El Salvador And Havana

El Salvador 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 southSony PCG-71313M battery, and the countries of Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and 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.[3]

The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. DollarSony PCG-71212M battery.

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% from the year 1992 to 2010, making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestationSony PCG-71311M battery.

Temazcal in Joya de Ceren

Pre-Columbian

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 heritageSony PCG-71213M battery.

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, Sony PCG-61211M battery San Andres, Casa Blanca, Cihuatan, and Chalchuapa.

European Contact (1522)

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, 1522Sony VAIO VPCF24Q1E battery. 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

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 discover that the indigenous Pipil people had no gold or jewels like those they had found in Guatemala or MexicoSony VAIO VPCF13M1E/H battery, 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 Pipil wearing cotton armorSony VAIO VPCF12Z1E/BI battery (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 opponentsSony VAIO VPCF12S1E/B battery. Alvarado pretended that his army had given up the battle and retreated. The Pipil suddenly rushed the invaders, giving Alvarado an opportunity to inflict massive losses. The Pipil warriors who 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 themSony VAIO VPCF13Z8E/BI battery.

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" Sony VAIO VPCF13Z8E battery (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.

Tazumal ruins in Santa Ana, El Salvador.

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 alliesSony VAIO VPCF13M1E/B battery, 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 controlSony VAIO VPCF1318E/H battery. In 1525, the conquest of Cuzcatlán was completed and the city of San Salvador was established. The Spanish faced much resistance from the Pipil 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 AlvaradoSony VAIO VPCF13J0E/H battery. 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 SpaniardsSony VAIO VPCF13E8E battery. 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. Sony VAIO VPCF13E4E battery 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 MaquigueSony VAIO VPCF12M1E/H battery – 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 battleSony VAIO VPCF12F4E/H battery. 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

Painting of the First Independence Movement celebration in San Salvador. At the center, José Matías DelgadoSony VAIO VPCF12E1E/H battery.

Manuel José Arce joined the movement for independence from Spain, joining in the first Cry for Independence on November 5, 1811 in San Salvador.

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)" Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI battery.

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 1786Sony VAIO VPCF24M1E battery.

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 independenceSony VAIO VPCF23S1E battery. 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 effectivelySony VAIO VPCF231S1E battery.

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 suppressedSony VAIO VPCF23Q1E battery. 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 independenceSony VAIO VPCF23M1E battery. 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 countriesSony VAIO VPCF22S8E battery. 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.) Sony VAIO VPCF22S1E battery

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 fluctuatedSony VAIO VPCF22M1E battery. 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.[9]

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 cropSony VAIO VPCF22L1E battery, 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 forceSony VAIO VPCF22J1E battery.

20th century

Gen. Tomás Regalado

In 1898, Gen. 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 GuatemalaSony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B battery. Until 1913 El Salvador was politically stable, but there were undercurrents of popular discontent. 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 BosqueSony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H battery, 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 discontentSony VAIO VPCF11D4E battery, 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 Gen. Maximiliano Hernández Martínez and his National Police Director was Rochac—his brother-in-lawSony VAIO VPCF11C5E battery.

In December 1931 a coup d'état was organized by junior officers and led by Gen. 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, after hours of fighting, the badly outnumbered defenders surrendered to the rebel forcesSony VAIO VPCF11C4E/B battery.

The Directorate, composed of officers, hid behind a shadowy figure,[10] a rich anti-Communist banker called Rodolfo Duke, and later installed the ardent fascist Gen. Martínez as president. The causes of the revolt were probably due to the army's discontent at not having been paid by President Araujo for some months. Araujo left the National Palace and later unsuccessfully tried to organize forces to defeat the revoltSony VAIO PCG-31114M battery.

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. He resigned in 1934, six months before the presidential elections, to run for the presidency, which he won—not a difficult achievement, seeing as he was the only candidate. He ruled from 1935 to 1939, then from 1939 to 1943Sony VAIO PCG-31113M battery. He began a fourth term in 1944, but resigned in May after a general strike. Martínez had said he was going to respect the Constitution, which stipulated he could not be re-elected, 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 resistanceSony VAIO PCG-31112M battery. 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 insurgents 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 MartinezSony VAIO PCG-31111M battery.

In the unstable political climate of the previous 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) Sony VAIO PCG-41112M battery. 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 Arturo Araujo was elected president in 1931, Martí returned to El Salvador, and along with Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata began the movement that was later truncated by the militarySony VAIO PCG-41111M battery.

They helped start a guerrilla revolt of indigenous farmers. The government responded by killing over 30,000 people at what was to have been a "peaceful meeting" in 1932; this became known as La Matanza (The Slaughter). The peasant uprising against Martínez was crushed by the Salvadoran military ten days after it had begun. The Communist-led rebellionSONY VAIO PCG-21212M battery, 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 landSONY VAIO PCG-21211M battery. This phenomenon was a major cause of the 1969 Football War between the two countries.[11] As many as 130,000 Salvadorans had been forcibly expelled or had fled from Honduras.[12]

The PDC and the PCN parties

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 militarySONY VAIO PCG-51212M battery.

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 electionsSONY VAIO PCG-51211M battery. He lost to the ex-Minister of Interior, Col. 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 engineerSONY VAIO PCG-51112M battery.

The October 1979 coup d'état

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 reformSONY VAIO PCG-51111M battery, and a junta formed with young liberal elements from the army such as Gen. Majano and Gen. Gutierrez, as well as with progressives such as Ungo and Alvarez.

Owing to pressure from the 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 expressionSONY VAIO PCG-81212M battery. 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) Sony VAIO PCG-81112M battery.

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 opportunisticSONY VAIO PCG-71111M battery. He was unable to influence the outcome of the insurrection. Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador denounced injustices and massacres committed against the civilians by the government in turn. He was the voice of the voiceless. But, Monsignor Romero was executed by a death squad in January 1980 and this was the beginning of the Salvadoran Civil War in full which lasted from 1980 to 1992SONY VAIO PCG-7196M battery.

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 HandalSONY VAIO PCG-7195M battery, 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 commandersSONY VAIO PCG-7194M battery, 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 endedSONY VAIO PCG-7192M battery; 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 reconciliationSONY PCG-8113M battery."

End of the 20th century

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) partySONY PCG-8112M battery .

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. Internal turmoil in ARENA weakened the party, while the FMLN united and broadened its support. SONY PCG-7134M battery

21st century

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. SONY PCG-7131M battery

ARENA formally expelled Saca from the party in December, 2009. With 12 loyalists in the National Assembly, Saca established his own party, GANA (Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional or Grand Alliance for National Unity), and entered into a tactical legislative alliance with the FMLN.[17] After three years in office, with Saca's GANA party providing the FMLN with a legislative majority, Funes had not taken action to investigate or to bring corrupt former officials to justiceSONY PCG-7122M battery.

Main article: Geography of El Salvador

The 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 AmericaSONY PCG-7121M battery, 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 tremorsSONY PCG-7113M battery. 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 coneSONY PCG-7112M battery.

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 countrySONY PCG-8Z3M battery. 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) SONY PCG-8Z2M battery. 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): SONY PCG-8Z1M battery  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 plateauSONY PCG-8Y3M battery , covering 85% of the land, comprise the interior highlands. The remaining coastal plains are referred to as the Pacific lowlands.

Main article: Climate of El Salvador

Playa La Libertad, Liberty Beach.

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 winterSONY PCG-8Y2M battery . 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).

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 thunderstormsSONY PCG-7Z1M battery. 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 HondurasSONY PCG-6W2M battery. 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) SONY PCG-5J5M battery .

Biodiversity and endangered species

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) SONY PCG-5K2M battery.

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 extinctionSONY PCG-5K1M battery .

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 pendingSONY PCG-5J4M battery .

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 authoritiesSONY PCG-5J1M battery.

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

Cordillera de Apaneca volcanic mountain range in El Salvador.

Usulutan volcano rises above the Pacific coastal plain in El Salvador..

The Izalco Volcano, partially covered by clouds, is a natural draw for tourists.

The Santa Ana Volcano, as seen from a United States Air Force C-130 Hercules flying above El SalvadorSONY PCG-5G2M battery.

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;[18] and another earthquake only a month later, on February 13, 2001Sony VAIO PCG-8131M battery, 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.[19] The 5.7 Mw-earthquake of 1986 resulted in 1,500 deaths, 10,000 injuries, and 100,000 people left homeless.

El Salvador's most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on October 1, 2005, when the Santa Ana Volcano spewed a cloud of ashSony VAIO PCG-8152M battery, 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.[22]

El Salvador's position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe droughtsSony VAIO PCG-31311M battery, 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.[23][24] On October 4, 2005, severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which caused a minimum of fifty deaths. Sony VAIO PCG-31111M batteryEl 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 eruptionSony VAIO PCG-8112M battery.

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

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of El Salvador

Main article: Foreign relations of El Salvador

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

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 ForcesSony VAIO PCG-7186M battery.

The Legislative Branch, called El Salvador's Legislative Assembly (unicameral), consisting of 84 deputies.

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 TribunalSony VAIO PCG-7171M battery. 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 1980sSony VAIO PCG-9Z1M battery.

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 CourtSony VAIO PCG-5S1M battery.

Main political parties

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 cultureSony VAIO PCG-5P1M battery, ARENA is considered right or conservative and the FMLN Party is considered left, split between the dominant Marxist-Leninist faction in the legislature, and the liberal wing led by President Funes.

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 eastSony VAIO PCG-5N2M battery, 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

Main article: Human rights in El Salvador

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. Sony VAIO PCG-3C2M battery

Departments

See also: Ranked list of Salvadoran departments and Salvadoran Departments by HDI

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:

Main article: Economy of El Salvador

The 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 El Salvador's GDP per capita stands at US$4,365. Sony VAIO PCG-8161M battery

El Salvador's economy has been hampered at times by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, by government policies that mandate large economic subsidies, and by official corruption. Subsidies became such a problem that in April, 2012, the International Monetary Fund suspended a $750 million loan to the central governmentSony VAIO PCG-8141M battery. President Funes' chief of cabinet, Alex Segovia, acknowledged that the economy was at the "point of collapse."[27]

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.) Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M battery

The GDP grew after 1996 at an annual rate that averaged 3.2% real growth. The government committed to free market initiatives, and the 2007 GDP's real growth rate was 4.7%.[28]

In December 1999, net international reserves equaled US $1.8 billion or roughly five months of imports. Having this hard currency buffer to work withSony VAIO PCG-3H1M battery, 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 billionSony VAIO PCG-3F1M battery.

San Salvador, one of the fastest growing capitals in the world.

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,[30] but recent attempts to re-open the mining sector, which were expected to add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy, collapsed after President Saca shut down the operations of Pacific Rim Mining CorporationSony VAIO PCG-3C1M battery. The U.S.-Canadian company had spent $77 million to discover a gold deposit estimated at 1.4 million troy ounces. President Funes and the FMLN upheld the gold and silver mining ban.

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 exportSony VAIO PCG-9Z2L battery.

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 1995Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1L battery.

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 billionSony VAIO PCG-9131L battery.

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 economySony VAIO PCG-8161L battery, 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 has promoted an open trade and investment environment, and has embarked on a wave of privatizations extending to telecomSony VAIO PCG-8152L battery, 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 infrastructureSony VAIO PCG-8141L battery. 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.

Remittances from abroad

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 inflowsSony VAIO PCG-8131L battery. 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).[32] approximately 16.2% of gross domestic product(GDP) Sony VAIO PCG-81312L battery.

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%,[33] 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 productivitySony VAIO PCG-81214L battery. 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 increasedSony VAIO PCG-81115L battery.

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.[34]

Free trade agreementsSony VAIO PCG-81114L battery

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 hubSony VAIO PCG-81113L battery, and by promoting tourism investment through tax incentives.

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 tradeSony VAIO PCG-7142L battery. 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 ColombiaSony VAIO PCG-7141L battery.

Official corruption and anti-business practices

In an analysis of ARENA's electoral defeat in 2009, the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador pointed to official corruption under the Saca administration as a significant reason for public rejection of continued ARENA government. According to a secret diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks, "While the Salvadoran public may be inured to self-serving behavior by politiciansSony VAIO PCG-71111L battery, many in ARENA believe that the brazen manner in which Saca and his people are widely perceived to have used their positions for personal enrichment went beyond the pale. ARENA deputy (and son of controversial ARENA founder) Roberto d'Aubuisson told [a U.S. diplomat] that Saca 'deliberately ignored' his Public Works Minister’s government contract kickbacks schemeSony VAIO PCG-61411L battery, even after the case was revealed in the press. Furthermore, considerable evidence exists, including from U.S. business sources, that the Saca administration pushed laws and selectively enforced regulations with the specific intent to benefit Saca family business interests." [35]

Subsequent policies under the Saca and Funes administrations made El Salvador less friendly to foreign investment, and the World Bank sharply lowered its once positive ratings of the countrySony VAIO PCG-61112L battery. By 2012, El Salvador slid to 112th place out of 183 countries in the World Bank's annual "Ease of Doing Business" index.[36] The World Economic Forum lowered El Salvador's economic competitiveness rating in 2012 from 43rd to 91st in the world.[37]

El Salvador began 2012 with the lowest level of foreign investment in Central America, with San Salvador being rated 44th out of 48 Central American cities in terms of attractiveness to investorsSony VAIO PCG-61111L battery.

Foreign companies increasingly have resorted to arbitration in international trade tribunals after Salvadoran government policies damaged their investments. In 2008, El Salvador sought international arbitration against Italy's Enel Green Power, on behalf of Salvadoran state-owned electric companies for a geothermal project Enel had invested inSony VAIO PCG-5T4L battery. Four years later, Enel indicated it would seek arbitration against El Salvador, blaming the government for technical problems that prevent it from completing its investment.[39] The U.S. Embassy warned in 2009 that the Salvadoran government's populist policies of mandating artificially low electricity prices were damaging private sector profitabilitySony VAIO PCG-5T3L battery, including the interests of American investors in the energy sector.[40] The U.S. Embassy noted the corruption of El Salvador's judicial system and quietly urged American businesses to include “arbitration clauses, preferably with a foreign venue,” when doing business in the country.

In May, 2012, a tribunal of the World Bank's International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ruled against El Salvador after Pacific Rim Mining Corp. had filed for arbitration to claim $100 million in losses. Sony VAIO PCG-5T2L battery

Main article: Demographics of El Salvador

Main article: List of Salvadorans

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.[43] El Salvador has lacked authoritative demographic data for many years because no national census was taken between 1992 and 2007. Before the 2007 censusSony VAIO PCG-5S3L battery, 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.[44] 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 estimatesSony VAIO PCG-5S2L battery: 7,185,218. Challenges to the 2007 census on a number of grounds are forthcoming.

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 culturallySony VAIO PCG-5S1L battery.

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, PolandSony VAIO PCG-5R2L battery, 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 communistsSony VAIO PCG-5R1L battery.

Only 1% 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 groupSony VAIO PCG-5P4L battery. Other ethnic groups include Arabs, Jews, other Central Americans, South Americans, Caribbean and a small group of Asians.

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 populationSony VAIO PCG-5P2L battery, 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 abolishedSony VAIO PCG-5N4L battery.

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 rescindedSony VAIO PCG-5N2L battery. 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. Sony VAIO PCG-51513L batteryDenying 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 periodSony VAIO PCG-51511L battery.

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.[50] 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 electionSony VAIO PCG-51412L battery, 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 countrySony VAIO PCG-51411L battery.

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%Sony VAIO PCG-51312L battery, in comparison with the same period in 2006.[51] However, in 2009, there has been an increase in homicides and extortions of about 30% more than in 2008, according to some statistics.[52]

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 opportunitySony VAIO PCG-51311L battery. By 2009, there were about 1.6 million Salvadoran immigrants and Americans of Salvadoran descent in the U.S.,[53] making them the sixth largest immigrant group in the country.[54] Salvadorans also live in nearby Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.[55]

The majority of expatriates emigrated during the civil war of the 1980s for political reasons and later because of adverse economic and social conditionsSony VAIO PCG-51211L battery. 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,[56] many of them seasonal immigrantsSony VAIO PCG-41112L battery.

Language

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 SalvadorSony VAIO PCG-3A4L battery. There have also been recent large migrations of Hondurans and Nicaraguans.[58]

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 decadesSony VAIO PCG-3A3L battery, 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 communitySony VAIO PCG-3A2L battery.

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 SalvadorSony VAIO PCG-3A1L battery.

Religion

Main article: Religion in El Salvador

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.[59] 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 Sony VAIO PCG-394L battery27.9% are Protestant.[60] Pentecostals and Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). A LDS temple was dedicated August 21 2011 in San Salvador. Other religions (1.4%) are present as well – Islam, Judaism and Jehovah's Witnesses. Eleven percent of the population is not affiliated with any religious group, this includes people who believe in a god, but practice no religion, also atheists and agnosticsSony VAIO PCG-393L battery.

For the period 2005–2010, El Salvador had the third lowest birth rate in Central America, with 22.8 births per 1,000. 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 2003Sony VAIO PCG-391L battery.

Main article: Crime in El Salvador

In the past few years, El Salvador has experienced high crime rates, including gang-related crimes and juvenile delinquency.[62] 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), in the mid-90s. The gangs in which Salvadorans had been involved in the United States began to show up in El Salvador. Sony VAIO PCG-384L battery

Today El Salvador experiences some of the highest murder rates in the world;[64] it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.[65] 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 resultsSony VAIO PCG-383L battery. 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. Sony VAIO PCG-382L battery

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. There are an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador with another 9,000 in prison. Sony VAIO PCG-381L battery 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.[69]

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. Sony VAIO PCG-7185L battery Overall, there were 411 killings in January 2012, but in March the number was 188, more than a 40% reduction,[71] while crime in neighboring Honduras has risen to an all time high.[72]

The iconic statue of Christ on the globe sphere of planet earth is part of the Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo (Monument to the Divine Savior of the world) on Plaza El Salvador del Mundo (The Savior of the World Plaza), a landmark located in the country's capital San SalvadorSony VAIO PCG-7184L battery. It is a symbol that identifies and represents both El Salvador and Salvadorans throughout the world.

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 intermarrying between the native Mesoamerican population of Cuzcatlán with the European settlers. The Catholic Church plays an important role in the Salvadoran cultureSony VAIO PCG-7183L battery. 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.[73] 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 warSony VAIO PCG-7182L battery.

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 PolioSony VAIO PCG-7181L battery, 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 SalvadoransSony VAIO PCG-7174L battery.

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.[74] 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 yearSony VAIO PCG-7173L battery, 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. Sony VAIO PCG-7172L battery

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 sitesSony VAIO PCG-7171L battery, 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, Sony VAIO PCG-7162L batteryand 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 SalvadorSony VAIO PCG-7161L battery.

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 workingSony VAIO PCG-7154L battery. 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%.[76] 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 EuropeansSony VAIO PCG-7153L battery.

Mural in Perquín, former "guerrilla capital" and now a tourist destination.

A whole new segment of tourism has grown up around El Salvador's recent turbulent past. 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 theseSony VAIO PCG-7152L battery. 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) headquartersSony VAIO PCG-7151L battery.

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.[77]

Among the numerous volcanic crater lakes in the mountains, Lake Coatepeque and Lake Ilopango are two of the most beautifulSony VAIO PCG-7148L battery.

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

One of El Salvador's notable dishes is the pupusa. Pupusas are handmade 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 beansSony VPCW21M2E/WI battery. 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 debatedSony VPCW21C7E battery, although its presence in El Salvador is known to predate the arrival of the Spaniards.[78]

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. Pan con pollo/pavo (bread with chicken/turkey) are warm turkey or chicken-filled submarine sandwichesSony VPCW12S1E/WZ battery. The bird is marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and handpulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with tomato and watercress along with cucumber, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard.

One of El Salvador's typical breakfasts is fried plantain, usually served with cream. It is common in Salvadoran restaurants and homes, including those of immigrants to the United States.

Alguashte, a condiment made from dried, ground pepitas, is commonly incorporated into savoury and sweet Salvadoran dishesSony VPCW12S1E/W battery.

"Maria Luisa" is a dessert commonly found in El Salvador. It is a layered cake that is soaked in orange marmalade and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

A popular drink that Salvadorans enjoy is Horchata, a drink native to the Valencian Community in Spain. Horchata is most commonly made of the morro seed ground into a powder and added to milk or water, and sugar. Horchata is drunk year round, and can be drunk anytime of day. It mostly is accompanied by a plate of pupusas or fried yucaSony VPCW12S1E/T battery. Horchata from El Salvador has a very distinct taste and is not to be confused with Mexican horchata, which is rice-based. Coffee is also a common morning beverage.[79]

Other popular drinks in El Salvador include Ensalada, a drink made of chopped fruit swimming in fruit juice, and Kolachampan, a sugar cane-flavored carbonated beverage.

One of the most popular desserts is the cake Pastel de tres leches (Cake of three milks), consisting of three types of milk; evaporated milk, condensed milk, and creamSony VPCW12S1E/P battery.

The public education system in El Salvador is severely lacking in resources. Class sizes in public schools can reach 50 children, so Salvadorans who can afford the cost often choose to send their children to private schools, which are reasonably higher in every level. Most private schools follow American, European or other advanced systems. Lower-income families are forced to rely on public educationSony VPCW11S1E/W battery.

Education in El Salvador is free through high school. After nine years of basic education (elementary–middle school), students have the option of a two-year high school or a three-year high school. A two-year high school prepares the student for transfer to a university. A three-year high school allows the student to graduate and enter the workforce in a vocational career, or to transfer to a university to further their education in their chosen fieldSony VPCW11S1E/T battery.

Post-secondary education varies widely in price.

There is one public university:

Universidad de El Salvador, UES

The University of El Salvador has one main campus in San Salvador and three more campuses in Santa Ana, San Miguel and San Vicente.

Havana (/həˈvænə/; Spanish: La Habana, [la aˈβana] ( listen)) is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba.[2] The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants,[1][2] and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) Sony VPCW11S1E/P battery — making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the third largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region.[1][3] The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. Sony VPCYA1S1E/B battery

Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592.Sony VPCYA1V9E/B battery Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city.[6] The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War.[7]

Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado, and the newer suburban districtsSony VPCY21S1E/SI battery. The city is the center of the Cuban Government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses and over 90 diplomatic offices.[8] The current mayor is Marta Hernández from the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).[9] In 2009, the city/province had the 3rd highest income in the country.[10]

The city attracts over a million tourists annually,[11] the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, Sony VPCY21S1E/L battery a +20.0% increase from 2005. The historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.[12] Moreover, the city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments.[13]

The name Habana could be based upon the name of a local Taíno chief Habaguanex. An alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour. Sony VPCY21S1E/G battery

17th century depiction of Havana

Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded Havana on August 25, 1515 or 1514, on the southern coast of the island, near the present town of Surgidero de Batabanó, or more likely on the banks of the Mayabeque River close to Playa Mayabeque. All attempts to found a city on Cuba's south coast failed, however an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this riverSony VPCY11S1E/S battery.

Between 1514 and 1519, the city had at least two different establishments on the north coast, one of them in La Chorrera, today in the neighborhood of Puentes Grandes, next to the Almendares River. The final city's location was adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas (literally, "Careening Bay"), in 1519. The quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havana's harbor, warranted this change of locationSony VPCY11S1E battery.

Havana was the sixth town founded by the Spanish on the island, called San Cristóbal de la Habana by Pánfilo de Narváez: the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana, and Habana, of obscure origin, possibly derived from Habaguanex, a native American chief who controlled that area, as mentioned by Diego Velásquez in his report to the king of SpainSony VPCZ11X9E/B battery. Shortly after the founding of Cuba's first cities, the island served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Hernán Cortés organized his expedition to Mexico from the island.

Havana was originally a trading port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555Sony VPCZ11Z9E/B battery. Such attacks convinced the Spanish Crown to fund the construction of the first fortresses in the main cities — not only to counteract the pirates and corsairs, but also to exert more control over commerce with the West Indies, and to limit the extensive contrabando (black market) that had arisen due to the trade restrictions imposed by the Casa de Contratación of Seville (the crown-controlled trading house that held a monopoly on New World trade) Sony VPCZ12M9E/B battery.

Ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the city's bay also fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products needed to traverse the oceanSony VPCZ12X9E/X battery.

On December 20, 1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City. Later on, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies" by the Spanish crown. In the meantime, efforts to build or improve the defensive infrastructures of the city continuedSony VPCZ12Z9E/X battery.

Havana expanded greatly in the 17th century. New buildings were constructed from the most abundant materials of the island, mainly wood, combining various Iberian architectural styles, as well as borrowing profusely from Canarian characteristics.

In 1649 a very fatal epidemic brought from Cartagena in Colombia, affected a third of the population of HavanaSony VPCZ13M9E/B battery. By the middle of the 18th century Havana had more than seventy thousand inhabitants, and was the third-largest city in the Americas, ranking behind Lima and Mexico City but ahead of Boston and New York.[17]

The city was captured by the British during the Seven Years' War. The episode began on June 6, 1762, when at dawn, a British fleet, comprising more than 50 ships and a combined force of over 11,000 men of the Royal Navy and ArmySony VPCZ13M9E/X battery, sailed into Cuban waters and made an amphibious landing east of Havana.[18] The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Less than a year after Havana was seized, the Peace of Paris was signed by the three warring powers thus ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for the city of Havana on the recommendation of the French, Sony VPCZ13V9E battery who advised that declining the offer could result in Spain losing Mexico and much of the South American mainland to the British.[19]

After regaining the city, the Spanish transformed Havana into the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. Construction began on what was to become the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, the third biggest Spanish fortification in the New World after Fort San Cristobal ( The biggest ) and Fort San Felipe del Morro both in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On January 15, 1796Sony VPCZ13X5003B battery, the remains of Christopher Columbus were transported to the island from Santo Domingo. They rested here until 1898, when they were transferred to Seville's Cathedral, after Spain's loss of Cuba.

As trade between Caribbean and North American states increased in the early 19th century, Havana became a flourishing and fashionable city. Havana's theaters featured the most distinguished actors of the ageSony VPCZ13V9E/X battery, and prosperity amongst the burgeoning middle-class led to expensive new classical mansions being erected. During this period Havana became known as the Paris of the Antilles.

In 1837, the first railroad was constructed, a 51 km stretch between Havana and Bejucal, which was used for transporting sugar from the valley of Guinness to the harbor. With this, Cuba became the fifth country in the world to have a railroadSony VPCZ13Z9E/X battery, and the first Spanish-speaking country. Throughout the century, Havana was enriched by the construction of additional cultural facilities, such as the Tacon Teatre, one of the most luxurious in the world. The fact that slavery was legal in Cuba until 1886 led to Southern American interest, including a plan by the Knights of the Golden Circle to create a 'Golden Circle' with a 1200 mile-radius centered on HavanaSony VPCZ21M9E battery. After the Confederate States of America were defeated in the American Civil War in 1865, many former slaveholders continued to run plantations by moving to Havana.

In 1863, the city walls were knocked down so that the metropolis could be enlarged. At the end of the 19th century, Havana witnessed the final moments of Spanish colonialism in the Americas.

Republican period and Post-revolutionSony VPCZ21Q9E battery

MS St. Louis with Jewish refugees entering Havana in 1939

The 20th century began with Havana, and therefore Cuba, the city of chickens es]].[20] The US occupation officially ended when Tomás Estrada Palma, first president of Cuba, took office on 20 May 1902.

During the chicken Period, from 1902 to 1959, the city saw a new era of development. Cuba recovered from the devastation of war to become a well-off country, with the third largest middle class in the hemisphereSony VPCZ21V9E battery. Apartment buildings to accommodate the new middle class, as well as mansions for the Cuban tycoons, were built at a fast pace.

Numerous luxury hotels, casinos and nightclubs were constructed during the 1930s to serve Havana's burgeoning tourist industry. In the 1930s, organized crime characters were not unaware of Havana's nightclub and casino life, and they made their inroads in the citySony VPCEH3T9E battery. Santo Trafficante, Jr. took the roulette wheel at the Sans Souci Casino, Meyer Lansky directed the Hotel Habana Riviera, with Lucky Luciano at the Hotel Nacional Casino. At the time, Havana became an exotic capital of appeal and numerous activities ranging from marinas, grand prix car racing, musical shows and parksSony VPCEH3N6E battery.

Havana achieved the title of being the Latin American city with the biggest middle class population per-capita, simultaneously accompanied by gambling and corruption where gangsters and stars were known to mix socially. During this era, Havana was generally producing more revenue than Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1958, about 300,000 American tourists visited the citySony VPCEH3N1E battery.

After the revolution of 1959, the new regime promised to improve social services, public housing, and official buildings; nevertheless, shortages that affected Cuba after Castro's abrupt expropriation of all private property and industry under a strong communist model backed by the Soviet Union followed by the U.S. embargo, hit Havana especially hardSony VPCEH3D0E battery. By 1966-68, the Cuban government had nationalized all privately owned business entities in Cuba, down to "certain kinds of small retail forms of commerce" (law No. 1076[21]).

There was a severe economic downturn after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. With it, subsidies ended, losing billions of dollars which the Soviet Union gave the Cuban government, with many believing Havana's Soviet-backed regime would soon vanishSony VPCEH3B1E battery, as happened to the Soviet satellite states of Eastern Europe. However, contrary to the Soviet satellite states of Eastern Europe, Havana's communist regime prevailed during the 1990s.

After many years of prohibition, the communist government increasingly turned to tourism for new financial revenue, and has allowed foreign investors to build new hotels and develop hospitality industry. Sony VPCEH2Z1E battery In Old Havana, effort has also gone into rebuilding for tourist purposes, and a number of streets and squares have been rehabilitated.[22] But Old Havana is a large city, and the restoration efforts concentrate in all but less than 10% of its area.

Havana lies on the northern coast of Cuba, south of the Florida Keys, where the Gulf of Mexico joins the CaribbeanSony VPCEH2S9E battery. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.

The low hills on which the city lies rise gently from the deep blue waters of the straits. A noteworthy elevation is the 200-foot-high (60-metre) Sony VPCEH2Q1E battery limestone ridge that slopes up from the east and culminates in the heights of La Cabaña and El Morro, the sites of colonial fortifications overlooking the eastern bay. Another notable rise is the hill to the west that is occupied by the University of Havana and the Prince's Castle. Outside the city, higher hills rise on the west and east.

Havana, like much of Cuba, enjoys a year-round tropical climate that is tempered by the island's position in the belt of the trade winds and by the warm offshore currents. Under the Köppen climate classification, Havana has a tropical savanna climateSony VPCEH2P0E battery. Average temperatures range from 72 °F (22 °C) in January and February to 82 °F (28 °C) in August. The temperature seldom drops below 50 °F (10 °C). The lowest temperature was 33 °F (1 °C) in Santiago de Las Vegas, Boyeros. The lowest recorded temperature in Cuba was 32 °F (0 °C) in Bainoa, Havana province. Rainfall is heaviest in June and October and lightest from December through April, averaging 46 inches (1,200 mm) annually. Hurricanes occasionally strike the islandSony VPCEH2N1E battery, but they ordinarily hit the south coast, and damage in Havana has been less than elsewhere in the country.

Centro Habana is the most densely populated borough

Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado, and the newer suburban districts. Old Havana, with its narrow streets and overhanging balconies, is the traditional centre of part of Havana's commerce, industry, and entertainment, as well as being a residential areaSony VPCEH2M9E battery.

To the north and west a newer section, centred on the uptown area known as Vedado, has become the rival of Old Havana for commercial activity and nightlife. Centro Habana, sometimes described as part of Vedado, is mainly a shopping district that lies between Vedado and Old Havana. The Capitolio Nacional building marks the beginning of Centro Habana, a working-class neighborhood. Sony VPCEH2M1E battery Chinatown and the Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagás, one of Cuba's oldest cigar factories is located in the area.[26]

A third Havana is that of the more affluent residential and industrial districts that spread out mostly to the west. Among these is Marianao, one of the newer parts of the city, dating mainly from the 1920s. Some of the suburban exclusivity was lost after the revolutionSony VPCEH2L9E battery, many of the suburban homes having been nationalized by the Cuban government to serve as schools, hospitals, and government offices. Several private country clubs were converted to public recreational centres. Miramar, located west of Vedado along the coast, remains Havana's exclusive area; mansions, foreign embassies, diplomatic residences, upscale shops, and facilities for wealthy foreigners are common in the area.[27] The International School of Havana is located in the Miramar neighborhoodSony VPCEH2J1E battery.

In the 1980s many parts of Old Havana, including the Plaza de Armas, became part of a projected 35-year multimillion-dollar restoration project, for Cubans to appreciate their past and boost tourism. In the past ten years, with the assistance of foreign aid and under the support of local city historian Eusebio Leal Spengler, large parts of Habana Vieja have been renovated. Sony VPCEH2H1E battery The city is moving forward with their renovations, with most of the major plazas (Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de San Francisco and Plaza de Armas) and major tourist streets (Obispo and Mercaderes) near completion.

[edit]Districts

The city is divided into 15 municipalities[28] – or boroughs, which are further subdivided into 105 wards[29] (consejos populares). (Numbers refer to map) Sony VPCEH2F1E battery.

Playa: Santa Fé, Siboney, Cubanacán, Ampliación Almendares, Miramar, Sierra, Ceiba, Buena Vista.

Plaza de la Revolución : El Carmelo, Vedado-Malecón, Rampa, Príncipe, Plaza, Nuevo Vedado-Puentes Grandes, Colón-Nuevo Vedado, Vedado.

Centro Habana: Cayo Hueso, Pueblo Nuevo, Los Sitios, Dragones, Colon.

La Habana Vieja : Prado, Catedral, Plaza Vieja, Belén, San Isidro, Jesús Maria, Tallapiedra.

Regla : Guacanimar, Loma Modelo, Casablanca.

La Habana del Este : Camilo Cienfuegos, Cojimar, Guiteras, Alturas de Alamar, Alamar-Este, Guanabo, Campo Florido, Alamar-Playa. Sony VPCEH2E0E battery

Guanabacoa : Mañana-Habana Nueva, Villa I, Villa II, Chivas-Roble, Debeche-Nalon, Hata-Naranjo, Peñalver-Bacuranao, Minas-Barreras.

San Miguel del Padrón: Rocafort, Luyanó Moderno, Diezmero, San Francisco de Paula, Dolores-Veracruz, Jacomino.

Diez de Octubre : Luyanó, Jesús del Monte, Lawton, Vista Alegre, Acosta, Sevillano, Vibora, Santos Suárez, TamarindoSony VPCEH2D0E battery.

Cerro: Latinoamericano, Pilar-Atares, Cerro, Las Cañas, El Canal, Palatino, Armada.

Marianao : CAI-Los Ángeles, Pocito-Palmas, Zamora-Cocosolo, Libertad, Pogoloti-Belén-Finlay, Sta Felicia.

La Lisa : Alturas de La Lisa, Balcón Arimao, Cano-Bello26-Valle Grande, Punta Brava, Arroyo Arenas, San Agustín, Versalles Coronela.

Boyeros: Santiago de Las Vegas, Nuevo Santiago, Boyeros, Wajay, Calabazar, Altahabana-Capdevila, Armada-AldaboSony VPCEH2C0E battery.

Arroyo Naranjo: Los Pinos, Poey, Víbora Park, Mantilla, Párraga, Calvario-Fraternidad, Guinera, Eléctrico, Managua, Callejas.

El Cotorro: San Pedro-Centro Cotorro, Santa Maria del Rosario, Lotería, Cuatro Caminos, Magdalena-Torriente, Alberro.

The Focsa residential skyscraper

Due to Havana's almost five hundred year existence, the city boasts some of the most diverse styles of architecture in the world, from castles built in the late 16th century to modernist present-day high-risesSony VPCEH1M1E battery.

Neoclassical

Neoclassism was introduced into the city in the 1840s, at the time including Gas public lighting in 1848 and the railroad in 1837. In the second half of the 18th century, sugar and coffee production increased rapidly, which became essential in the development of Havana's most prominent architectural style. Many wealthy Habaneros took their inspiration from the FrenchSony VPCEH1L9E battery; this can be seen within the interiors of upper class houses such as the Aldama Palace built in 1844. This is considered the most important neoclassical residential building in Cuba and typifies the design of many houses of this period with portales of neoclassical columns facing open spaces or courtyards.

In 1925 Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, the head of urban planning in Paris moved to Havana for five years to collaborate with architects and landscape designersSony VPCEH1L8E battery. In the master planning of the city his aim was to create a harmonic balance between the classical built form and the tropical landscape. He embraced and connected the city's road networks while accentuating prominent landmarks. His influence has left a huge mark on Havana although many of his ideas were cut short by the great depression in 1929Sony VPCEH1L0E battery. During the first decades of the 20th century Havana expanded more rapidly than at any time during its history. Great wealth prompted architectural styles to be influenced from abroad. The peak of Neoclassicism came with the construction of the Vedado district (begun in 1859). This whole neighbourhood is littered with set back well-proportioned buildingsSony VPCEH1J8E battery.

Colonial and Baroque

Riches were brought from the colonialists into and through Havana as it was a key transshipment point between the new world and old world. As a result Havana was the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. Most examples of early architecture can be seen in military fortifications such as La Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana (1558–1577) designed by Battista Antonelli and the Castillo del Morro (1589–1630) Sony VPCEH1J1E battery. This sits at the entrance of Havana Bay and provides an insight into the supremacy and wealth at that time.

Old Havana was also protected by a defensive wall begun in 1674 but had already overgrown its boundaries when it was completed in 1767, becoming the new neighbourhood of Centro Habana. The influence from different styles and cultures can be seen in Havana's colonial architecture, with a diverse range of Moorish architecture, SpanishSony VPCEH1E1E battery, Italian, Greek and Roman. The San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary (18th century) is a good example of early Spanish influenced architecture. The Havana cathedral (1748–1777) dominating the Plaza de la Catedral (1749) is the best example of Cuban Baroque. Surrounding it are the former palaces of the Count de Casa-Bayona (1720–1746) Marquis de Arcos (1746) and the Marquis de Aguas Claras (1751–1775) Sony VPCEH1AJ battery.

Art Deco and Eclectic

The first echoes of the Art Deco movement in Havana started in 1927, in the residential area of Miramar.[30] The Edificio Bacardi (1930) is thought to be the best example of Art-deco architecture in the city and first tall Art Deco building as well,[30] followed by the Hotel Nacional de Cuba (1930) and The Lopez Serrano building built in 1932 by Ricardo Mira inspired by the Rockefeller Center in New YorkSony VPCCA2S1E battery. The year 1928 marked the beginning of the reaction against the Spanish Renaissance style architecture, Art Deco started in the lush and wealthy suburbs of Miramar, Marianao, and Vedado.[30]

The city's eclectic architectural sights begins in Centro Habana.[31] The Central Railway Terminal (1912), and the Museum of the Revolution (1920) are example of Eclectic architectureSony VPCCA2S0E battery.

Modernism

Many high-rise office buildings, and apartment complexes, along with some hotels built in the 1950s dramatically altered the skyline. Modernism, therefore, transformed much of the city and should be noted for its individual buildings of high quality rather than its larger key buildings. Examples of the latter are Habana Libre (1958), which before the revolution was the Havana Hilton Hotel and La Rampa movie theater (1955) Sony VPCCA2AJ battery.

Famous architects such as Walter Gropius, Richard Neutra and Oscar Niemeyer all passed through the city,[32] while strong influences can be seen in Havana at this time from Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.[33] The Edificio Focsa (1956) represents Havana's economic dominance at the time. This 35-story complex was conceived and based on Corbusian ideasSony VPCCA1S1E/W battery of a self-contained city within a city. It contained 400 apartments, garages, a school, a supermarket, and restaurant on the top floor. This was the tallest concrete structure in the world at the time (using no steel frame) and the ultimate symbol of luxury and excess. The Havana Riviera Hotel (1957) designed by Irving Feldman, a twenty-one-story edifice, when it opened, the Riviera was the largest purpose-built casino-hotel in Cuba or anywhere in the world, outside Las Vegas (the Havana Hilton (1958) surpassed its size a year later) Sony VPCCA1S1E/P battery.

Landmarks and historical centres

Habana Vieja: contains the core of the original city of Havana. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Piazza (or main square) in central Havana in 1762

The Lighthouse and the Castle of Tres Reyes del Morro, has become a symbols of Havana.

Plaza Vieja: a plaza in Old Havana, it was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and fiestasSony VPCCA1S1E/G battery.

Fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña, a fortress located on the east side of the Havana bay, La Cabaña is the most impressive fortress from colonial times, particularly its walls constructed at the end of the 18th century.

El Capitolio Nacional: built in 1929 as the Senate and House of Representatives, the colossal building is recognizable by its dome which dominates the city's skyline. Inside stands the third largest indoor statue in the world, La Estatua de la RepúblicaSony VPCCA1S1E/D battery. Nowadays, the Cuban Academy of Sciences headquarters and the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (the National Museum of Natural History) has its venue within the building and contains the largest natural history collection in the country.

El Morro Castle: is a fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay; Morro Castle was built because of the threat to the harbor from piratesSony VPCCA1S1E/B battery.

Fortress San Salvador de la Punta: a small fortress built in the 16th century, at the western entry point to the Havana harbour, it played a crucial role in the defence of Havana during the initial centuries of colonisation. It houses some twenty old guns and military antiques.

Christ of Havana: Havana's 20-meter (66 ft) marble statue of Christ (1958) blesses the city from the east hillside of the bay, much like the famous Cristo Redentor in Rio de JaneiroSony VPCCA1S1E battery.

The Great Theatre of Havana: is an opera house famous particularly for the National Ballet of Cuba, it sometimes hosts performances by the National Opera. The theater is also known as concert hall, García Lorca, the biggest in Cuba.

The Malecon/Sea wall: is the avenue that runs along the north coast of the city, beside the seawall. The Malecón is the most popular avenue of Havana, it is known for its sunsetsSony VPCCA1C5E battery.

Hotel Nacional de Cuba: an Art Deco National Hotel famous in the 1950s as a gambling and entertainment complex.

Museo de la Revolución: located in the former Presidential Palace, with the yacht Granma on display behind the museum.

Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón: a cemetery and open air museum,[34] it is one of the most famous cemeteries in Latin AmericaSony VAIO VGN-CS28/Q battery, known for its beauty and magnificence. The cemetery was built in 1876 and has nearly one million tombs. Some gravestones are decorated with sculpture by Ramos Blancos, among others.

Havana, by far the leading cultural centre of the country, offers a wide variety of features that range from museums, palaces, public squares, avenues, churchesSony VAIO VGN-CS27 battery, fortresses (including the largest fortified complex in the Americas dating from the 16th through 18th centuries), ballet and from art and musical festivals to exhibitions of technology. The restoration of Old Havana offered a number of new attractions, including a museum to house relics of the Cuban revolution. The government placed special emphasis on cultural activities, many of which are free or involve only a minimal chargeSony VAIO VGN-CS27/W battery.

Old Havana, (La Habana Vieja in Spanish), contains the core of the original city of Havana, with more than 2,000 hectares it exhibits almost all the Western architectural styles seen in the New World. La Habana Vieja was founded by the Spanish in 1519 in the natural harbor of the Bay of Havana. It became a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old WorldSony VAIO VGN-CS27/P battery. In the 17th century it was one of the main shipbuilding centers. The city was built in baroque and neoclassic style.

Many buildings have fallen in ruin but a number are being restored. The narrow streets of old Havana contain many buildings, accounting for perhaps as many as one-third of the approximately 3,000 buildings found in Old Havana.Sony VAIO VGN-CS27/C battery

Old Havana is the ancient city formed from the port, the official center and the Plaza de Armas. Alejo Carpentier called Old Havana the place "de las columnas" (of the columns). The Cuban government is taking many steps to preserve and to restore Old Havana, through the Office of the city historian, directed by Eusebio Leal.[36] Old Havana and its fortifications were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982Sony VAIO VGN-CS16T/Q battery.

Further information: Chinese Cuban

The city's Chinatown (Barrio Chino), once Latin America's largest and most vibrant Chinatown incorporated into the city by the early part of the 20th century when hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers were brought in by Spanish settlers from Guangdong, Fujian, Hong Kong, and Macau via Manila, Philippines[41] starting in the mid-19th century and the following decades to replace and / or work alongside African slaves. Sony VAIO VGN-CS16T/P battery After completing 8-year contracts, many Chinese immigrants settled permanently in Havana.

The first 206 Chinese-born arrived in Havana on June 3, 1847.[43] The Chinatown neighborhood was booming with Chinese restaurants, laundries, banks, pharmacies, theaters and several Chinese-language newspapers, the neighborhood comprised 44 square blocks during its prime. The heart of Havana's Chinatown is on el Cuchillo de Zanja (or The Zanja Canal) Sony VAIO VGN-CS13T/W battery. The strip is a pedestrian-only street adorned with many red lanterns, dancing red paper dragons and other Chinese cultural designs, there is a great number of restaurants that serve a full spectrum of Chinese dishes – unfortunately that 'spectrum' is said by many not to be related to real Chinese cuisine.

The Chinatown district has two paifang, a large one located on Calle Dragones, the People's Republic of China donated the materials in the late 1990s, Sony VAIO VGN-CS13H/W battery it has a well defined written welcoming sign in Chinese and Spanish. The smaller arch is located on Zanja strip. The Cuban's Chinese boom ended when Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution seized private businesses, sending tens of thousands of business-minded Chinese fleeing, mainly to the United States. Descendants are now making efforts to preserve and revive the cultureSony VAIO VGN-CS13H/R battery.

The National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes) is a Fine Arts museum that exhibits Cuban and International art collections. The museum houses one of the largest collections of paintings and sculpture from Latin America and is the largest in the Caribbean region.[45] Under the Cuban Ministry of CultureSony VAIO VGN-CS13H/Q battery, it occupies two locations in the vicinity of Havana's Paseo del Prado, these are the Palace of Fine Arts, devoted to Cuban art and the Palace of the Asturian Center, dedicated to universal art.[46] Its artistic heritage is made ​​up of over 45,000 pieces.[47]

The Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolución), designed in Havana by Cuban architect Carlos Maruri, and the Belgian Paul Belau, who came up with an eclectic designSony VAIO VGN-CS13H/P battery, harmoniously combines Spanish, French and German architectural elements. The museum was the Presidential Palace in the capital; today, its displays and documents outline Cuba's history from the beginning of the neo-colonial period.

The neo-classical mansion of the Countess of Revilla de Camargo, today it is the Museum of Decorative Arts (Museo de Artes Decorativas), known as the "small French Palace of Havana" built between 1924 and 1927Sony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/T battery, it was designed in Paris inspired in French Renaissance.[48] The museum has been exhibiting more than 33,000 works dating from the reigns of Louis XV, Louis XVI, and Napoleon III; as well as 16th to 20th century Oriental pieces, among many other treasures.[49] The Museum has ten permanent exhibit halls. Among them are prominent porcelain articles from the factories in Sèvres and Chantilly, France; Meissen, Germany; and Wedgwood, EnglandSony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/R battery, as well as Chinese from the Qianlong Emperor period and Japanese from the Imari. The furniture comes from Stéphane Boudin, Jean Henri Riesener and several others.

Several museums in Old Havana houses furniture, silverware, pottery, glass and other items from the colonial period. One of these is the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, where Spanish governors once lived. The Casa de Africa presents another aspect of Cuba's history, it houses a large collection of Afro-Cuban religious artifactsSony VAIO VGN-CS11S/W battery.

Other museums in the city include Casa de los Árabes (House of Arabs) and the Casa de Asia (House of Asia) with Middle and Far Eastern collections. Havana's Museo del Automobil has an impressive collection of vehicles dating back to a 1905 Cadillac.

While most museums of Havana are situated in Old Havana, few of them can also be found in Vedado. In total, Havana has around 50 museums, including the National Museum of MusicSony VAIO VGN-CS11S/Q battery; the Museum of Dance and Rum; the Cigar Museum; the Napoleonic, Colonial and Oricha Museums; the Museum of Anthropology; the Ernest Hemingway Museum; the José Martí Monument; the Aircraft Museum (Museo del Aire).

There are also museums of Natural Sciences, the City, Archeology, Gold-and-Silverwork, Perfume, Pharmaceuticals, Sports, Numismatics, and WeaponsSony VAIO VGN-CS11S/P battery.

Facing Havana's Central Park is the baroque Great Theatre of Havana, a prominent theatre built in 1837.[50] It is now home of the National Ballet of Cuba and the International Ballet Festival of Havana, one of the oldest in the New World. The façade of the building is adorned with a stone and marble statue. There are also sculptural pieces by Giuseppe Moretti, (Sony VAIO VGN-AW11M/H battery) representing allegories depicting benevolence, education, music and theatre. The principal theatre is the García Lorca Auditorium, with seats for 1,500 and balconies. Glories of its rich history; the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso sang, the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova danced, and the French Sarah Bernhardt acted.

Other important theatres in the city includes the National Theater of Cuba, housed in a huge modern building located in Plaza de la Revolucion(Sony VAIO VGN-AW11S/B battery), decorated with works by Cuban artists. The National Theater includes two main theatre stages, the Avellaneda Auditorium and the Covarrubias Auditorium, as well as a smaller theatre workshop space on the ninth floor.

The Karl Marx Theater with its large auditorium have a seating capacity of 5,500 spectators, is generally used for concerts and other events, it is also one of the venues for the annual Havana Film Festival(Sony VAIO VGN-AW11Z/B battery).