Sonsonate
Sonsonate is a city and municipality of the homonymous department, Republic of El Salvador, of which it is also its head. It has an estimated population of 72,158 inhabitants for the year 2013, Sonsonate is the second most important city in western El Salvador. The town was founded under the name of "Villa del Espíritu Santo" on vacant lots near the town of Los Izalcos in 1552. However, this foundation would be extremely ephemeral, because the following year, in 1553, this town would be transferred to its current location, with the name of "Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de Sonsonate", in a producing area of cocoa. With the passage of time, the town would be known simply by the name of Sonsonate. This name was taken from the Rio Grande or Sonsonate in the Nahuat language, which crosses it from north to south across the entire plain until it flows into the Pacific Ocean. This was the third Spanish population founded in the territories that currently constitute El Salvador, although, it is worth clarifying, during the entire period of Spanish domination of America, Sonsonate was the capital of the Mayor's Office of Sonsonate, a territory apart from the one administered by San Salvador., today the capital of El Salvador. In the year 1821, the town was part of what was the Captaincy General of Guatemala, but around 1823 and 1824, the deputies representing the Mayor of Sonsonate and the Province of San Salvador met in a constituent assembly held in the old Franciscan convent of San Salvador, they decided to unite their territories and found together the State of El Salvador, as part of the Federal Republic of Central America. This State would become the current Republic of El Salvador. In this way, the destinies of the other Spanish provinces would be tied forever.
On the other hand, one of the main cultural attractions of this city is the celebration of Holy Week, which is considered part of the religious heritage of the country, recognized as such by decree of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador since 2013.
Toponymy
In the first historical reports on Sonsonate, reference was made to the fact that the city had taken the name of the Sensunat river, which was interpreted as “four hundred waters”. Fray Francisco Vásquez, for his part, interpreted it as "four hundred eyes of water." For Santiago I. Barberena, the word is of Nahuat origin where Sentzunti means four hundred and At is water having its place name of: Sentzunhat.
Geography
The municipality has an area of 232.53 km², and the headwaters are 220 meters above sea level. Numerous streams and rivers irrigate the municipality, among which are: Grande or Sensunapán, Ceniza, Las Marías, Tepechapa, Apancayo, Chimalapa, Pupulapa, and El Coyol; the most important geographical accidents are: the estuaries of Barra Salada, El Maguey, Barra Ciega, and Dulce; the mouths of the Bandera, Mandinga and Apancoyo rivers; as well as the beach of Los Cóbanos. In its orography, the following stand out: the Central Coastal Chain, and the El Oratorio, Toncontín, Nicaragua, Las Mesas, Alto, El Muñeco, Caja de Agua and Las Palomas hills. It limits with the following municipalities:
| Northwest: San Antonio del Monte | North: Nahuizalco | Northeast: Sonzacate and Izalco |
| West: Acajutla and Santo Domingo de Guzmán |  | This: Caluco, Cuisnahuat and Santa Isabel Ishuatán |
| Southwest: Acajutla | South: Pacific Ocean | Sureste: Santa Isabel Ishuatán |
History
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Once the conquest was completed in the so-called Izalcos province, in the middle of the XVI century, several Spanish families They settled on the lands of the natives. The area was rich in resources, since cocoa and black balsam were grown there, which soon began to be exported. However, the settlements of the Spaniards and the exploitation of the land were developed without any order, which caused not a few altercations. For this reason, the laws of the Spanish crown prohibited peninsulars from living with the natives.
In 1552, and at the initiative of the merchant Antonio Domínguez together with other individuals with their respective families living on the banks of the Rio Grande de Sonsonate, the foundation of the town of Espíritu Santo was requested before the mayor of Acajutla, Gonzalo from Alvarado. Authorized the petition, the respective lines were made to erect the small city.
In 1553, Don Francisco del Valle Marroquín was mayor of Acajutla. This character, together with the mayor of the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, Juan de Guzmán, proceeded to withdraw the peninsulares from the indigenous towns, despite subsequent claims. However, the irreconcilable interests of the new settlers forced them to look for another seat, which was probably established on May 28, and whose main promoter was the Order of Santo Domingo. In addition, the bishop of Guatemala, Francisco Marroquín, ordered the name change to "Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de Sonsonate".
Already in 1558, Don Alonso de Paz held the position of mayor of Sonsonate, and the town was considered the main head of the province, which was complemented as a commercial plaza of the port of Acajutla. In 1570, the The Dominican order founded two headquarters in New Spain: one located in Chiapas and the other in Sonsonate, which had its provisional seat in Izalco, although the temple of Santo Domingo was erected in Sonsonate. In those years, according to a chronicle by Juan López de Velasco, the population was estimated at "2,000 people divided into 400 Spanish families", and the intense production of cocoa was also relevant. A character who held the position of mayor between 1583 and 1589 was Juan de Mestanza, a poet who was a friend of Miguel de Cervantes.
During his trip in Central America, Fray Alonso Ponce, as general commissioner of the Order of San Francisco, arrived in Sonsonate on the night of July 3, 1586 after leaving San Salvador the same day, passing through several towns in between. He described a large room inhabited by & # 34; many blacks & # 34; on the road to Sonsonate and a neighborhood attached to the town where "Mexican Indians who helped the Spaniards to conquer that land" lived. He was received in the town by the friars with music from trumpets and bells. The convent of the Franciscan order to which he belonged, the Convent of the Conception of Our Lady, had five friars; Its convent structure was made of adobes and walls with a tiled roof and lower rooms; had under its jurisdiction "a few visiting Pipil Indians." He also spoke of the Dominican convent whose prior visited it as well as the mayor and several leading people from the town. He calculated the number of "neighbors"; Spaniards in 130, this being the approximate number of families. He left Sonsonate on the 4th of July for Nahuizalco.
By the year 1770, according to Archbishop Pedro Cortés y Larraz, Sonsonate was the head of the homonymous parish that included San Miguel Sonsacate, San Francisco Tacuzcalco, San Antonio del Monte and Santa Isabel Mejicanos, whose name was due to the settlement of Tlaxcalans and Mexicas at the time the city was founded. In addition, the religious estimated its population at 2,836 people distributed in 644 families.
Post-independence
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After the signing of the Central American Independence Act on September 15, 1821, Sonsonate was annexed to the state of Guatemala. However, due to its proximity to the Salvadoran capital, the authorities of the town issued an invitation to the other towns of the old mayor's office to join the state of El Salvador, which was ratified on December 22, 1823.
On April 1, 1824, the first constituent assembly of the Salvadoran state granted Sonsonate the title of city.
In 1833, it became the capital of the Federal Republic of Central America by executive decree of October 14. The federal government moved to Sonsonate on February 5, 1834 and the Senate verified its transfer on February 15. The Federal Congress was installed on the afternoon of May 13 and was inaugurated on May 15. In On May 29, the congress agreed to move with the other national authorities to the city of San Salvador; President Morazán moved and prepared the buildings to receive the federal authorities. On June 9, 1834, the Federal Congress suspended its sessions to move and continued in San Salvador, the new capital of the republic, on June 14. At that time, Sonsonate was the head of the department of the same name., but in 1835 he moved to Santa Ana.
A document called «Statistics of 1853» stated that the town had 4,472 inhabitants divided into the neighborhoods of Centro, El Pilar, San Francisco, Veracruz, El Ángel and Mejicanos. Also, the following were recorded:
In spite of being Sonsonate so old, the trazo of the center is regular, its straight streets of 100 rods long and 10 wide, all of them paved, counting 87 between them and those of the neighborhoods. The houses are all on one floor, with walls of adobes, whitened inside and outside with lime and covered with tile, having all 879. There are nine churches of which three are ruined. The municipal house, which is in the western band of the main square, has not been concluded: but it has a beautiful portal of masonry arches.
An article on material improvements published in the Salvador Government Gazette on February 10, 1854 reports that in Sonsonate, the Itinerary Board was working on the roads that lead to Acajutla and Santa Ana The Board of Charity had put the Hospital in good condition and built a provisional arena allocating its products to the benefit of the Hospital. The Parish Council was in charge of the rebuilding of the parish and had built eight acres of calicanto in the entire month of January. The Board of Education had undertaken the construction of a large school house, but work had been halted for want of funds. The Municipality built a town hall that only lacked the external decoration.
In response to the earthquake that destroyed San Salvador in April 1854, the Amateur Drama Company of the city of Sonsonate gave a theatrical performance on the afternoon of May 25 to benefit those who suffered the ruin of the capital, whose product was sent to the president to make the distribution; The drama Una Llave y Un Sombrero by Spanish playwright Ildefonso Antonio Bermejo was staged, and El Puñal del Godo by another Spanish playwright José Zorilla.
In a report on material improvements made on June 21, 1854, Governor Teodoro Moreno noted that a street was opened in the city to the left of the Río Grande and a paving stone 20 varas long and 9 wide was built, another street was opened at the exit for the town of San Antonio and another that goes from the town hall to the Rio Grande, collecting materials to pave them; the Board of Charity built a theater destined to swell the funds of the hospital and built a two-story house for objects from its institute; the municipality began to build a house for primary education but due to lack of funds the work was halted, the government was informed that over 800 pesos had been spent on this work, so the government of Sonsonate encouraged the municipal corporation to that in an extraordinary meeting propose the means that it deems adaptable to conclude the work.
In the report of September 6, Governor Tomás Medina noted: "The material works were suspended, due to the exhaustion of funds and lack of food; but they have proposed ways to rebuild their resources, and very soon said resources will continue, and very soon said works will continue, taking advantage of the abundance of food."
In the report of October 12, Governor Tomás Medina noted: "On the 1st of the current lighting was established with its corresponding company of night watchmen, which is so indispensable and necessary It is for that honest neighborhood. Its installation was solemnized with the representation of a dramatic piece; and the material works begun have not been continued, due to a complete lack of funds, according to reports."
By the legislative decree of February 22, 1855, executed by President José María San Martín, the department of Sonsonate was divided into two: Santa Ana and Sonsonate, so that the city once again had the quality of departmental head.
On January 2, 1866, beginning at 11 p.m. m., a north wind devastated the city and the surrounding towns. A letter from Sonsonate published in the official newspaper El Constitucional on Thursday, January 11, read:
An extraordinary north has had us over-scited and in constant enclosure. The neighborhoods of Angel, Mejicano and Veracruz are as if they had gone through all the consequences of a war action. Many houses turned, others dismantled and almost all in a breakdown state, present a sad look. In the center the raisins are less so that the constructions are more solid; but it is sure that in the tile that will be necessary to repairs all, will invest some hundred pesos. [...]Author Unknown
The inhabitants of the neighborhood of El Angel, who were the most affected, were left on the street; in response, Governor Ipiña raised a subscription to help them.
After the Rural Police was regulated with rural Police Judges on May 16, 1868, Don Manuel Díaz was appointed as Rural Police Judge of the District of Sonsonate, whose endowment was 30 pesos per month.
A notable event was the inauguration of the first railroad between Sonsonate and Acajutla, which was carried out on June 4, 1882 by President Rafael Zaldívar. For the city it was very useful, since the workshops for the repairs of the machines were located there.
On December 2, 1888, the Sonsonate Arts Society was founded and regulated, whose purpose was to promote the advancement of the arts, establish protection among its members, and encourage fraternity among Central Americans. It was chaired by Daniel Choto. This was approved by executive agreement on April 10, 1889.
On May 12, 1891, during the administration of President Carlos Ezeta, the Sonsonate Electric Light Company was founded, whose statutes were approved by the executive branch on May 18.
By 1890, according to data provided by Guillermo Dawson, 8000 people lived in Sonsonate.
Demographics
In 2007, 49,129 people lived in Sonsonate in the urban area (69%), and 22,412 in the rural area (31%). It occupied the 17th position in population by municipality in the country with 71,541 inhabitants. In 2013 it has an estimated population of 72,158 inhabitants.
Administrative division
The following cantons are located in the municipality of Sonsonate: Chiquihuat, El Cacao, El Edén, El Presidio, La Ensenada, Las Delicias, Las Salinas de Ayacachapa, Las Tablas, Loma del Muerto, Miravalles, Santa Emilia, Tasulá and Tonala.
Economy
The economy of the municipality of Sonsonate is mainly based on the trade of different products such as coffee. The city is located in the center of the department of Sonsonate, and has a strategic location. Several dairy processing plants are located in the city, such as the renowned Cooperativa Ganadera de Sonsonate, this company is the largest manufacturer of packaged milk in the country. reaching a production of more than 150,000 liters per day and is recognized throughout the national territory for its brand of dairy products Salud, leader in the Salvadoran market. Near the city is the Izalco sugar mill, which is the largest sugar mill in the country.
The main street of Sonsonate houses a variety of businesses and shopping centers such as Metrocentro and Larista Plaza, and on the Acajutla highway, in the section of the municipality of Sonsonate, is the El Encuentro shopping center. Sonsonate is one of the cities that more commercial growth has been in El Salvador.
- Megaplaza
As a solution to the proliferation of informal commerce in the streets of the city, in January 2013 the Megaplaza shopping center was inaugurated, housing 2,380 stores. It is divided into four modules: stalls selling clothing, cosmetics, and beauty salons; fruits and vegetables; food; and financial center.
Public services
- Dr. Hospital. Jorge Mazzini Villacorta
In 1578, the hospital of Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso was founded in Sonsonate, which passed into the hands of the order of San Juan de Dios in 1643, after whom the center got its name. By the Republican era, in 1835, the hospital was in ruins, so in 1862 a new piece of land was acquired next to the convent of San Francisco, where work began on the new hospital. The current structure was erected in 1867, and it was during the period of the Minister of Health, Francisco López Bertrán, in the presidential management of Francisco Flores, that it was renamed Hospital Nacional General Dr. Jorge Mazzini Villacorta, which cares for the population of 16 municipalities in the departments of Sonsonate and Ahuachapán.
Heritage
Historical heritage
- Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity
The church of the parish of the Santísima Trinidad was blessed on April 1, 1887. In 1986, Pope John Paul II established the Diocese of Sonsonate, for which the temple was consecrated as a cathedral. Its first bishop was Monsignor José Carmen di Pietro.
In 2001, the cathedral was damaged by the earthquake on January 13 of that year, until it was rendered useless. Since then it has undergone repairs.
Inside the cathedral temple lie the bodies of its first two bishops, Monsignor José Carmen di Piedro, Monsignor José Adolfo Mojica and the Franciscan who built the temple, Fray Patricio Ruiz.
Among the main Images of veneration are: The Consecrated Image of Jesus Nazareno "perpetual protector" of the city, Venerable Image of Santa María de Candelaria and The Lord of Mercies.
The Cathedral has an office, bookstore, souvenirs, diocesan curia, parish halls and a remodeled parking lot.
- Parish El Pilar
Construction of this temple began in 1732 in the El Pilar neighborhood, until it was completed in 1840. It is Baroque in style, and the façade is divided into three sections. On both sides there are two towers with their respective bell towers.
In 1840, the processions of the Holy Stations of the Cross began from this temple to the extinct El Calvario temple. Over time, the popular celebration took to El Ángel and the Cathedral.
The first Brotherhood was established as a Brotherhood in 1840, celebrating the Stations of the Cross.
El Ángel Parish
In 1572, when under the patronage of the Holy Guardian Angel, the Dominican priests moved the convent to the other side of the Sensunapan River, where the Temple of Santo Domingo is now. By 1780, it was already then the Franciscan priests who were in charge of the Parish of the Angel. The current building was blessed in 1966. Fray Timoteo Fazio was the one who also had the mission of building the new temple. The parish is dedicated to Santa María de los Ángeles, which is the titular image, together with the images of San Francisco de Asís, Jesús Nazareno del Ángel and Risen Jesus, which are also venerated in the temple. In 2016, the "golden wedding anniversary" of the new temple.
In 2019, the new chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the right wing of the church was blessed.
- Barrio El Pilar
It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Sonsonate, and the one that best preserves its architectural ensemble. The buildings are built mostly of adobe, with a gabled tile roof. It contains two temples of historical importance such as the Virgen del Pilar and Santo Domingo.
- Parque Rafael Campo
It is considered the nucleus where the city developed since colonial times, and the center of the oldest buildings. It is surrounded by the cathedral, the town hall and other buildings of commercial importance. A bust was erected in that place in honor of President Rafael Campo in 1913.
- Railway station
A distinctive symbol of the city is a locomotive located on the eastern side of the city, at the access to the San Salvador-Sonsonate highway. The machine symbolizes the history of the railroad in El Salvador, in which Sonsonate played an important role.
Cultural heritage
- Patron Festivals
The patron saint festivities of Sonsonate are celebrated from January 25 to February 2 of each year, in honor of the Virgen de la Candelaria. The first image of Our Lady of Candelaria arrived in the city in 1604 together with the image of Jesús Nazareno "perpetual protector" and it was located in the old temple of Nuestra Señora de la Merced. The Fair of Our Lady of Candelaria was born in 1834, when the image was transferred to the parish church of the Holy Trinity. Said celebration was instituted by government Decree of the Official Gazette of April 28, 1896, under the name "Candelaria Fair".
In contemporary times, the patron saint festivities include the mail parade, the crafts fair, the livestock fair, and the musical festivals known as the "Artistic Parade" and "Verbena Sonsonateca." The festivities culminate on February 2 with a procession and mass in honor of the Virgin of Candelaria.
- Lent and Easter
In El Salvador, the towns where Holy Week is celebrated with the greatest solemnity are Sonsonate and Izalco. The brotherhoods in charge of the processions in this city are:
The Brotherhood of Jesus Nazareno de Los Viacrucis, which was founded in 1840 under a brotherhood. Opening of Lent with its traditional processions on Fridays of Lent, the Venerable Image of Jesús Nazareno de Los Viacrucis stands out, dating from 1929 and carved by Don Jorge Dubios in Guatemala City. And on Palm Sunday with the procession of Jesús de Las Palmas.
Also during Lent, the procession of the image of Jesús Nazareno de La Caída takes place, which is the restoration of an ancient tradition, instituted by the Franciscan Friar Roberto Siguere, which was suspended in 1982.
The Brotherhood of Jesús Nazareno, which was founded in 1859. One of its main tasks is the custody of the consecrated image of Jesús Nazareno "perpetual protector" from Sonsonate, which was carved in the city of Florence, Italy, at the request of Fray Ramírez de Arellano and arrived in Central America in the year 1604.
The Nazarene was the second image of the country to be consecrated, and it was at the hands of Monsignor José Adolfo Mojica, who was consecrated in the Ana Mercedes Campos Stadium on January 20, 1996, in the presence of various associations from El Salvador and Guatemala. In 2019 the image was proclaimed as "Perpetual Protector" of the city of Sonsonate in the Temple of Santo Domingo, in the presence of brotherhoods from El Salvador and Guatemala, having as godparents the images of Santo Domingo and the Virgin of Candelaria in a solemn triduum.
The image of Jesus of Nazareth, symbol of the Salvadoran Holy Week, has its procession from Monday to Holy Wednesday and Good Friday, in a penitential way of the holy Stations of the Cross where the ceremony of "courtesies", in this are the images of the Holy Virgin of Dolores, Saint John, Mary Magdalene and Veronica. The act was accompanied by various bishops of the country, and the penultimate apostolic nuncio of El Salvador, Monsignor León Kalenga (RIP).
Another entity is the Brotherhood of the Holy Burial of Christ, which was founded in the Santo Domingo temple in 1875 by Fray Patricio Ruiz. It is the most crowded procession in the country, accompanied by some 40,000 people and a duration of about 15 continuous hours, carrying the sacred image of Christ Reclining in a beautiful glass urn. The ballot box, which is carried by some 900 members, in groups of 40 members, is also accompanied by cadets from the Captain and General Gerardo Barrios Military School of El Salvador.
The celebration closes with the recent and youngest association, the Brotherhood of Risen Jesus, which carries out the procession of the venerated images of the Risen Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Leaving in the Church of Our Lady of the Angels. The Brotherhood was founded in 2011 as the first brotherhood dedicated to this festive dedication at the national level.
Due to its cultural importance, in 2013 the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador declared Sonsonateca Holy Week as part of the religious cultural heritage.
The Municipal Mayor's Office of Sonsonate blessed the remodeled Gran Vía Férrea (former train station) in the presence of the image of Jesús Nazareno "perpetual protector" de Sonsonate on Holy Tuesday, April 12, 2019, together with thousands of people, including authorities, members of the brotherhood and tourists.
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