, his nephew. He rang the bells of the Church of La Merced on November 5, 1811 to begin their quest for independence from Spain. He became a provincial deputy of the federation of colonies in Guatemala City in 1813 and in 1820.

Delgado was one of the signatories of the Act of Independence of Central America. The act was signed in Guatemala City on the September 15, 1821, which became the official date of independence of El Salvador. In November of the same year he was selected as San Salvador’s political chief. He and his court opposed El Salvador’s annexation to Mexico and opted to leave the federation and Guatemala. His government ended when Mexican troops took control of San Salvador in the early part of 1823. When the rule of Agustin de Iturbide, the Mexican emperor collapsed in the same year, Delgado was appointed as a representative to the Federal Republic of Central America and presided over the congress.

A year later he was also appointed as San Salvador’s first bishop. As the appointment was done by civil authorities, he was constantly at odds with the Vatican and the Archbishop of Guatemala. He bought a printing press in 1824 using public money and printed the first newspaper in El Salvador, called El Semanario Politico Mercantil. He received public honors after his death in 1832. A town was named after him and a learning institution was named Dr. José Matías Delgado University. Such was the country’s love for the priest and doctor that a marble bust of Father Delgado was commissioned and placed on the Avenida Independencia in San Salvador.

Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga
Manuel José Arce was born on New Year’s Day in 1787. He was a colonel in the Salvadoran army and a political leader of wide renown. He was also the president of the United Provinces of Central America for four years in 1825 up to 1829. He was one of the leaders of the movement calling for the independence of El Salvador from Spain, joining his uncle Father José Matías Delgado in the movement. He led the troops that fought the Mexican invasion led by Manuel Arzú in 1822, as he was one of those who opposed the annexation of El Salvador to Mexico. He also opposed the request of some Salvadoran political figures to annex the country to the United States due to Nicaraguan threats.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez
Óscar Romero was born in Ciudad Barrios on August 15, 1917. He was baptized as a Catholic and showed leaning towards a religious life at a young age. Growing up in a town where land ownership belonged only to 13 wealthy families, he developed an affinity towards the poor people of his country. While serving as a parish priest in San Miguel he supported devotions to the Virgin Mary, started an Alcoholics Anonymous program and other apostolic works. He was appointed as El Salvador’s Secretary of the Bishop Conference in 1966 and director of Orientación, the archdiocesan newspaper. Romero was appointed as the Archbishop of El Salvador in 1977. He saw his friend, Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande when he was assassinated and thought that he should also walk the path that his friend took, helping the poor to be more self-reliant.

While his request for the investigation of the murder of his friend was continuously ignored, he became more outspoken, and openly spoke about torture and assassinations, social injustices and poverty. As his pro-poor humanitarian efforts gained international notice and he received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven, his views did not sit well with members of the government. Archbishop Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980 while saying mass at a hospital chapel. The funeral mass for Archbishop Romero was attended by more than 250,000 mourners coming from all parts of the world. There was a smoke bomb thrown and gunshots were fired during the ceremony, causing mass panic and about 50, according to media reports, were killed.

In 2004, the US District Court acting on the civil action suit filed against Álvaro Rafael Saravia, Salvadoran Air Force former captain and chief security officer for Roberto D’Aubuisson found Saravia guilty of conspiracy, aiding and participating in Archbishop Romero’s assassination. He was ordered to pay US$10 million for crimes against humanity and extrajudicial killings. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Justice and Accountability.

On March 24, 2010, President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador offered an official state apology for the assassination of Archbishop Romero. The apology was given in front of the Archbishop’s family, diplomats, officials of the government and Catholic Church representatives.

Roberto D’Aubuisson Arrieta
Roberto D’Aubuisson was born in Santa Tecla, in the department of La Libertad on August 23, 1944. He was a far-right supporter, a major in the Salvadoran army military intelligence unit and was a political leader and founder of the Nationalist Republican Alliance or ARENA. He led that party for five years in 1980 until 1985. During the civil war of 1978 until 1992, D’Aubuisson was the commander of the death squads, which was responsible for thousands of civilian deaths. Shortly after the death of Archbishop Romero, he and his cohorts were arrested and caught red-handed with plans to start a coup against El Salvador’s Revolutionary Government Junta. But he was supported by right-wing terrorists and came back to power almost immediately. He gained infamy for openly speaking of the need to kill about 300,000 people for peace to reign once again in his country. Though blamed by his opponents for heinous crimes, he was never tried for any of it. He earned the nickname Blowtorch Bob, as he frequently used a blowtorch when conducting interrogations. He was also called “Chele” or someone with a pale face. D’Aubuisson died of cancer of the esophagus in 1992 and it was only after his death that a confirmation was issued that the assassination of the Archbishop was carried out on his order.

Mélida Anaya Montes
Mélida Anaya Montes or more popularly known by her pseudonym, Ana Maria was born in Santiago Texacuangos on May 17, 1929. She studied at the University of El Salvador where she received her Doctorate in Education. She became a professor of education at the university. She also became an assistant director of the Alberto Masferrer University in San Salvador. She was an activist and became a prominent leader of the National Association of Salvadoran Teachers 21 of June or ANDES 21 de Junio and was a leader of the strikes of professors in 1968 and in 1971.

Montes became the second in command of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front or FMLN, a left-wing political party in El Salvador founded in 1980. She became an icon of the revolutionary women of her country and lived the life of a guerilla. However, while in Managua, Nicaragua on April 6, 1983, she was brutally murdered, an act which was later revealed to be done by her comrades. Rogelio Bazzaglia, leader of the hard line faction within the FMLN confessed to her murder, although others within the party blamed Cayetano Carpio, also a comrade. She is still hailed as an icon for those struggling against oppressions as well as educators. The San Salvador-based Melida Anaya Montes Language School is named after Ana Maria.

Juan José Cañas
Juan Cañas was born around 1826. Although he was a Salvadoran, he spent most of his student days, outside of El Salvador, getting his high school education in Nicaragua and later studying medicine in Guatemala. He was a poet and a diplomat and went to San Francisco in the United States to practice medicine in 1848. He was credited for writing the national anthem of El Salvador together with Juan Aberle, a composer born in Italy.

Cañas was a Salvadoran army general and had served as Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Political Governor. He was later appointed as El Salvador’s diplomatic ambassador to Chile. Cañas started writing at age 17 and his works were published at the Central American Poetic Gallery and in Guirnalda Salvadoreña. He received several distinctions, including being a foreign honorary member of the Colombian Academy in Bogota. He also became the Spanish Royal Academy president for the Salvadoran Academy of the Language.

Consuelo Suncín Sandoval Zeceña
She was born to a wealthy family in El Salvador on April 10, 1901. The name may not ring a bell, but she was the wife of the author of internationally famous book, The Little Prince, Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupéry. Consuelo was educated in France, in Mexico City and in San Francisco in the United States. She was first married to Enrique Gómez Carrillo, a journalist and diplomat from Guatemala whom she met in France. After her husband’s death in 1927, Consuelo decided to live in Buenos Aires. She met Saint Exupéry in 1931. The two got married and moved to France. She did not have a blissful marriage as her husband was constantly going on flying missions. He also had several affairs. When her husband disappeared in 1944, she wrote a memoir of her life with Saint Exupéry to ease her pain. The memoir was entitled The Tale of the Rose. It was never published though and was only discovered hidden in a trunk 20 years after her death by her heir, José Martinez-Fructuoso. It was edited, the French language improved and the story divided into chapters by Alan Vircondelet, who was also the author of her husband’s biography. It was published in 2000 and had been translated into 16 languages. Despite her husband’s many affairs and her tumultuous relationship Consuelo had with Saint Exupéry, he referred to her in his famous novel, The Little Prince. She was the rose that was kept protected by a glass cover and the special rose that the fox told the Little Prince is the one he actually loves.

José Antonio Cortéz
Former National Football League player José Cortéz was born in San Vicente, El Salvador. He later acquired US citizenship and played in the NFL. He studied at the Los Angeles Valley College where his college football career started. He was signed on to be the punter and kicker. When he transferred to Oregon State University he was a two-year letterman and earned an honorable mention in All-Pac-10 team during his junior year for converting 11 of the 19 field goals he attempted to kick.

His NFL career started in 1999 when he was signed up by the New York Giants. Cortéz played for several football teams during his career simply because he was signed up to be a pinch hitter, a fill-in when the starting kicker got injured. His great success came in 2001 when he was with the Los Angeles Xtreme playing in the XFL, an off-season tournament created by Vince McMahon, owner of the World Wrestling Federation. He kicked 20 field goals and led the team with Tommy Maddox, a quarterback, to win the XFL title and bagged for himself the Most Valuable Player award for kicking four field goals during the championship game. That success led to being signed up by the San Francisco 49ers prior to the start of the NFL season in 2001. Overall Cortéz was part of the handful of American players to have played in the Arena Football League, XFL, NFL and NFL Europe. Cortéz has retired from football and now serves as a police officer for the State of Oregon.

Álvaro Torres
Álvaro Torres, from Usulután, El Salvador was born on April 9, 1954. He is considered as a very influential singer/songwriter from the country. His first song was written when he was only 12 years old. Torres is a bolero and Latin pop singer. He later moved to Guatemala to begin a solo singing career and released several albums, including “Algo Especial” in 1976, his first album and “Acariciame.” He moved to the United States in the 1990s and released “Nada se compara contigo” in 1991 and was the recipient of the BMI Songwriter of the Year Award in 1994. “Un poquito de amor,” “La Unica,” “Si Tuvieras Conmigo,” “Lo Que Se Dice Olvidar” are some of his famous singles.

Salvador Efraín Salazar Arrué

Salvador Salazar Arrué was from Sonsonate, El Salvador, where he was born on October 22, 1899. He was more well known as Salarrué. His family was wealthy and they were able to send him to Washington, D.C. to study art at the Corcoran School of Art, where he stayed for three years from 1916. After his graduation he returned to El Salvador and became the editor of Patria, a newspaper owned by Alberto Masferrer. He wrote short stories to fill in the blank spaces in the newspaper. His works were later collected and compiled into a book entitled Cuentos de Cipotes or Children’s Stories. He also wrote stories that were included in his Cuentos de Barro or Tales of Clay, which depicted ideal rural life in his country. These two anthologies paved the way for the Latin American narrative costumbrista or folkloric narrative.

Vicente Alberto Masferrer Mónico
Alberto Masferrer was hailed as the most important fiction writer, journalist and essayist in El Salvador, although he did not receive formal education but rather opted for self-education. He was well-traveled though and had been to Chile, New York, most countries in the European Union and countries in Central America. He was born on the 24th of July 1868 in Alegria. The newspaper Patria, which he founded around 1928 contained socio-political commentaries and gave voice to the oppressed. He became editor of several national and international papers and magazines during that period in his life. He later served as El Salvador’s consul to Argentina and later to Chile, Costa Rica and Belgium. Masferrer also served in the International Court of Justice in 1912 and held several other public positions. During the 1932 uprising of Salvadoran peasants, Masferrer was sent to exile in Honduras.

His writings reflected his views on the rights of individuals regardless of race, gender and status in life, emphasizing that every one has the right to education, shelter, food and work, a philosophy that was termed vitalismo, for which Masferrer was credited to be the founder.

Fernando Llort Choussy
Fernando Llort was born in San Salvador on April 7, 1949. He showed artistic inclination at an early age and graduated from the University of El Salvador with a degree in architecture. After graduation he went to France for further studies in 1968. He also studied theology in Belgium and it influenced his art. He then took art classes at the Louisiana State University. Due to the political instability in the city, he decided to settle in La Palma after coming back to El Salvador. The simple life had a great impact on his paintings and he used basically primary colors on his paintings that depicted simple rural life and every day things you can find in the rural area such as simple houses, flowers, birds and animals, reminiscent of the works of Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. His art workshop is called El Árbol de Dios. The international art community calls Llort the National Artist of El Salvador.

Miguel Angel Ramirez
Miguel Ramirez is an internationally-known painter who hails from Santo Tomás, a town in San Salvador. Ramirez was born on February 9, 1960. He is very well known for his paintings of Salvadoran children’s faces, showing their different emotions, while still capturing their innocence and depicting the hardships they face. Yet somehow his paintings always evoke a sense of hope.

Ramirez started an arts school called Casa Taller Encuentros. In his school he teaches art to young children as well as young people and adults who mostly belong to low income families. He’s had numerous international exhibitions and one of his paintings now hangs at the Vatican.

:: References ::
http://www.explore-beautiful-el-salvador.com/el-salvador-people.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Salvadorans
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_are_some_famous_people_from_El_Salvador#ixzz1jJv7V7r1