Zacatecoluca, La Paz
Encyclopedia
Zacatecoluca is the capital municipality
of the La Paz Department
of El Salvador
. Located in Southern El Salvador
, in the Rio Lempa valley, at the foot of San Vicente
(Chinchotepec) Volcano. A commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area, it also trades in cotton goods, baskets, salt, and lumber.
An earthquake
in 1932 caused severe damage.
Zacatecoluca was the birthplace of Jose Simeon Canas, who fought for and secured the emancipation of slaves in Central America
by Spaniards in 1825.
Zacatecoluca houses many traditional Spanish buildings including the Santa Lucia Catholic Church and used to hold the house where José Simeón Cañas lived, until poor economy due to the many years of war caused the local government to sell the house to a supermarket branch, the house was destroyed and a poorly marked stone on the left of the supermarket entrance is all that is left of Cañas' housing legacy.
Santa Lucia Catholic Church holds a dear history to the people of Zacatecoluca, as an image of Virgin Mary placed on top is said to have stopped an eruption of lava
and ash from completely destroying the city and it's local population. On May 11th, 1844, Zacatecoluca received the title of Generous and Loyal City becoming the Departmental Head of La Paz on February 21st, 1852.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of the La Paz Department
Departments of El Salvador
||A list of the departments of El Salvador in alphabetical order.Department :# Ahuachapán # Cabañas # Chalatenango # Cuscatlán # La Libertad # La Paz...
of El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply 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 and in all of Central America...
. Located in Southern El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply 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 and in all of Central America...
, in the Rio Lempa valley, at the foot of San Vicente
San Vicente
San Vicente can refer to:*Argentina**San Vicente, Buenos Aires**San Vicente Partido*Bolivia**San Vicente Canton, Bolivia and its seat San Vicente*Chile**San Vicente, Chile*Colombia**San Vicente del Caguán** San Vicente, Antioquia...
(Chinchotepec) Volcano. A commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area, it also trades in cotton goods, baskets, salt, and lumber.
An earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
in 1932 caused severe damage.
Zacatecoluca was the birthplace of Jose Simeon Canas, who fought for and secured the emancipation of slaves in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
by Spaniards in 1825.
Zacatecoluca houses many traditional Spanish buildings including the Santa Lucia Catholic Church and used to hold the house where José Simeón Cañas lived, until poor economy due to the many years of war caused the local government to sell the house to a supermarket branch, the house was destroyed and a poorly marked stone on the left of the supermarket entrance is all that is left of Cañas' housing legacy.
Santa Lucia Catholic Church holds a dear history to the people of Zacatecoluca, as an image of Virgin Mary placed on top is said to have stopped an eruption of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
and ash from completely destroying the city and it's local population. On May 11th, 1844, Zacatecoluca received the title of Generous and Loyal City becoming the Departmental Head of La Paz on February 21st, 1852.