Metapán is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Santa Ana department of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. Metapán is situated in the northern part of the department, bordering

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. It is the second largest city in the department after Santa Ana and is divided between 29 ''cantones''.

Geography

The city of Metapán, next to the San Jose River, lies at 470 meters above sea level. It is located 46 kilometers north of Santa Ana city, connected via a paved highway. The municipality extends beyond the city and into the country surrounding the city. The major Hydroelectric Power station at the Guajoyo river is located in Metapán. The eastern side of Lake Güija is located in the municipality.

History

Metapán means in the

Nahuatl language Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

“River of The Maguey,” from ''met'' ( maguey) and ''apan'' (River). The area around the city was originally populated by Chʼortiʼ people. After the Spanish conquest and subsequent independence of the country, the city formed part of the Sonsonate Department until the Santa Ana department was created in 1855.

Church

Metapán is known for its well preserved colonial church. The church has the following dimensions: 60 yards long by 14 wide, of entablature and tile: Doric and Tuscan order. Its construction began in 1736 and concluded on June 11, 1743, due to the zeal and efficiency of the priest Francisco Javier Estrada. In the center of the round of the choir it reads: “this building of Metapán was finished in June of 1743,” in blue blurred letters. There is also an image of “El Señor Angue”, a sculpture of Crucified Christ that dates back to the 17th century. In recent years there has been a large growth of Pentecostal Protestants, which continues to grow.

Economy

Historically, Metapán is known for

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

production. The city had up to three furnaces for

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

. As of 1850, the city was producing 150 tons of iron a year.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

researcher John Baily described the iron as being of "high character...and is found to be superior to that generally imported for making

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

s and other heavy cutting instruments in common use."

Notable people

* Narciso Orellana, professional footballer

Sport

Metapán is home to football team A.D. Isidro Metapán. Isidro Metapán recently has emerged as one of the top clubs of El Salvador, having won a total of ten first division titles since joining the first division of Salvadoran football, Primera División. It is also home to

Segunda División de El Salvador The Segunda División de El Salvador (Second Division of El Salvador) is the second tier of football in El Salvador governed by the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (FESFUT). Teams contest to promote to the Primera División. The winning si ...

team Leones de Metapan.

References

External links

News of Metapan city (Spanish)

Municipal website (Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metapan Municipalities of the Santa Ana Department