Santa Ana, El Salvador

History

Pre-Columbian era

The city of Santa Ana has a pre-Columbian origin. There is evidence of Preclassic settlements in the area of the city, mainly in the archaeological site of Villa Rosita, where the dominant centre was located in the area. This and other settlements were depopulated by the eruption of Lake Ilopango in 250 AD.

The city was founded by the Poqomam Maya in the classical period. The Poqomam name of the settlement is unknown, but when the Pipil conquered the area in 1200 during the post-classic period, they gave it the Nahuat name Sihuatehuacán, which means place of priestesses. Sihuatehuacán was located in what is now the suburb of Santa Barbara, west of the Apanchacal and Apanteos rivers.

Conquest and colonization

The town was conquered by the Spanish between 1530 and 1540. On July 26, 1569, Guatemalan bishop Bernardino Villalpando changed the name from Sihuatehuacán to that of Santa Ana. The new town at the time was part of the Greater Mayorship of San Salvador.

San Salvador, the city of Santa Ana, and the western and central part of the current Salvadoran territory (except St Vincent and the paracentral area) was administered by the mayor of the department of San Salvador. Since 1770, the central parish of the city (located where the cathedral was built later) was the head of the parish of Santa Ana. From 1786-1824, the Santa Ana district was part of the San Salvador municipality (Intendencia de San Salvador).

19th century

In 1806, the council of the town of Santa Ana was established. Its first mayor was José Mariano Castro. Five years later, there were two uprisings in the town as part of the uprising in San Salvador, the first on 17 November 1811, another on 24 June 1812. In November 1812, it was designated with the title of town.

On 21 December 1821, the council declared independence from Spain. In 1824, it received the title of city, as part of the department of Sonsonate. In 1835, it became the head of that department. In 1854, the town of Santa Lucia Chacalcingo became part of Santa Ana. A year later, the Department of Santa Ana was created.

In 1894, a revolution that would overthrew President Carlos Ezeta, who had ruled the country as de facto dictator (from the current headquarters of the Second Infantry Brigade of Santa Ana) occurred. Since then, the town earned the nickname of "the heroic city" as the 44 rebels who led the revolution were from the municipality. They stormed the government headquarters to end the dictatorship.

Postwar 20th century and Civil Santa Ana in 1916

In the so-called "golden age of coffee" in El Salvador, Santa Ana was the most prosperous city in the country, because many of the businessmen who lived in that town owned important coffee processing plants that prepared the coffee for sale. La Hacienda El Molino, owned by the Colombian Rafael Alvarez, was the main plantation and coffee processing plant because of its fame and its technological modernism at the time.

During the civil war in El Salvador (1980–1992), the municipality of Santa Ana was also affected by armed conflict, which led to the emigration of many residents of the city. After the war, Santa Ana and all of El Salvador began to address the problem of rising crime rates, mostly due to the existence of "maras" or gangs, mainly generated by the deportation of undocumented Salvadoran immigrants from the United States. In response to rising gang activity, the council municipal responded with government programs and ordinances.

Since the civil war, the municipality has received allowances sent by Salvadorians living abroad to their friends and family. This money has become the largest source of revenue for Santa Ana and El Salvador.

In 1999 the Urban Development Master Plan (PLAMADUR) was launched by the municipal administration of Moses Macall Monterrosa. The PLAMADUR spurred the growth, expansion and management of ciudad.

Also in 2004, the Salvadorian government introduced the National Land Management Plan and Territorial Development (PNODT) that promotes the development, integration and competitiveness of Salvadoran municipalities. For the purposes of planning and development of municipalities, these have been grouped into regions, subregions and microregions. The municipality of Santa Ana was incorporated into the region, "West Central subregion, Santa Ana - Resume" and "microregion of Santa Ana".

Education

The city of Santa Ana has 183 schools according to statistics from the Salvadoran Ministry of Education, out of those 53 are private. Some of the best known schools are:

1. Colegio Bautista
2. Liceo San Luis
3. Escuela Interamericana
4. Colegio Latinoamericano
5. Colegio Salesiano San José
6. Colegio Santa María
7. CE INSA
8. Colegio María Auxiliadora
9. Liceo Santaneco

Santa Ana has a few universities, including Universidad Católica de El Salvador, Universidad Modular Abierta, Universidad de El Salvador Facultad Multidiciplinaria de Occidente, Universidad Francisco Gavidia, and Universidad Autónoma de Santa Ana.

Economy

Santa Ana today is the second largest city in population and importance in El Salvador. The main economic engines of the city are in retail and manufacturing. In the north and west of the city are factories and assembly plants mostly of foreign origin. The southern part of the city is more commercially developed, containing many restaurants, commercial banks, hotels and shopping malls. The largest shopping mall in the city is Metrocentro.

Santa Ana has two main markets: the Colón and Central Markets, only a few streets from one another, offering a great variety of products.

With respect to tourism, the city has many old buildings such as: Catedral de Santa Ana (The Cathedral of Saint Anne) next to the Parque Libertad, Alcaldía Municipal de Santa Ana (Santa Ana City Hall) and the Teatro de Santa Ana (Santa Ana Theater).

The only museum in the city registered by the Concultura is the Occidental Regional Museum, also known as the Museum of the West. However El Museo Aja is also located in the city. There are also the Apanteos and Sihuatehuacán water parks.

Fiestas Julias is a big traditional celebration in Santa Ana during the 15 through the 31 of July. Every year they usually take place in the Oscar quiteño stadium.

Culture and art

The culture of Santa Ana and all of El Salvador is a result of the influence of the pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants and the Spanish colonization.

The government agency that is responsible for preserving and promoting culture throughout the country is the Ministry of Culture. Likewise, the city has its own decentralized office that is responsible for preserving and promoting culture and art throughout the city: the Coordinator of culture, recreation, art and education (Culturarte).

Centers for Cultural Development

The city has its own Casa de Cultura, which is managed by the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for disseminating and promoting research, and for expanding local art and art from the entire municipality.

Likewise, there are centers of culture and art education in the city, such as the Western Arts Center which was developed by the Cultural Heritage Association of Santa Ana (Apaculsa).

The main museum of the city is the Western Regional Museum, which is a historical site and also one of culture and art. Another is the Aja Museum, developed by the movement Siglo XXIII, which promotes culture and popular art.

Also, the city has its own public library, whose official name is "David Granadino” Public Library, which is managed by Concultura.

For the presentation of the performing arts, the city has important venues. The main venue, because of its size and age, is the National Theater of the city. Other establishments used for the presentation of performing arts are the Cine Principal (Main Theatre) and the Centro Municipal de Usos Múltiples El Palmar.

Notable people

• Iván Barton (born 1991), is a Salvadoran football referee who is a listed international referee for FIFA since 2018. He is also one of the referees at the Primera División de El Salvador
• Agustín García Calderón (born 1948), former President of the Supreme Court of El Salvador
• Pete Sandoval (born 1964), drummer for Terrorizer, I Am Morbid, ex-Morbid Angel

Sport

Santa Ana is home to C.D. FAS, one of the most famous football (soccer) clubs in El Salvador. Their home stadium is Estadio Óscar Quiteño, built in 1963 with an approximate capacity of 20,000 fans.

Religion

In regard to religion, as in the rest of the country, the population is mostly Catholic, being the host city of the Diocese of Santa Ana, which occupies the departments of Santa Ana and Ahuachapán. It is part of the ecclesiastical province of El Salvador.

Among the most important Catholic churches are the Cathedral of Santa Ana, (where is the image of the patron saint of the city), the El Calvario church (rebuilt in the late 19th century by Fray Felipe de Jesús Moraga, which was destroyed partially by the earthquake of 13 January 2001, and subsequently rebuilt), El Carmen (which has been administered by the Dominican priests since 1929), the Church of Santa Lucia, San Lorenzo church, Santa Barbara Church, the Mother of the Saviour parish church, and San José Obrero.

Also, several Christian evangelical churches, which have seen an increased influx of believers. Other religious groups, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses also have followers here.

Twin towns – sister cities

Santa Ana is twinned with:

• La Ceiba, Honduras
• León, Nicaragua
• Piracicaba, Brasil
• Miramar, United States
• Nueva Trinidad, El Salvador
• Nejapa, El Salvador
• Acajutla, El Salvador