San Salvador

For other uses, see San Salvador (disambiguation).

San Salvador
San Salvador
Flag of San Salvador Flag Official seal of San Salvador Seal
Country	El Salvador
Department	San Salvador
Established	1525
Government
• Mayor	Norman Quijano
Area
• City	72.25 km2 (27.90 sq mi)
• Metro	620.86 km2 (239.72 sq mi)
Population  (2009 Est.)
• Metro	2,100,000 (2,010 est.)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
Website	http://www.sansalvador.gob.sv/

San Salvador City is the capital and largest city of the nation of El Salvador. It is the second most populous city in Central America after Guatemala City 2.9 million. The metropolitan area of San Salvador covers an area of 620.86 km² 239.71 sq mi) and comprises 14 municipalities (for urban planning managing purposes actually controlled by OPAMS Oficina de Planeamiento del Area Metropolitana de San Salvador) which expansion is presently under discussion (for urban planning purposes it has been proposed to comprise 7 more municipalities)and is home to nearly 1.9 million (estimate 2010) people. Home to one-half of El Salvador's wealth, the city's per capita GDP - PPP is approximately USD11,200, compared to a national average of USD5,260 (2002). The city has a long history, with origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Pipil tribes. The name of the capital city is the Spanish name of "Holy Savior.

History

San Salvador from space 1998

The origins of the city can be traced to before the Spanish Conquest. It is near the present location of San Salvador that the Pipil groups, established their capital, Cuscatlán. Not much is known about this city, since it was abandoned by its inhabitants in an effort to avoid Spanish rule.

Under the orders of Pedro de Alvarado, Gonzalo de Alvarado and Diego de Holgiun were ordered to take the settlement they found and develop it. Diego de Holgiun became the first mayor of San Salvador after the town was founded on April 1, 1525. However, later in the sixteenth century, it was rebuilt and changed locations twice in 1528 and 1545. Originally founded in what is now the archaeological site Ciudad Vieja, north of the present-day city, it was moved to the Valle de Las Hamacas or the Acelhuate Valley, named so due to the intense seismic activity that characterizes it. The new site was chosen as it had more space and more fertile land, thanks to the pristine (though now extremely polluted) Acelhuate River. As the population of the country remained relatively small up until the early twentieth century, the city grew very slowly.

During the presidency of Dr. Rafael Zaldivar on January 1885, businessmen and the president's family built generously the Sara Zaldivar Asylum for Indigents and the Elderly. The president's wife was excited by the project and donated her property in Colonia Costa Rica in San Salvador.

In 1902, the new hospital San Salvador was built and was called Hospital Rosales after its benefactor Dr. Jose Rosales, a banker who gave his fortune to the hospital and to the Orphanage. The hospital was started by president Carlos Ezeta and finished during presidency of Tomas Regalado.

In 1905 president Pedro Jose Escalon started building the National Palace which was built from coffee exportation taxes.

In 1911, the Monument to the Liberty in San Salvador and the Teatro Nacional were built during president Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo.

In 1917, an earthquake damaged the capital during the Carlos Melendez presidency.

On December 4, 1931, after a coup president Arturo Araujo was ousted by the military. As the Times Magazine says, the military were not paid their salary for some months and decided to revolt installing a Military Directorate. The Directorate named then Vice-president Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez as president and Araujo went to exile. Martinez regime lasted from Dec. 2 1931 to May 6 1944.

In 1964, the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) won the Mayor elections with Engineer Jose Napoleon Duarte, he was elected freely because the president Adalberto Rivera let democracy happen in mayoralties and the National Assembly elections. Jose Napoleon Duarte was Mayor in San Salvador from 1964 to 1970. He built the Pancho Lara park in Vista Hermosa neighborhood, renewed the Electricity System in the capital. He also started the Evening Adult Schools helping a lot of adult workers study during evenings and this helped a lot in getting new technicians.

In 1969, after the War in Honduras was over and many soldiers came back to the country there was a huge celebration in the National Stadium welcoming the national heroes. This story is in Jose Napoleon Duarte biography. Boulevard de los Heroes (Heroes Blvd) was named after the Salvadorean soldiers who fought in Honduras.

In 1986, a major earthquake destroyed many government buildings in the capital and other important structures such as the "El Siglo" Building, once a well-known department store within the city. The capital was still in ruins up to the end of the 1990s. Many homeless children lived inside the ruins. People would call them "Niños huelepega" (Children addicted to glue smelling).

In 1986, Mayor Morales Erlich decided to close some streets in downtown San Salvador for a Farmer's Market; this has resulted in major traffic jams affecting the downtown area ever since. Ing. Morales Ehrlich gave his explanation on Feb. 10, 2010 about his two terms as Mayor of San Salvador.

El Salvador celebrated the Peace Accords on Thursday, January 16, 1992, after the signing of those accords in Mexico, it was seen by TV on a national holiday. There were crowds of people celebrating this special event in downtown San Salvador in Plaza Gerardo Barrios and in La Libertad Park. It was the beginning of a new stage in the history of our country after actually 22 years of conflict between the radical movements of the Left, the death squads (the ultra-Right), and the Army. It was a time of glory and blessing for the people of El Salvador. The white doves of peace flew in the event.

In San Salvador are the tombs of many famous Salvadorean presidents: Matias Delgado and Manuel Jose Arce (La Merced Church), Francisco Morazan and Gerardo Barrios (Los Ilustres Cemetery), and Jose Napoleon Duarte (Jardines del Recuerdo Cemetery).

Municipal Government

Savior of the world

n El Salvador, by constitutional provisions, municipalities are autonomous in economic, technical and administrative (Art. 203). They are governed by a council consisting of a mayor (elected by free and direct vote every three years with an option to be re-elected), a trustee and two or more aldermen whose number varies in proportion to the population of the municipality. In the case of this city, is currently governed by Mayor Norman Quijano ARENA, for the period 2009-2012. He is accompanied by a liquidator, twelve aldermen and four substitutes, and a secretary. The functions and powers of this government are framed within the rules of the Municipal Code.

As for the administration of the municipality include organizational aspects. San Salvador has decentralized (celebrations committee, administration of the El Espino, Cuscatlan Park, management of cemeteries, etc.). To safeguard the interests of the municipality has a board of Metropolitan agents, the management structure comprises markets and services to citizens, under the direction of a gender unit; Managements districts of the municipality (which is six, to decentralize municipal work), financial management, and management of the historic center, etc. The township also is part of the Council of Mayors of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (COAMSS), composed of fourteen local councils that make up the area known as Gran San Salvador.

Population

48% of El Salvdor's population reside in San Salvador. The city's 1.4 million inhabitants make it one of the most densly populated cities in North America. About 90% of the population are mestizo, 1% are indigenous, ans 9% are caucasian. Roughly 57% of the people are Roman Catholic, a steady rise in the city's protestant population. The growth rate of San Salvador's population is 1.7% 87.1% if the population is literate.

City Mayors since 1964

• José Napoleón Duarte (1964-1970)
• Carlos Antonio Herrera Rebollo (1970-1974)
• José Antonio Morales Ehrlich (1974-1976)
• Alejandro Duarte (1982-1985)
• José Antonio Morales Ehrlich (1985-1988)
• Armando Calderón Sol (1988-1994)
• Mario Valiente (1994-1997)
• Héctor Silva Arguello (1997-2003)
• Carlos Rivas Zamora (2003-2006)
• Violeta Menjívar(2006-2009)
• Norman Quijano (2009-2012)

City Symbols

The symbols of the city are the shield, flag, anthem and the rod edicilia. The first three emerged at the initiative of a contest launched in 1943. The shield (designed by the painter José Mejía Vides) shows four quadrants: the two at the top right and bottom left oblique carry the blue and white (representing the Federal and National Flag), the top left frame displays a necklace emerald, symbol and the remaining Cuscatlán the bell of the Church of La Merced, which is awarded to José Matías Delgado having ringing in the 1811 Independence Movement.

As the flag was designed at the initiative of the authorities. Was chosen as the anthem produced by Carlos Bustamante (lyrics) and Ciriaco de Jesus Wings (music).

The municipal staff, meanwhile, shows a series of figures and symbols relating to local history. From top to bottom these images are: Image is representative of local breed, First Mayor Don Diego de Olguin, Carlos V of Spain, Royal Decree which named San Salvador City Mayor Don Antonio Gutierrez, 1811, Father José Matías Delgado, Seal Liberation 1811, 1821 Independence Seal, Shield Current Municipal Freedom Union National Emblem God.

Geography

Northern San Salvador.

The city's altitude average of 560 meters above sea level, gaining altitude toward 1000 meters above sea level at the foothills of the Quezaltepec, or San Salvador, volcano. In fact, the valley got its nickname from the Spaniards who called the area "El Valle de las Hamacas" (The Valley of the Hammocks) due to its constant seismic activity. Just East of the city, lies Lake Illopango, the largest volcanic lake in the nation.

Climate

San Salvador features a tropical wet and dry climate under the Koppen climate classification. San Salvador is mainly hot, the coolest months being November through February. The temperature varies widely between midday and midnight, due to changing levels of humidity throughout the day. The highest reading ever recorded in San Salvador was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F), the lowest was 8.2 °C (46.8 °F). The highest dew point was 27 °C (81 °F) and the lowest −10 °C (14 °F). San Salvador has two seasons: rainy and dry. The dry season lasts from October through March, and the rainy From April through September. Sometimes, when strong cold fronts affect El Salvador during the dry season, the dew point may fall to temperatures below 10°C, an event that would be too cold for most of the inhabitants, but this rarely has any effect due to the fact that humidity remains low, which means the dew point remains less relevant, therefore a 7°C-10°C dew point is actually felt as a 15°C-18°C temperature.

Climate data for San Salvador
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: Weather.com;

Mountains

Among the hills that has the town are the Cerro El Picacho, Cerro Cerro San Jacinto and Chantecuán, and are also hills and Candelaria La Torre. In the area there are types of soils as regosols, latosols and Andosols, and lava rocks and andesitic and basaltic lava.

Hydrology

The main rivers are the Rio Acelhuate municipality which is 2.2 km. of the city and the river Iohuapa to 5.2 km. rivers are also Matalapa, The Iguana, San Antonio, Urbina and Casa de Piedra. [12] These streams are the Garrobo, Sirimullo, The Quebradona, the lame, Las Lajas, El sleeve, La Chouette, La Mascota, San Philip Tutunichapa and Mejicanos.

Economy

Grupo TACA headquarters

File:TorreFuturabyRenemgb.jpg

Grupo TACA, a multinational consortium which includes the national airline of El Salvador, Costa Rica, and other Central American countries, has its headquarters in San Salvador. Unicomer Group has its headquarters in San Salvador.

Up and Down Economy

Since December 1999, net international reserves equaled U.S. $ 1.8 billion dollars. Having this buffer to work hard currency, the Government of El Salvador undertook a monetary integration plan beginning January 1, 2001, whereby 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 its possibility of implementing open market monetary policies to influence short term variables in the economy. Since 2001, the left colon to move and now is no longer used to make transactions, but some stores still inform the public of prices in both colones and in dollars. In general, the population supported the change of the colon to the dollar, while wages remain the same despite the increased price of everything else. For example, what ever earned in 5 colones (or the equivalent of $ 0.57 dollar), now costs $ 1. The change to the dollar also precipitated a pattern of lower interest rates in El Salvador, helping many to secure credit to buy a house or a car. Some economists estimate that this price increase would have happened just because of inflation without monetary change had occurred. The left-wing political sectors, have been highly critical of the dollarization process considering favors the interests of financial sector companies.

Communications

San Salvador is home to most communication headquarters, El Salvador has the largest rate with people that can access Internet, Telephone Communication and Television Communication. The Most popular communication groups in El Salvador are, Tigo, Claro-Telecom, Movistar-Telefonica, and Digicel, all of these provide 3G networks in El Salvador, TV-Cable, Internet and International Roaming. San Salvador also has the headquarters for Television, in El Salvador the local television channels are: 2, 4, 6-By TCS, 8-Agape, 10-Canal de El Salvador, 12-Now controlled by Azteca TV, 15, 19-Nickelodeon, 21, 23-Star Channel (Music), 27, 33, and 35-VTV there is also a Catholic Channel and a channel for Government Communications.

Offices, Banks & More

San Salvador's banking headquarters include banks such as CitiBank, Banco Agricola, Banco Promerica, Scotia Bank, and Banco Pro-Credit, HSBC, and the Mexican Bank, Banco Azteca. El Salvador's most popular department/general stores include Siman, Hiper Paiz, and Price Smart.

Demographics

Approximately 89% of the population are mestizos (mix of Native American and European ancestry), 12% are white, and the rest are Native Americans and other small ethnic groups, including Chinese, Jewish and Arabs.

City Skyline

Apartment Tower at Northern Escalon

Contrary to other cities, the financial center of San Salvador is not located downtown, but at the periphery, especially towards the northwestern sections of the city. (Please review this commentary as in the last PLAMADUR - Urban Study done at the end of the 90´s - the Central Business District of San Salvador is located in the Municipality of San Salvador were presently HSBC, Scotiabank and Banco Agricola Headquarters are located and the northwestern section of the Metropolitan Area of San San Salvador (please difference the city of San Salvador from the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador) is located in the Municipality of Antiguo Cuscatlan and Santa Tecla, were CityBank is located)Downtown or "Old" San Salvador possesses many historical buildings, including the National Palace, the National Theatre, the Plaza Libertad, and the Cathedral. Due to continuous seismic activity, Downtown San Salvador has currently no major high rise buildings. However, improving building technologies are allowing the construction of taller earthquake-resistant buildings in San Salvador. In fact, many of the newest high-rise buildings are appearing towards the western sectors of the city, especially around the areas of the Zona Rosa (or "Alive Zone"), San Benito, Escalón and Antiguo Cuscatlán. Buildings such as El Pedregal, Terra Alta, Campestre 105, Complex Las Americas (Telefonica Towers), Edificio Avante, the World Trade Center and many others are shaping the cityscape of San Salvador.

Apartment Life

As a town becomes a city, a city into a Metropolis, San Salvador’s unimagined fast urban growth has come to a limit, since the 1.8 million people living in San Salvador are stopped by Natural obstacles, like The San Salvador Volcano, Ilopango Lake, and San Jacinto Hill, the city has no other way to grow than up, in the late decade San Salvador has seen a incredible growth of apartment buildings, the areas with most apartments buildings are Escalon with: Terra Alta, Las Vistas, Torre Campestre 105, Torre del Sole, Suites Massferrer, and many more, another zone with a large amount of apartments is the Zona Rosa or San Benito zone, some of the following are: Avenida La Capilla 370, Las Terrazas, La Capilla 515, La Capilla 510, La Capilla 525, Oceano 511, Torres del Bosque, Torre Maquilishuat, Torre San Benito and other buildings, The only apartment building not standing in one of these zones is El Pedregal which is Central America’s tallest building with a height of 106 meters and 28 floors, all of the buildings listed below have at least 10 floors, most of them have the heights of 10-24 floors, as more and more buildings are made San Salvador is becoming Central America’s Miami.

Home Life

Many people would rather live on a home than an apartment, in San Salvador homes are classified or grouped in different ways: Casa-ciudad which are homes that are out on main roads, in the middle of the city, Callejon which are a group of homes by the side of a narrow street normally middle low class people live there, there are Colonias, large areas where middle class people live in Colonias Privadas, where middle high people live in usually has many entrances that are guarded, and there is Fincas or Suburbs where most middle high and rich people live in, these areas are also guarded and sometime walled, as the poor in San Salvador live in Marginales or areas that are usually closed or warned to people not go in. Living in San Salvador can be one of the most interesting things, you see Giant homes but you will also see homes that share walls.

Urban Development

Earlier colonial urban developments for the city of San Salvador failed to predict the growth of the city into great urban areas in the following centuries. Thus, the many narrow streets that span the city create traffic problems and overcrowded sidewalks. As the urban expansion of San Salvador continues, newer and better facilities and amenities are needed to cope with such expansion.

In the decade of 1960-1970 the expansion was more weighted to the north and south, while from 1970 to 1980 growth occurs further south to the north and west, colonias Miravalle, Montebello, Satellite, Maquilishuat, San Mateo Lomas de San Francisco, Alta Mira, Loma Linda, La Floresta, and Jardines de la Libertad were built.

The expansion of San Salvador during this period, is in all directions, but more in the direction to the volcano of San Salvador, this meant on the one hand, the expansion of the middle class, military and professional, but on the other hand the housing crisis because of the return of Salvadorans from Honduras. By 1980 the political crisis and the outbreak of civil war produced a decrease in the dynamics of the expansion.

Towards the end of the century, the city expansion decreases toward the west, rather there is an expansion of middle-class neighborhoods such as Merliot, Santa Elena and the Tier, but the product of internal migration and cessation of armed conflict occurs a high demand for urban public housing, which gives rise to the huge urban development projects mostly to the east and north, giving rise to the phenomenon of "dormitory towns" and a disorderly urban growth.

The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, home of 2.1 million inhabitants is approximately divided into 7 main regions: San Salvador Centro, Apopa, Soyapango, Santa Tecla, Santa Elena, La Cima & Antiguo and Escalon. The City of San Salvador, home of 600,000 inhabitants is divided It is predicted that the San Salvador Metropolitan Area will reach 2.6 million in around 2012-2013.

Sites of interest

National Palace

File:El-salvador-palacio-nacional-l1.jpg

National Palace

The National Palace is one of the most representative and majestic buildings across the country. The idea of a seat of government of those characteristics was the Captain General Gerardo Barrios, one of the best presidents the country has had, and whose construction made from 1866 to 1870, and was in charge of Ildefonso Marín and José Dolores Melara; however, the November 19, 1889 a fire reduced it to rubble.

The current palace was designed by engineer Jose Emilio Alcaine and built from 1905 to 1911 under the leadership of Jose María Peralta Lagos, served as foreman Don Pascasio Gonzalez and building materials were imported from Germany, Belgium, Italy and other countries .

Metropolitan Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior (Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador) is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador and the seat of the Archbishop of San Salvador. The church was twice visited by Pope John Paul II who said that the cathedral was "intimately allied with the joys and hopes of the Salvadoran people."[1] During his visits in 1983 and 1996, the Pope knelt and prayed before the Tomb of Archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated in 1980, whose tomb here is a major pilgrim draw

Theaters

File:Nattheatre.jpg

National Theatre

Teatro Nacional de El Salvador, or National Theater of El Salvador, is the oldest theater in Central America. It began construction on November 3, 1911, by the French architect Daniel Beylard, and inaugurated March 1, 1917. It is of French Renaissance style with modern touches. It was decorated by the Italian architect Lucio Capellaro, and its Great Hall is one of the most beautiful and elegant in Central America.

Among new Theaters there is the FEPADE Auditorium where show are held in, and sometimes schools rent it for school purposes,there is also El Centro Espanol or the Spanish Center, and the Teatro Presidente or Presidential Theater(its open for all the public, the theater is named presidential for other reasons)

San Salvador has many attraction from Bars, to Museums, to Historical Places that will be not found anywhere else in Central America.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Shopping centers

Galerias

Multiplaza

The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador has some of the best malls and life-style centers of Central America such as Multiplaza, Las Fuentes, La Gran Via, Las Cascadas, Galerias, Plaza Futura at WTC San Salvador, El Paseo, Plaza Mundo, Plaza San Benito , Blasilea (most known as Zona Rosa, a street in San Salvador where there are open air restaurants, stores, and where The Hilton Princess Hotel is located in), Plaza Merliot and Central America's largest Metrocentro San Salvador.

Cuisine

The restaurant scene in San Salvador is influenced by many different cultures. Food options include Italian, [[Korean, Japanese, Thai, French, Chilean, American, Peruvian, Mexican, Spanish, Middle Eastern, German, Chinese, Argentinian and others. Local food options include Tipicos Margot where one can purchase the famous Salvadoran Pupusas. Perhaps the biggest indictment against the quality of the San Salvador restaurant scene however is the sheer number of chain restaurants referenced in this article.

Museums

San Salvador has a set of many museums, among the largest two and the most popular are Museo Nacional de Antropologia de El Salvador (MUNA) which mission is to make Salvadorans reflect on their cultural identity through exhibitions, research, publications and educational programs in the fields of archeology and anthropology as a testimony of the social processes of the various human groups who inhabited and inhabit the length and width homeland, and there is also the MARTE Museum, MARTE is a private, nonprofit, which started its functions on 22 May 2003 with the opening of its building. In the short time and through work has become an essential reference in the cultural life of Central America. The MARTE an exhibit based Salvadoran art in its permanent collection, private collections and the national collection. It thus presents a representative view of art from the mid-nineteenth century to contemporary times.

Hotels

San Salvador has the most luxurious hotels in Central America, among these hotels San Salvador has are: Hotel Real Intercontinental de San Salvador, Courtyard by Marriot which is connected to a luxurious mall called La Gran Via, Sheraton Presidente, Radison Plaza which is connected to the San Salvador World Trade Center, Hilton Princess of San Salvador, Holiday Inn, and many others.

Gastronomic Festivals

All over the country there are Gastronomic Festivals, where people sell food, art, and music, at San Salvador there is one held at Las Fuentes de Bethoven Park once every month.

Sports

The most played sport all over Latin America is Soccer, even tough soccer is a European sport, the Hispanic population has adopted it as if it were theirs, El Salvador is not the exception. Estadio Cuscatlan The Stadium, with a capacity of over 35,000, is the largest football venue not only in Central America, but the Caribbean as well. In addition to being the largest, Estadio Cuscatlán is often referred to as the most modern stadium in the region also. It was announced on November 16, 2007 that Estadio Cuscatlán would become the first soccer stadium in Central America and Caribbean to have a large LED screen where the supporters can view the action. The screen is 40 meters in height and width and was completed in March, 2008. Also the Estadio Nacional Flor Blanca with a capacity of 32,000, this stadium held the Central American and Caribbean games in 2002(El Salvador place 6th among 37 countries).

Transportation

Airport Terminal 1

Boulevard de Los Próceres-Pan American Highway

CA-2 San Salvador to Southern Cities

Airport

San Salvador was first served by Ilopango International Airport, but in January 31, 1980, Ilopango was substituted by the bigger El Salvador International Airport Comalapa International Airport (IATA: SAL, ICAO: MSLP), commonly known as Cuscatlán International Airport, is located about 50 km (30 miles) from San Salvador in El Salvador. It was built in the late 1970s to replace its predecessor, Ilopango International Airport, which is now used for military and charter aviation, but will be rehabilitated as a commercial airport by 2009. There are also plans to build a new airport on the Salvadoran coast of El Tamarindo, La Unión, along with tourist facilities on the beach or near to La Unión according to the demand that will be presented by the new modern port. With 2,076,258 passengers in 2008, it was the third busiest airport by passenger traffic in Central America.

Roads

In the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador circulating around 200,000 registered vehicles per day. By the same municipality of San Salvador in the morning rush hour, about 300,000 trips are made. Around the city there are primary ways that communicate with the interior of the country, this being the North Core, directed towards Apopa and Chalatenango, Santa Tecla road due west of the country, the road Comalapa International Airport, and Boulevard of the National Army, who heads the East. As the city a must if you cross the territory, the government has built since the beginning of the century, various ways to the decongestion of traffic. These roads are the way North Trunk Soyapango, Constitution Boulevard extension, and the Boulevard Diego de Holguín (under construction).

The numerical designation of streets and avenues is organized according to the four squares that form the intersection of Avenida and Avenida Cuscatlán Spain (north and south, respectively), and Delgado Arce street (to the west and east) in the downtown. Thus the odd-numbered avenues north and south are to the west of this crossing and even numbers to the east. The streets, meanwhile, with an odd name west and east, are north of the junction, the even-west and east, south. Among the streets and main avenues of the city include the Paseo General Escalon, the section Alameda Alameda Manuel Enrique Araujo, Franklin D. Roosevelt-Calle Rubén Darío, the Alameda Juan Pablo II, Boulevard of Heroes Boulevard Venezuela, Autopista Sur (also known as Boulevard Los Proceres), etc. Constitution Boulevard, Diego de Holguin Boulevard(7th Highway in the Metropolitan Area, to be finsihed by November 2010).

With regard to public transport, there is a substantial availability of buses and minibuses at a cost of $ 0.20 for first and $ 0.25 for the latter. In San Salvador are also the East and West terminals are units about buses going to various parts of the country (West Terminal hosting companies that provide services to Guatemala and Mexico). As for the international bus service from Terminal Puerto Bus routes to nearby towns depart from Central America. Furthermore, since October 1, 2007, the National Railways of El Salvador (FENADESAL) have resumed service at an affordable cost of $ 0.10. The train departs from near the East Bus Station to the town of Apopa.

Education

San Salvador has some famous private Evangelical high schools such as: Colegio Bautista and Liceo Cristiano Juan Bueno, Colegio Cristiano Josue. Also there are Catholic private high schools such as: Colegio Cristobal Colon, Liceo Salvadoreño, Externado San Jose, Centro Escolar Catolico Republica de Mexico (El Carmelo), Colegio Don Bosco, Colegio La Asunción and other non-religious such as García Flamenco and Colegio Augusto Walte. San Salvador also has many private bilingual schools, such as: Academia Britanica Cuscatecla (British English), Colegio Internacional de San Salvador (English), Escuela Americana (English), Escuela Panamericana (English), Liceo Frances (French) Colegio Aleman (German). El Salvador has a school classification system made by the government teaching service called, MINED, which gives scores to private and public schools, (A) being among the highest and (C) schools that need a lot of improvement. Unlike the United States El Salvador has many more Private Schools than public.

San Salvador is home to many higher education institutions. The only public University in the country is Universidad de El Salvador. Other private universities, like Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas and Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado, two of the best universities in Central America, are located in the capital city, also other universities that teach a variety of professions are: Escuela de Comunicacion Monica Herrera, ESEN (Escueala Superior de Economia y Negocios), Escuale Militar (Military School) and many others.

Disasters

See also: Great San Salvador Earthquake

A landslide caused by one of the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes.

The city has suffered from severe earthquakes over the years, the most disastrous of which occurred in 1854. Also worthy of mentioning is the 1917 eruption of the San Salvador volcano, which resulted in three major earthquakes and damaged the city so extensively that the government was forced to move the capital to the present-day city of Santa Tecla, then named Nueva San Salvador. The most recent earthquake, in 2001, resulted in considerable damage, especially in Las Colinas suburb where a landslide destroyed homes and killed many people.

During the 1980s, conflicts in El Salvador erupted into a civil war, and many people fled to the city since most of the fighting occurred outside of it (San Salvador itself was not directly affected by the war until the final offensive of 1989). Hurricanes, tsunamis, and landslides also pose a threat.

On November 2009, the Hurricane Ida hit the departments of San Salvador, San Vicente and Cuzcatlan. In San Vicente, the municipality of Verapaz and Guadalupe were totally destroyed by the rain that was brought by the Hurricane and a landslide that brought huge rocks. Many thousands of people were left homeless. However, the Army and the Red Cross rescued many people and the government opened public schools as temporary shelters for 3 months. The Hurricane destroyed a some bridges and some towns were uncommunicated. The people of El Salvador helped raising money for the homeless and international aid came from friend countries such as the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala and the European Union.

Tropical Storm Agatha

See also: Tropical Storm Agatha (2010)

Tropical Sotrm Agatha

On it hit the central American coast on Thursday, may 27th, 2010, about 3 feet of water over a period of 5 days has been registered, in the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, sinkholes, flooding, and devastation near downtown, and zona el picacho, also areas such as Montebello, etc. Have been warned of future evacuation.

The remnants of Agatha continue to produce torrential rain in Central America across Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize and Honduras. Some areas have already picked up well over a foot of rain. Rainfall totals in some mountain locations could reach 30 inches over the next day or so. More life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides are likely.

The origins of Agatha were from an area of convection, or thunderstorms, that developed on May 24 off the west coast of Costa Rica. At the time, there was a trough in the region that extended into the southwestern Caribbean Sea, associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The system drifted northwestward, and conditions favored further development.On May 25, the convection became more concentrated, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted the potential for a tropical depression to develop.The next day, it briefly became disorganized,as its circulation was broad and elongated; however, the disturbance was in a very moist environment, and multiple low level centers gradually organized into one.The low continued to get better organized; however, there was a lack of a well-defined circulation.On May 29, after further organization of the circulation and convection, the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Depression One-E while the system was located about 295 miles (475 km) west of San Salvador, El Salvador.

n El Salvador, widespread flooding took place as heavy rains fell across the country. Throughout San Salvador and five other cities threatened by flooding, emergency officials urged residents to evacuate to shelters. A total of 140 landslides occurred.[43] The highest known rainfall total in the country was 400 mm (15.7 in); however, further rains have fallen since this total was reported. A total of six people were killed in the country. At least two other people are reported missing in the country. By May 30, President Mauricio Funes declared a country-wide state of emergency due to the widespread damage wrought by Agatha.

Religion

As in much of the country, Roman Catholicism plays a prominent role in San Salvador. The city's own festivities, also known as "La Fiesta de Agosto", center around Jesus Christ, the "Salvador del Mundo", after which the city was named. Famous Oscar Romero was the archbishop of San Salvador at the time of his assassination. The current archbishop of El Salvador is José Luis Escobar Alas.

Culture

San Salvador is a rich cultural city, with many places such as the historical centre or downtown, which marks some of the most beautiful architectures in town. One of the main historical places of the capital city is the National Theatre. Recently remodelled, it was originally built in 1866. The National Palace keeps its original front, and combines neoclassic, neogothics and renaissance architectural details on its structure.[2].

San Salvador also has other cultural places such as the El Salvador's Art Museum (Museo de Arte de El Salvador, MARTE), the National Museum David J. Guzmán, the Luis Poma's Theatre, and the museum for kids Tin Marin. [3], among others.

Landmarks

• Catedral Metropolitana, Metropolitan Cathedral
• Teatro Nacional de El Salvador, the National Theatre of El Salvador
• Palacio Nacional, the National Palace
• Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo, Monument to the Savior of the World
• Casa Presidencial, the Presidential Mansion
• Monumento a La Libertad, Monument to Liberty
• Torre Cuscatlan, a city landmark owned by Citibank
• Multiplaza Apartamentos The tallest building in Central America(excluding Panama) with a height of 104m floor count of 26
• Torre Futura High Rise Building part of the WTC Complex in San Salvador with a floor count of 19
• Estadio Cuscatlan
• 105 Campestre Torre A, 105 Campestre Torre B and Campestre 105 Torre C
• Edificio Avante
• Terra Alta Apartamentos

Photo Gallery of sites in San Salvador

• 
  Avante Santa Elena
• World Trade Center
  World Trade Center
• Apartment Tower
  Apartment Tower
• 
  Apartments in San Salvador
• 
  El Pedregal
• 
  Citi-bank Tower
• 
  Cuscatlan Stadium
• 
  Urban Apartments
• 
  Greater San Salvador, seen from the Quetzaltepec volcano.
• 
  Northwest San Salvador
• 
  The Metropolitan Cathedral
• 
  Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo (Monument to the Savior of the World)
• 
  Monument to the Revolution
• 
  Apartment Complex
• 
  El Pedregal Side View
• 
  San Benito Apartment Zone
• 
  Terra Alta
• 
  Luxurios La Gran Via
• 
  Multiplaza Mall
• 
  Multiplaza Mall
• 
• 
• 
  Escalon Apartments
• 
  Escalon Apartments
• 
  Escalon Apartments
• 
  Highway entering San Salvador through Santa Tecla.
• 
  Five star Hilton Hotel in zona rosa.
• 
  Office buildings near the 'Salvador del Mundo.
• 
  Shell Gas Station & Apartment building
• National Palace
  National Palace

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in El Salvador

Twin towns — Sister cities

San Salvaor is twinned with:

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

External links

• Municipality of the city of San Salvador
• Template:Wikitravel
• The Tramways of San Salvador, 1876-1929