Republic of El Salvador República de El Salvador
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios, Unión, Libertad"  (Spanish) "God, Unity, Freedom"
Anthem: Himno Nacional de El Salvador National anthem of El Salvador
Capital (and largest city)		San Salvador 13°40′N 89°10′W / 13.667°N 89.167°W / 13.667; -89.167
Official language(s)		Castilian
Demonym		Salvadoran
Government		Federal presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Mauricio Funes (F)
-	Vice President	Salvador Cerén (F)
-	Speaker of the Assembly	Sigfrido Morales (F)
-	Supreme Court President	Judge Belarmino Jaime
Legislature		Legislative Assembly
Independence
-	from Spain	September 15, 1821
-	Recognized by Spain	June 24, 1865
-	from the Greater Republic of Central America	November 13, 1898
Area
-	Total	21,040 km2 (153rd) 8,124 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.4
Population
-	July 2009 estimate	6,134,000[1] (99th)
-	2009 census	5,744,113[2]
-	Density	341.5/km2 (47th) 884.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$44.576 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$7,549[3]
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$22.761 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$3,855[3]
Gini (2002)		52.4 (high)
HDI (2010)		0.659[4] (medium) (90th)
Currency		U.S. dollar2 (USD)
Time zone		CST (UTC−6)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		SV
Internet TLD		.sv
Calling code		+5031
1	Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%).
2	The United States dollar is the currency in use. Financial information can be expressed in U.S. Dollars and in Salvadoran colón, but the colón is out of circulation.[5]
3	On the Coat of Arms of El Salvador, the country's name is written "Republica de El Salvador en la America Central", Meaning "Republic of El Salvador in Central America"

El Salvador ⁱ/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.^[1]

The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.

In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation. ^[6]

History[link]

Temazcal in Joya de Ceren

Pre-Columbian[link]

El Salvador's origins of human civilization date back to the Pipil people of Cuzcatlán, which means The Place of Precious Diamonds and Jewels. The people of El Salvador are variably referred to as Salvadoran, while the term Cuzcatleco is commonly used to identify someone of Salvadoran heritage.

In pre-Columbian times the territory was inhabited by various Native American peoples, including the Pipil, a Nahuatl-speaking population that occupied the central and western regions of the territory, and the Lenca, who settled in the east of the country. The larger domain until the Spanish conquest of the kingdom was Cuzcatlán. The Mayan civilization which inhabited El Salvador has left ruins such as those at Tazumal, Joya De Ceren, San Andres, Casa Blanca, Cihuatan, and Chalchuapa.

Discovery[link]

In 1520 the indigenous population of the territory had been reduced by 80% due to the smallpox epidemic that affected the Mesoamerican area. The Spanish Admiral Andrés Niño led an expedition to Central America and disembarked on Meanguera island, which he named Petronila, in the Gulf of Fonseca, on May 31, 1522. Thereafter he discovered Jiquilisco Bay on the mouth of Lempa River. This was the first known visit by Spaniards to what is now Salvadoran territory.

Conquest of Cuzcatlán[link]

Pedro de Alvarado

Between 1524 and 1525, after participating in the conquest of Mexico, Spanish Conquistadors led by Pedro de Alvarado and his brother Gonzalo crossed the Rio Paz (Peace River) from the area comprising the present Republic of Guatemala into what is now the Republic of El Salvador. The Spaniards were disappointed to find the indigenous pipil had no gold or jewels like those they had found in Guatemala or Mexico, but recognized the richness of the verdant land's volcanic soil.

Pedro de Alvarado led the first incursion by Spanish forces to extend their dominion to the nation of Cuzcatlán (El Salvador), in June 1524. On June 8, 1524, the conquerors arrived in the neighborhood of Acajutla at a village called Acaxual. There, according to records, a battle ensued between the opposing armies, with the Pipils wearing cotton armor (of three fingers' thickness, according to Alvarado) and carrying long lances. This circumstance would be crucial in the progression of the battle. Alvarado approached the Pipil lines with his archers' showers of crossbow arrows, but the natives did not retreat. The conquistador noticed the proximity of a nearby hill and knew that it could be a convenient hiding place for his opponents. Alvarado pretended that his army had given up the battle and retreated. The Pipils suddenly rushed the invaders, giving Alvarado an opportunity to inflict massive losses. The Pipils that fell to the ground could not get back on their feet, hindered by the weight of their cotton armor, which enabled the Spanish to slaughter them.

In the words of Alvarado: "...the destruction was so great that in just a short time there were none which were left alive...". However, Alvarado's army were not completely unscathed. In the battle Alvarado himself was struck by a sling shot to his thigh which fractured his femur bone. According to local tradition the stone that hit the conquistador was hurled by a Pipil "Tatoni" (a prince) called Atonal. The resultant infection lasted about eight months and left Alvarado partially crippled. In spite of this wound, he continued the conquest campaign with relish.

The Mayan ruins of San Andrés, capital of a Mayan lordship with supremacy over the other settlements of Valle de Zapotitán between 600 and 900 AD

The Spanish efforts were firmly resisted by the indigenous people, including the Pipil and their Mayan-speaking neighbors. Despite Alvarado's initial success in the Battle of Acajutla, the people of Cuzcatlán, who according to tradition were led by a warlord called Atlacatl, defeated the Spaniards and what was left of their Mexican Tlaxcala Indian allies, forcing them to withdraw to Guatemala. There, Pedro de Alvarado was again wounded, this time on his left thigh, which left him handicapped for the rest of his life. He abandoned the war and appointed his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue the task. It took two subsequent expeditions (the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528) to bring the Pipil under Spanish control. In 1525, the conquest of Cuzcatlán was completed and the city of San Salvador was established. The Spanish faced much resistance from the Pipils and were not able to reach eastern El Salvador, the area of the Lencas.

Finally, with reinforcements, in 1526 the Spanish established the garrison town of San Miguel, headed by another explorer and conquistador, Luis de Moscoso Alvarado, nephew of Pedro Alvarado. A Maya-Lenca woman, crown Princess Antu Silan Ulap I, daughter of Asisilcan Nachan I and Lady Omomatku, Monarch of the Lencas, organized resistance to the domination of the gold- and profit-hungry Conquistadors. The Lenca kingdom was alarmed by de Moscoso's invasion, and Antu Silan dealt with it by going from village to village, uniting all the Lenca towns in present-day El Salvador and Honduras against the Spaniards. Through surprise attacks and their overwhelming numbers, they were able to drive the Spanish out of San Miguel and destroy the garrison.

For ten years, the Lencas prevented the Spanish from building a permanent settlement. Then the Spanish returned with more soldiers, including about 2,000 forced conscripts from indigenous communities in Guatemala. They pursued the Lenca leaders further up into the mountains of Intibucá. Antu Silan Ulap continued leading the united forces until, late in pregnancy, she slipped out of the conflicted area to a safe haven, Tihuilotal, where she gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy. Their father was Prince Salaiki Kanul from Sesori. The daughter became Atonim Silan I – she and her twin and another brother lived in the mountains near the lake Olomega and Maquigue – in this way they escaped the Spanish and their allies who were hunting them. Tihuilotal is a little southwest of the present city of La Unión, near the source of the sacred Managuara River.

Antu Silan Ulap eventually handed over control of the Lenca resistance to Lempira (also called Empira). Lempira was noteworthy among indigenous leaders in that he mocked the Spanish by wearing their clothes after capturing them and using their weapons captured in battle. Lempira fought in command of thousands of Lenca forces for six more years in El Salvador and Honduras until he was killed in battle. The remaining Lenca forces retreated into the hills. The Spanish were then able to rebuild their garrison town of San Miguel in 1537.

Spanish rule (colonization) and independence[link]

Painting of the First Independence Movement celebration in San Salvador. At the center, José Matías Delgado

In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors ventured into the natural harbors to extend their dominion to the area. They called the land "Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, El Salvador Del Mundo" ("Province of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World"), which was subsequently abbreviated to "El Salvador (The Savior)".

During the colonial period, El Salvador was part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (Spanish: Reino de Guatemala), created in 1609 as an administrative division of New Spain. The Salvadoran territory was administered by the Mayor of Sonsonate, with San Salvador being established as an intendancia in 1786.

Towards the end of 1811, a combination of internal and external factors motivated Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish Crown. The most important internal factors were the desire of local elites to control the country's affairs free of involvement from Spanish authorities, and the Creoles' long-standing aspiration for independence. The main external factors motivating the independence movement were the success of the French and American revolutions in the eighteenth century, and the weakening of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, with the resulting inability to control its colonies effectively.

The rebels assembled in this town square by the then St. Dominic Church.

On 5 November 1811, Salvadoran priest José Matías Delgado rang the bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for insurrection and launching the 1811 Independence Movement. This insurrection was suppressed and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences in jail. Another insurrection was launched in 1814, and again it was suppressed. Finally, on September 15, 1821, in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities capitulated and signed the Acta de Independencia (Deed of Independence) which released all of the Captaincy of Guatemala (comprising current territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mexican state of Chiapas) from Spanish rule and declared its independence. In 1821, El Salvador joined Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in a union named the Federal Republic of Central America.

In early 1822, the authorities of the newly independent Central American provinces, meeting in Guatemala City, voted to join the newly constituted First Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide. El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. A Mexican military detachment marched to San Salvador and suppressed dissent, but with the fall of Iturbide on 19 March 1823, the army decamped back to Mexico. Shortly thereafter, the authorities of the provinces revoked the vote for joining Mexico, deciding instead to form a federal union of the five remaining provinces. (Chiapas permanently joined Mexico at this juncture.)

When the Federal Republic of Central America dissolved in 1841, El Salvador maintained its own government until it joined Honduras and Nicaragua in 1896 to form the Greater Republic of Central America, which later dissolved in 1898.

After the mid-19th century, the economy was based on coffee growing and, as the world market for indigo withered away, prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the concentration of land in the hands of an oligarchy of just a few families.^{[7][citation needed]}

Throughout the last half of the 19th century, a succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant cash crop, the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, the passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient labor for the coffee fincas (plantations), and the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.

20th century[link]

General Tomás Regalado

In 1898, General Tomas Regalado gained power by force, deposing Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez and ruling as president until 1903. Once in office, he revived the practice of designating presidential successors. After serving his term, he remained active in the Army of El Salvador, and was killed July 11, 1906 at El Jicaro during a war against Guatemala. Until 1913 El Salvador was politically stable, but there were undercurrents of popular discontent as well. When President Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo was killed in 1913, there were many hypotheses advanced for the political motive of his murder.

Dios, Union, Libertad (God, Unity, Liberty) El Salvador 1912 Flag

Araujo's administration was followed by the Melendez-Quinonez dynasty that lasted from 1913 to 1927. Pio Romero Bosque, ex-Minister of the Government, and a trusted collaborator of the dynasty, succeeded president Jorge Melendez and in 1930 announced free elections in which Arturo Araujo came to power on March 1, 1931. His government lasted only nine months, as his Labor Party lacked political and governmental experience and many party members used their government offices inefficiently. President Araujo faced general popular discontent, as the people expected economic reforms and the redistribution of land. There were demonstrations in front of the National Palace from the first week of his administration. His vice president and Minister of War was General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez and his National Police Director was Rochac, the president's brother-in-law.

In 1931 a coup d'état was organized by young junior officers and led by General Martínez; the first strike started in the First Regiment of Infantry across from the National Palace in downtown San Salvador. Only the First Regiment of Cavalry and the National Police defended the President (the National Police had been on its payroll), but later that night on December 1931, after hours of fighting and badly outnumbered, they surrendered to the military revolution.

The Directorate, composed of officers, hid behind a shadowy figure (as told by Thomas Anderson in his book Matanza), a rich anti-communist banker called Rodolfo Duke, and later installed the ardent fascist General Martínez as president of El Salvador. The causes of the revolt were probably due to the army's discontent at being unpaid by President Araujo for some months. Araujo left the National Palace and later unsuccessfully tried to organize forces to defeat the revolt.

The U.S. Minister in El Salvador met with the Directorate and later recognized the government of Martínez, who agreed to hold presidential elections later. Martínez resigned in 1934, six months before the presidential elections, to run for the presidency; and then won as the only candidate. He ruled from 1935 to 1939, then from 1939 to 1943. He began a fourth term in 1944, but resigned in May after the general strike. Martínez had said he was going to respect the Constitution, which stipulated he could not be reelected, but he refused to keep his promise.

From December 1931, the year of the coup in which Martínez came to power, there was brutal suppression of the rural resistance. The most notable event was the February 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising, led by Farabundo Martí and Abel Cuenca, and university students Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata. Only Cuenca survived; the other freedom fighters were killed by the government. It was later referred to as La Matanza (The Massacre), because tens of thousands of peasants were slaughtered on the orders of President Martinez.

In the unstable political climate of the past few years, the social activist and revolutionary leader Farabundo Martí helped found the Communist Party of Central America, and led a communist alternative to the Red Cross called International Red Aid, serving as one of its representatives. Their goal was to help poor and underprivileged Salvadorans through the use of Marxist-Leninist ideology (strongly rejecting Stalinism). In December 1930, at the height of the country's economic and social depression, Martí was once again exiled due to his popularity among the nation's poor and rumors of his upcoming nomination for President the following year. Once the new president, Arturo Araujo, was elected in 1931, Martí returned to El Salvador, and along with Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata, began the movement that was later truncated by the military. They helped start a guerrilla revolt of indigenous farmers. The government responded by killing over 30,000 indigenous people at what was to be a 'peaceful meeting' in 1932; this became known as La Matanza (The Slaughter). The peasant uprising against the dictator Martínez was crushed by the Salvadoran military ten days after it had begun. The Communist-led rebellion, fomented by collapsing coffee prices, enjoyed some initial success, but was soon drowned in a bloodbath. President Martínez, who had himself toppled an elected government only weeks earlier, ordered the defeated Martí shot after a perfunctory hearing.

Historically, the high Salvadoran population density has contributed to tensions with neighboring Honduras, as land-poor Salvadorans emigrated to less densely populated Honduras and established themselves as squatters on unused or underused land. This phenomenon was a major cause of the 1969 Football War between El Salvador and Honduras.^[8] As many as 130,000 Salvadorans had been forcibly expelled or had fled from Honduras.^[9]

The PDC and the PCN parties[link]

José Napoleón Duarte

In 1960, two political parties were born and are still active in El Salvadoran politics: the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the National Conciliation Party (PCN). Both share common ideals, but one represents the middle class and the latter the interests of the Salvadoran military.

Opposition leader José Napoleón Duarte from the PDC was the mayor of San Salvador from 1964 to 1970, winning three elections during the regime of President Jose Adalberto Rivera (who allowed free elections for mayors and the National Assembly). Duarte later ran for president with a political grouping called the National Opposition Union (UNO) but was defeated in the 1972 presidential elections. He lost to the ex-Minister of Interior, Colonel Arturo Armando Molina, in an election that was widely viewed as fraudulent; Molina was declared the winner even though Duarte was said to have received a majority of the votes. Duarte, at some Army officers' request, supported a revolt to protest the election fraud, but was captured, tortured and later exiled. Duarte returned to the country in 1979 to enter politics after working on projects in Venezuela as an engineer.

The October 1979 coup d'état[link]

In October 1979, a coup d'état brought the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador to power. It nationalized many private companies and took over much privately owned land. The purpose of this new junta was to stop the revolutionary movement already underway in response to Duarte's stolen election. Nevertheless, the oligarchy opposed agrarian reform, and a junta formed with young liberal elements from the Army such as General Majano and General Gutierrez^{[citation needed]}, as well as with progressives such as Ungo and Alvarez.

Owing to pressure from the staunch oligarchy, this Junta was soon dissolved because of its inability to control the Army in its repression of the people fighting for unionization rights, agrarian reform, better wages, accessible health care, and freedom of expression. In the meantime, the guerrilla movement was spreading to all sectors of Salvadoran society. Middle and high school students were organized in MERS (Movimiento Estudiantil Revolucionario de Secundaria, Revolutionary Movement of Secondary Students); college students were involved with AGEUS (Asociacion de Estudiantes Universitarios Salvadorenos; Association of Salvadoran College Students); and workers were organized in BPR (Bloque Popular Revolucionario, Popular Revolutionary Block).

The U.S. supported and financed the creation of a second Junta to change the political environment and stop the spread of a leftist insurrection. Napoleon Duarte was recalled from his exile in Venezuela to head this new Junta. However, a revolution was already underway and his new role as head of the Junta was seen by the general population as opportunistic. He was unable to influence the outcome of the insurrection movement, and this resulted in the Salvadoran Civil War (1980–1992).

A reconstruction of Radio Venceremos, at the Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen, San Salvador

On January 16, 1992 the government of El Salvador, represented by president Alfredo Cristiani, and the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), represented by the commanders of the five guerrilla groups – Shafick Handal, Joaquin Villalobos, Salvador Sánchez Ceren, Francisco Jovel and Eduardo Sancho, all signed the peace agreements brokered by the United Nations which ended the 12-year civil war. This event, held at the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico, was attended by U.N. dignitaries and other representatives of the international community. After signing the armistice, the president stood up and shook hands with all the now ex-guerrilla commanders, an action which was widely admired. The so-called Mexico Peace Agreements mandated reductions in the size of the Army, and the dissolution of the National Police, the Treasury Police, the National Guard, and the Civilian Defense, a paramilitary group. A new Civil Police was to be organized. Judicial immunity for crimes committed by the armed forces ended; the government agreed to submit to the recommendations of a Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (Comisión de la Verdad Para El Salvador), which would "investigate serious acts of violence occurring since 1980, and the nature and effects of the violence, and...recommend methods of promoting national reconciliation."

End of the 20th century[link]

From 1989 until 2004, Salvadorans favored the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party, voting in ARENA presidents in every election (Alfredo Cristiani, Armando Calderón Sol, Francisco Flores Pérez, Antonio Saca) until 2009, when Mauricio Funes was elected president from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party.

Economic reforms since the early 1990s have brought major benefits in terms of improved social conditions, diversification of its export sector, and access to international financial markets at investment grade level. However, crime remains a major problem for the investment climate.

This all ended in 2001, and support for ARENA weakened. There is internal turmoil in the ARENA party, while the FMLN party is growing and united.^[10]

21st century[link]

The unsuccessful attempts of the left-wing party to win presidential elections led to its selection of a journalist rather than a former guerrilla leader as a candidate. On March 15, 2009, Mauricio Funes, a television figure, became the first president from the FMLN party. He was inaugurated on June 1, 2009. One focus of the Funes government has been revealing the alleged corruption from the past government.^[11]

Geography[link]

Topography of El Salvador

El Salvador lies in the isthmus of Central America between latitudes 13° and 15°N, and longitudes 87° and 91°W. It stretches 168 miles (270 km) from west-northwest to east-southeast and 88 miles (142 km) north to south, with a total area of 8,123 miles (13,073 km), about the size of Massachusetts or Wales. As the smallest country in continental America, El Salvador is affectionately called Pulgarcito de America (the "Tom Thumb of the Americas"). The highest point in the country is Cerro El Pital, at 8,957 feet (2,730 m), on the border with Honduras.

El Salvador has a long history of destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. San Salvador was destroyed in 1756 and 1854, and it suffered heavy damage in the 1919, 1982, and 1986 tremors. The country has over twenty volcanoes, although only two, San Miguel and Izalco, have been active in recent years. From the early nineteenth century to the mid 1950s, Izalco erupted with a regularity that earned it the name "Lighthouse of the Pacific." Its brilliant flares were clearly visible for great distances at sea, and at night its glowing lava turned it into a brilliant luminous cone.

El Salvador has over 300 rivers, the most important of which is the Rio Lempa. Originating in Guatemala, the Rio Lempa cuts across the northern range of mountains, flows along much of the central plateau, and finally cuts through the southern volcanic range to empty into the Pacific. It is El Salvador's only navigable river; it and its tributaries drain about half the country. Other rivers are generally short and drain the Pacific lowlands or flow from the central plateau through gaps in the southern mountain range to the Pacific. These include the Goascorán, Jiboa, Torola, Paz and the Río Grande de San Miguel.

The Coatepeque Caldera

There are several lakes enclosed by volcanic craters in the country, the most important of which are Lake Ilopango (70 km²/27 sq mi) and Lake Coatepeque (26 km²/10 sq mi). Lake Güija is El Salvador's largest natural lake (44 km²/17 sq mi). Several artificial lakes were created by the damming of the Lempa, the largest of which is Embalse Cerrón Grande (135 km²). There are a total 123.6 square miles (320 km²) of water within El Salvador's borders.

El Salvador shares those borders with Guatemala and Honduras, the total national boundary length is 339 miles (546 km): 126 miles (203 km) with Guatemala and 213 miles (343 km) with Honduras. It is the only Central American country that has no Caribbean coastline; the coastline on the Pacific is 191 miles (307 km) long.

Two parallel mountain ranges cross El Salvador to the west with a central plateau between them and a narrow coastal plain hugging the Pacific. These physical features divide the country into two physiographic regions. The mountain ranges and central plateau, covering 85 percent of the land, comprise the interior highlands. The remaining coastal plains are referred to as the Pacific lowlands.

Climate[link]

Satellite image of El Salvador in April 2002

El Salvador has a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons. Temperatures vary primarily with elevation and show little seasonal change. The Pacific lowlands are uniformly hot; the central plateau and mountain areas are more moderate. The rainy season extends from May to October; this time of year is referred to as invierno or winter. Almost all the annual rainfall occurs during this period; yearly totals, particularly on southern-facing mountain slopes, can be as high as 2,170 millimetres (85.4 in).

Hurricane Mitch 26 Oct 1998

The best time to visit El Salvador would be at the beginning or end of the dry season. Protected areas and the central plateau receive less, although still significant, amounts. Rainfall during this season generally comes from low pressure systems formed over the Pacific and usually falls in heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricanes occasionally form in the Pacific with the notable exception of Hurricane Mitch, which formed in the Atlantic and crossed Central America.

From November through April, the northeast trade winds control weather patterns; this time of year is referred to as verano, or summer. During these months, air flowing from the Caribbean has lost most of its precipitation while passing over the mountains in Honduras. By the time this air reaches El Salvador, it is dry, hot, and hazy, and the country experiences hot weather, excluding the northern higher mountain ranges, where temperatures will be cool. In the extreme northeastern part of the country near Cerro El Pital, snow is known to fall during summer as well as during winter due to the high elevations (it is the coldest part of the country).

Biodiversity and endangered species[link]

The Torogoz is El Salvador's national bird.

There are eight species of sea turtles in the world; six of them nest on the coasts of Central America, and four make their home on the Salvadoran coast: the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Green Sea turtle (Chelonia agasizzii) and the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Of these four species, the most common is the Olive Ridley turtle, followed by the brown (black) turtle. The other two species, Hawksbill and Leatherback, are much more difficult to find as they are critically endangered, while the Olive Ridley and brown (black) turtle are in danger of extinction.

Recent conservation efforts provide hope for the future of the country's biological diversity. In 1997, the government established the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources. A general environmental framework law was approved by the National Assembly in 1999. Specific legislation to protect wildlife is still pending.

The Ocelot is a native of El Salvador.

In addition, a number of non-governmental organizations are doing important work to safeguard some of the country's most important forested areas. Foremost among these is SalvaNatura, which manages El Impossible, the country's largest national park under an agreement with El Salvador's environmental authorities.

Despite these efforts, much remains to be done.

It is estimated that there are 500 species of birds, 1,000 species of butterflies, 400 species of orchids, 800 species of trees, and 800 species of marine fish in El Salvador.

Natural disasters[link]

El Salvador lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is thus subject to significant tectonic activity, including frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Recent examples include the earthquake on January 13, 2001 that measured 7.7 on the Richter scale and caused a landslide that killed more than 800 people;^[12] and another earthquake only a month later, on February 13, 2001, that killed 255 people and damaged about 20% of the nation's housing. Luckily, many families were able to find safety from the landslides caused by the earthquake.

The San Salvador area has been hit by earthquakes in 1576, 1659, 1798, 1839, 1854, 1873, 1880, 1917, 1919, 1965, 1986, 2001 and 2005.^[13] The 5.7 M_w-earthquake of 1986 resulted in 1,500 deaths, 10,000 injuries, and 100,000 people left homeless.^[14][15]

El Salvador's most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on October 1, 2005, when the Santa Ana Volcano spewed a cloud of ash, hot mud and rocks that fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths. The most severe volcanic eruption in this area occurred in the 5th century AD when the Ilopango volcano erupted with a VEI strength of 6, producing widespread pyroclastic flows and devastating Mayan cities.^[16]

El Salvador's position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe droughts, both of which may be made more extreme by the El Niño and La Niña effects. In the summer of 2001, a severe drought destroyed 80% of the country's crops, causing famine in the countryside.^[17][18] On October 4, 2005, severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which caused a minimum of fifty deaths.^[12] El Salvador's location in Central America also makes it vulnerable to hurricanes coming off the Caribbean; however, this risk is much less than for other Central American countries.

The Santa Ana Volcano in El Salvador is currently dormant; the last eruptions were in 1904 and 2005. Lago de Coatepeque (one of El Salvador's lakes) was created by water filling the caldera that formed after a massive eruption.

The British Imperial College's El Salvador Project aims to build earthquake-proof buildings in remote areas of the country.

Government and politics[link]

The 1983 Constitution is the highest legal authority in the country. El Salvador has a democratic and representative government, whose three bodies are:

1. The Executive Branch, headed by the President of the Republic, who is elected by direct vote and remains in office for five years. He can be elected to only one term. The president has a Cabinet of Ministers whom he appoints, and is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
2. The Legislative Branch, called El Salvador's Legislative Assembly (unicameral), consisting of 84 deputies.
3. The Judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, which is composed of 15 judges, one of them being elected as President of the Judiciary.

The Chapultepec Peace Accords (1992) created the new National Civil Police, the Attorney for the Defense of Human Rights and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The Peace Accords re-imagined the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) as a political party and redefined the role of the army to be for the defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Accords also removed some security forces who were in command of the army, such as the National Guard, Treasury Police and special battalions that were formed to fight against the insurgency of the 1980s.

The political framework of El Salvador is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multiform, multi-party system. The President, currently Mauricio Funes, is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The country also has an independent Judiciary and Supreme Court.

Main political parties[link]

Although El Salvador has six political parties, the ones which receive the most votes are the conservative right (ARENA) and the liberal left (FMLN). GANA, PDC, PCN, and CD have not received as many votes, leading some people to believe the country has a two-party system, although alternative parties still exist. Within Salvadoran political culture, ARENA is considered right or conservative and the FMLN Party is considered left or liberal. The departments of the Central region, especially the capital and the coastal regions, known as departamentos rojos, or red departments, are relatively liberal. The departamentos azules, or blue departments in the east, western and highland regions are relatively conservative. The winner of the 2009 presidential election, Mauricio Funes belongs to the FMLN party and currently controls the National Assembly.

El Salvador Political Parties (alphabetical order)

Human rights[link]

Amnesty International has drawn attention to several arrests of police officers for unlawful police killings. Other current issues to gain Amnesty International's attention in the past 10 years include missing children, failure of law enforcement to properly investigate and prosecute crimes against women, and rendering organized labor illegal.^[19]

Departments[link]

El Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), which in turn are subdivided into 262 municipalities (municipios).

Department names and abbreviations for the 14 Salvadoran Departments:

Departments of El Salvador
Western El Salvador Ahuachapán (Ahuachapán) Santa Ana (Santa Ana) Sonsonate (Sonsonate)	Central El Salvador La Libertad(Santa Tecla) Chalatenango (Chalatenango) Cuscatlán (Cojutepeque) San Salvador (San Salvador) La Paz (Zacatecoluca) Cabañas (Sensuntepeque) San Vicente (San Vicente)	Eastern El Salvador Usulután (Usulután) San Miguel (San Miguel) Morazán (San Francisco Gotera) La Unión (La Unión)
Note: Departamental capitals are in parentheses.

Economy[link]

World Trade Center San Salvador

According to the IMF and CIA World Factbook, El Salvador has the third largest economy in the region, behind Costa Rica and Panama, when comparing nominal Gross Domestic Product and purchasing power GDP.^[20] El Salvador's GDP per capita stands at US $4,365.^[21]

El Salvador's economy has been hampered at times by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, but it is currently growing steadily. Antiguo Cuscatlán has the highest per capita income of all the cities in the country, and is a center of international investment.

GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2008 was estimated at $ 25.895 billion USD. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 64.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 24.7% (2008 est.). Agriculture represents only 11.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

The GDP has been growing since 1996 at an annual rate that averages 3.2% real growth. The government has recently committed to free market initiatives, and the 2007 GDP's real growth rate was 4.7%.^[22]

In December 1999, net international reserves equaled US $1.8 billion or roughly five months of imports. Having this hard currency buffer to work with, the Salvadoran government undertook a monetary integration plan beginning January 1, 2001 by which the U.S. dollar became legal tender alongside the Salvadoran colón, and all formal accounting was done in U.S. dollars. Thus, the government has formally limited the implementing of open market monetary policies to influence short-term variables in the economy. As of September 2007, net international reserves stood at $2.42 billion.^[23][24]

San Salvador, one of the fastest growing capitals in the world.^{[citation needed]}

It has long been a challenge in El Salvador to develop new growth sectors for a more diversified economy. In the past, the country produced gold and silver.^[25] As with other former colonies, El Salvador was considered a mono-export economy (an economy that depended heavily on one type of export) for many years. During colonial times, the Spanish decided that El Salvador would produce and export indigo, but after the invention of synthetic dyes in the 19th century, the newly created modern state turned to coffee as the main export.

There are a total of 15 free trade zones in El Salvador. El Salvador signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) — negotiated by the five countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic — with the United States in 2004. CAFTA requires that the Salvadoran government adopt policies that foster free trade. El Salvador has signed free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Panama and increased its trade with those countries. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua also are negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada. In October 2007, these four countries and Costa Rica began free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union. Negotiations started in 2006 for a free trade agreement with Colombia.

San Miguel is an important economic center of El Salvador and home to "Carnival of San Miguel", the biggest festival of entertainment and gastronomy in Central America.

The government has sought to improve the collection of its current revenues, with a focus on indirect taxes. A 10% value-added tax (IVA in Spanish), implemented in September 1992, was raised to 13% in July 1995.

Inflation has been steady and among the lowest in the region. Since 1997 inflation has averaged 3%, with recent years increasing to nearly 5%. As a result of the free trade agreements, from 2000 to 2006, total exports have grown 19% from $2.94 billion to $3.51 billion, and total imports have risen 54% from $4.95 billion to $7.63 billion. This has resulted in a 102% increase in the trade deficit, from $2.01 billion to $4.12 billion.^[26]

Remittances from Salvadorans living and working in the United States, sent to family members in El Salvador, are a major source of foreign income and offset the substantial trade deficit of $4.12 billion. Remittances have increased steadily in the last decade, and reached an all-time high of $3.32 billion in 2006 (an increase of 17% over the previous year).^[27] approximately 16.2% of gross domestic product(GDP).

Remittances have had positive and negative effects on El Salvador. In 2005, the number of people living in extreme poverty in El Salvador was 20%,^[28] according to a United Nations Development Program report. Without remittances, the number of Salvadorans living in extreme poverty would rise to 37%. While Salvadoran education levels have gone up, wage expectations have risen faster than either skills or productivity. For example, some Salvadorans are no longer willing to take jobs that pay them less than what they receive monthly from family members abroad. This has led to an influx of Hondurans and Nicaraguans who are willing to work for the prevailing wage. Also, the local propensity for consumption over investment has increased.

Money from remittances has also increased prices for certain commodities such as real estate. With much higher wages, many Salvadorans abroad can afford higher prices for houses in El Salvador than local Salvadorans, and thus push up the prices that all Salvadorans must pay.^[29]

El Chorreron, El Salvador; tourism is the fastest-growing sector of the Salvadoran economy.

Despite being the smallest country in Central America, El Salvador has the third largest economy, with a per capita income that is roughly two-thirds that of Costa Rica and Panama, but more than double that of Nicaragua. Growth has been modest in recent years, and the economy contracted nearly 3% in 2009. Because of the recent growing and dollarized economy, El Salvador is seeing an increase of Central American, South American, and Caribbean immigrants from Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, Dominicans, Colombians, Venezuelan, Peruvians and Cubans searching for better living opportunities.

El Salvador leads the region in remittances per capita, with inflows equivalent to nearly all export income; about a third of all households receive these financial inflows. In 2006, El Salvador was the first country to ratify the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement. CAFTA has bolstered exports of processed foods, sugar, and ethanol, and supported investment in the apparel sector, which faced Asian competition with the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. In anticipation of the declines in the apparel sector's competitiveness, the previous administration sought to diversify the economy by promoting the country as a regional distribution and logistics hub, and by promoting tourism investment through tax incentives.

El Salvador has promoted an open trade and investment environment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecom, electricity distribution, banking, and pension funds. In late 2006, the government and the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $461 million compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country's northern region, the primary conflict zone during the civil war, through investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. With the adoption of the US dollar as its currency in 2001, El Salvador lost control over monetary policy. Any counter-cyclical policy response to the downturn must be through fiscal policy, which is constrained by legislative requirements for a two-thirds majority to approve any international financing.

Demographics[link]

Salvadoran people[link]

Christy Turlington is an American model of Salvadoran ancestry, best known for representing Calvin Klein from 1987 to 2007.

The population of El Salvador increased from 1.9 million inhabitants in 1950 to 4.7 million in 1984.^[30] El Salvador has lacked authoritative demographic data for many years because no national census was taken between 1992 and 2007. Before the 2007 census, patterns in population growth led many officials (including within the Salvadoran government) to estimate the country's population at between 7.1 and 7.2 million people.^[31] However, on May 12, 2008, El Salvador's Ministry of Economy released statistics gathered in the census of the previous May. These data present a figure for the total population that corroborates the earlier estimates: 7,185,218.^{[citation needed]} Challenges to the 2007 census on a number of grounds are forthcoming.^[32][33][34]

The country's population is composed of mestizos (those of mixed indigenous Native American and European ancestry), whites, and indigenous peoples. Eighty-six percent of Salvadorans are of mixed ancestry. In the mestizo population, Salvadorans of predominantly Mediterranean descent, Afro-Salvadoran, and Native Indigenous who are not connected to indigenous customs or language, all identify themselves as Mestizo culturally.

Consuelo de Saint Exupéry was a Salvadoran writer and artist.

Twelve percent of Salvadorans are mostly of Spanish descent. Small communities of French, German, Swiss, English, Irish, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch and Central European ethnicity also exist within the country. The majority of Central European immigrants arrived during World War II as refugees from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Switzerland, and their descendants are scattered in different communities across El Salvador. Russians arrived during the Salvadoran civil war, concurrent with the U.S./Soviet Union cold war, to help the communist guerrillas in their struggle to seize the government. Americans, Australians, and Canadians assisted the military junta in their fight against the communists.

Only one percent of the Salvadoran population is purely indigenous, mostly Mayan, Pipil, Lenca and Kakawira (Cacaopera). The current low numbers of indigenous people may be partly explained by mass murders during the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising (or La Matanza). Up to 30,000 peasants were killed in what by modern standards would be considered genocide because of the Salvadoran army's efforts to exterminate a certain racial group. Other ethnic groups include Arabs, Jews, other Central Americans, South Americans, Caribbean and a small group of Asians.^{[citation needed]}

Afro-Salvadoran. El Salvador is the only Central American country that has no visible African population today, which is the result of racial intermixing during colonial times. Africans that were brought to El Salvador completely mixed into the Mestizo population, creating Afro-Mestizo Salvadorans. Africans are also not visible because of El Salvador's isolation from the Atlantic Central American coastline, where the slave trade occurred for centuries. This scarcity of African population is also due to laws imposed by the Spanish and Criollos around the 17th century after a slave revolt in San Salvador, which were sustained by authorities even after independence was won from Spain in 1821 and slavery was abolished.

Until the end of the 20th century, people of African descent weren't allowed to enter the country unless the oligarchy determined it was absolutely necessary. In addition, General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez instituted race laws in 1930 that prohibited four ethnic groups — blacks, Gypsies, Asians, from entering the country. It was not until the 1980s that this law was rescinded. Regardless of these racial laws, Afro-Salvadorans are present in some areas due to immigrants arriving from neighboring countries like Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua, who eventually mixed in with the local populations. Arabs, mostly Palestinian Christians, are today one of the most notable immigrant groups in El Salvador, despite their relatively small numbers.^[36][37] Denying this, the book "Seeing Indians: A Study of Race, Nation, and Power in El Salvador", by Virginia Q. Tilley, states on page 210, "...no twentieth-century law or regulation ever prohibited the entry, settlement, or patriation of blacks, under the Martinez dictatorship or any other regime." There have been several publications presenting information about Africans in what is now El Salvador during the colonial period.

Salvadoran model Irma Dimas was crowned Miss El Salvador in 2005. She made headlines recently for her entry into Salvadoran politics.

Among the immigrant groups in El Salvador, Palestinian Christians stand out.^[38] Though few in number, their descendants have attained great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by the election of ex-president Antonio Saca — whose opponent in the 2004 election, Schafik Handal, was likewise of Palestinian descent — and the flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by this ethnic group.

The capital city of San Salvador has about 2.1 million people; an estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas. Urbanization has expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador since the 1960s, driving millions to the cities and creating growth problems for cities around the country.

In the first half of 2007, government statistics provided by La Policía Nacional Civil of El Salvador showed lower numbers in homicide and extortions as well as robbery and theft of vehicles. In 2007, homicides in El Salvador were reduced by 22%, extortions were reduced by 7%, and robbery and theft of vehicles had gone down 18%, in comparison with the same period in 2006.^[39] However, in 2009, there has been an increase in homicides and extortions of about 30% more than in 2008, according to some statistics.^[40]

As of 2004, there were approximately 3.2 million Salvadorans living outside El Salvador, with the United States traditionally being the destination of choice for Salvadorans looking for greater economic opportunity. By 2009, there were about 1.6 million Salvadoran immigrants and Americans of Salvadoran descent in the U.S.,^[41] making them the sixth largest immigrant group in the country.^[42] Salvadorans also live in nearby Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.^[43]

The majority of expatriates emigrated during the civil war of the 1980s for political reasons and later because of adverse economic and social conditions. Other countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (including the Cayman Islands), Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Colombia, and Australia. There is also a large community of Nicaraguans, 100,000 according to some figures, in the United States and Costa Rica,^[44] many of them seasonal immigrants.

Largest cities[link]

v t e Largest cities or towns of El Salvador 2007 El Salvador Bureau of Statistics estimate[45]
	Rank	City name	Department	Pop.	Rank	City name	Department	Pop.
San Salvador San Salvador Santa Ana	1	San Salvador	San Salvador	540,989	11	Colón	La Libertad	96,989	Soyapango San Miguel
	2	Santa Ana	Santa Ana	245,421	12	Tonacatepeque	San Salvador	90,896
	3	Soyapango	San Salvador	241,403	13	Opico	La Libertad	74,280
	4	San Miguel	San Miguel	218,410	14	Chalchuapa	Santa Ana	74,038
	5	Santa Tecla	La Libertad	164,171	15	Usulután	Usulután	73,064
	6	Mejicanos	San Salvador	140,751	16	San Martín	San Salvador	72,758
	7	Apopa	San Salvador	131,286	17	Sonsonate	Sonsonate	71,541
	8	Delgado	San Salvador	120,200	18	Izalco	Sonsonate	70,959
	9	Ahuachapán	Ahuachapán	110,511	19	Cuscatancingo	San Salvador	66,400
	10	Ilopango	San Salvador	103,862	20	Metapán	Santa Ana	65,826

Language[link]

Central American Spanish is the official language and is spoken by virtually all inhabitants. Some indigenous people still speak their native tongues (such as Nahuatl and Maya), but indigenous Salvadoreans who do not identify as mestizo constitute only 1% of the country's population. However all of them can speak Spanish. Q'eqchi' is spoken by immigrants of Guatemalan and Belizean indigenous people living in El Salvador. There have also been recent large migrations of Hondurans and Nicaraguans.^[46]

German, Dutch and French are taught as a secondary language in private international schools, such as the Liceo Frances (France), Escuela Alemana (Germany), Academia Britanica Cuscatleca (United Kingdom) and the Escuela Americana (United States). English has been taught by Americans and the British in El Salvador for several decades, at least 50 years. However, most formal education is given in private schools, out of reach for most of the population, who have to attend public schools where they receive education in a very elementary level of English. There has been a small Japanese community in El Salvador since World War II.^{[citation needed]}, as well as a considerable Taiwanese community.

The local Spanish vernacular is called Caliche. Salvadoreans use voseo, which is also used in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Argentina. This refers to the use of "vos" as the second person pronoun, instead of "tú". However "caliche" is considered informal and a small number of people choose not to use it. Nahuatl is an indigenous language that has survived, though it is only used by small communities of some elderly Salvadorans in western El Salvador.

Religion[link]

There is diversity of religious and ethnic groups in El Salvador. The majority of the population are Christians, mostly Roman Catholics (52.5%); while Protestantism represents 27.6% of the population.^[47] Mormonism and Pentecostalism are two of the notable non–Catholic faiths in El Salvador. According to a survey in 2008, 52.6% of El Salvador's residents are Catholic and 27.9% are Protestant.^[48] Pentecostals and Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). The LDS temple was dedicated earlier this year in San Salvador. Other religions (1.4%) are present as well - Islam, Judaism and Jehovah's Witnesses; Eleven percent of the population is not afiliated with any religious group, this includes people who believe in a god, but practice no religion, also atheists and agnostics.

Health[link]

For the period 2005–2010, El Salvador had the third lowest birth rate in Central America, with 22.8 births per 1,000.^[49] However, during the same period, it has the highest death rate in Central America, 5.9 deaths per 1,000. According to the most recent United Nations survey, life expectancy for men was 68 years and 74 years for women. Healthy life expectancy was 57 for males and 62 for females in 2003.^[50] There are about 148 physicians per 100,000 people.^[51]

Crime[link]

In the past few years, El Salvador has experienced high crime rates, including gang-related crimes and juvenile delinquency.^[52] Some say that this was a result of the deportation of thousands of Salvadorans from the U.S, the majority of whom were members of MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha, or La Mara),^[53] in the mid-90s. The gangs in which Salvadorans had been involved in the United States began to show up in El Salvador.^[54]

Today El Salvador experiences some of the highest murder rates in the World^[55]; it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.^[56] In response to this, the government has set up countless programs to try to guide the youth away from gang membership; so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programs was a gang-reform called "Super Mano Dura" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was highly criticized by the UN. It saw temporary success in 2004 but then saw a rise in crime after 2005. In 2004, the rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens was 41, with 60% of the homicides committed being gang-related.^[56]

The Salvadoran government reported that the Super Mano Dura gang legislation led to a 14% drop in murders in 2004. However, El Salvador had 66 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012, more than triple the rate in Mexico that year.^[57][58][59] There are an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador with another 9,000 in prison.^[57] The most well-known gangs, called "maras" in colloquial Spanish, are Mara Salvatrucha and their rivals Calle 18; maras are, or at least were, hunted by death squads including Sombra Negra. New rivals also include the rising mara, The Rebels 13.^[60]

As of March 2012, El Salvador has seen a 40% drop in crime due to what the Salvadoran government called a gang truce. In early 2012, there were on average of 16 killings per day but in late March that number dropped to fewer than 5 per day and on April 14, 2012 for the first time in over 3 years there were no killings in the country. ^[61] Overall, there were 411 killings in January 2012, but in March the number was 188, more than a 40% reduction, ^[62] while crime in neighboring Honduras has risen to an all time high. ^[63]

Culture[link]

Celebration of La Fiestas Patrias in Las Chinamas

Mestizo culture dominates the country, heavy in both Native American Indigenous and European Spanish influences. A new composite population was formed as a result of the European settlers intermarrying with the native Mesoamerican population of Cuzcatlán. The Catholic Church plays an important role in the Salvadoran culture. Archbishop Óscar Romero is a national hero for his role in resisting human rights violations that were occurring in the lead-up to the Salvadoran Civil War.^[64] Significant foreign personalities in El Salvador were the Jesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuria, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes, who were murdered in 1989 by the Salvadoran Army during the height of the civil war.

Painting, ceramics and textiles are the principal manual artistic mediums. Writers Francisco Gavidia (1863–1955), Salarrué (Salvador Salazar Arrué) (1899–1975), Claudia Lars, Alfredo Espino, Pedro Geoffroy Rivas, Manlio Argueta, José Roberto Cea, and poet Roque Dalton are among the most important writers from El Salvador. Notable 20th century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio, female film director Patricia Chica, artist Fernando Llort, and caricaturist Toño Salazar.

Amongst the more renowned representatives of the graphic arts are the painters Augusto Crespin, Noe Canjura, Carlos Cañas, Julia Díaz, Mauricio Mejia, Maria Elena Palomo de Mejia, Camilo Minero, Ricardo Carbonell, Roberto Huezo, Miguel Angel Cerna, (the painter and writer better known as MACLo), Esael Araujo, and many others. For more information on prominent citizens of El Salvador, check the List of Salvadorans.

Tourism[link]

Moncagua, San Miguel.

The only airport serving international flights in the country is Comalapa International Airport. This airport is located about 40 km (25 mi) southeast of San Salvador.^[65] The airport is commonly known as Comalapa International or El Salvador International.

El Salvador's tourism industry has grown dynamically over recent years as the Salvadoran government focuses on developing this sector. In 2006, tourism accounted for 4.6% of GDP; in 1996, it accounted for 0.4%. In this same year, tourism grew 4.5% worldwide. Comparatively, El Salvador saw an increase of 8.97%, from 1.15 million to 1.27 million tourists. This has led to revenue from tourism growing 35.9%, from $634 million to $862 million. In 1996, tourism revenue was only $44.2 million. Also, there has been an even greater increase in the number of excursions (visits that do not include an overnight stay). More than 222,000 excursionists visited El Salvador in 2006, a 24% increase over the previous year.^[66]

El Salvador has surf tourism, due to large waves from the Pacific Ocean.

Most North American and European tourists seek out El Salvador's beaches and nightlife. Besides these two attractions, El Salvador's tourism landscape is slightly different from those of other Central American countries. Because of its geographic size and urbanization, there are not many nature-themed tourist destinations such as ecotours, or archaeological sites, open to the public. Surfing, however, is a natural tourism sector that has gained popularity in recent years as Salvadoran beaches have become increasingly popular. Surfers visit many beaches on the coast of La Libertad and the east end of the country, finding surfing spots that are not yet overcrowded. Also, the use of the United States dollar as Salvadoran currency, and direct flights of 4–6 hours from most cities in the United States, are factors for American tourists. Urbanization and Americanization of Salvadoran culture has also led to the abundance of American-style malls, stores, and restaurants in the three main urban areas, especially greater San Salvador.

Currently, tourists to El Salvador can be classified into four groups: Central Americans; North Americans; Salvadorans living abroad, primarily in the United States; and Europeans and South Americans. The first three represent the vast majority of tourists. Recently, El Salvador has attempted to broaden its tourist base by increasing the number of visitors from Europe and South America. Early indicators show that the government's efforts are working. When comparing January–March 2007 to the same period in 2006, tourism has grown overall 10%, and specifically from North America 38%, Europe 31%, and South America 36%.^[67] In the fall, Livingston Airlines will initiate the only direct flight between Europe (departing from Milan) and El Salvador. The Decameron Salinitas, a recently inaugurated resort, has contributed to the growth of tourism by South American visitors because of the resort chain's name recognition, and it is looking to do the same with Europeans.

A whole new segment of tourism has grown up around El Salvador's recent turbulent past.^[68] Artillery fragments, battle photographs, combat plans, and mountain hideouts have become tourist attractions in themselves. Since 1992, residents in some economically depressed areas have set up local enterprises to profit from these. The mountain town of Perquín was considered the "guerrilla capital", and today it is home to the "Museum of the Revolution", featuring cannons, uniforms, pieces of Soviet weaponry, and other weapons of war once used by the FMLN's (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) headquarters.

According to the El Salvadoran newspaper El Diario De Hoy, the top 10 attractions are: the coastal beaches, La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores, Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana (location of the country's highest volcano), Nahuizalco, Apaneca, Juayua, and San Ignacio.^[69]

Among the numerous volcanic crater lakes in the mountains, Lake Coatepeque and Lake Ilopango are two of the most beautiful.

Cuisine[link]

Pupusas, the national and most famous dish of El Salvador.

One of El Salvador's notable dishes is the pupusa. Pupusas are hand-made corn tortillas (made of masa de maíz or masa de arroz, a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese such as quesillo, similar to mozzarella), chicharrón, or refried beans. Sometimes the filling is queso con loroco (cheese combined with loroco, a vine flower bud native to Central America). Pupusas revueltas are pupusas filled with beans, cheese and pork. There are also vegetarian options. Some adventurous restaurants even offer pupusas stuffed with shrimp or spinach. The name pupusa comes from the Pipil-Nahuatl word, pupushahua. The precise origins of the pupusa are debated, although its presence in El Salvador is known to predate the arrival of the Spaniards.^[70]

Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are yuca frita and panes con pollo. Yuca frita is deep fried cassava root served with curtido (a pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and pork rinds with pescaditas (fried baby sardines). The Yuca is sometimes served boiled instead of fried. Panes con pollo (literally breads with chicken) are warm turkey-filled submarine sandwiches. The turkey is marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and handpulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with chicken, tomato, and watercress along with cucumber, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard.