Patron Saints and Suyapa

One of the most important celebrations in Honduras is February 3, the feast day of the Virgin of Suyapa, the patron saint of Honduras. The Fair of the Virgin of Suyapa takes place from February 3 to 10 near Tegucigalpa. Most towns and cities in Honduras have patron saints and hold annual celebrations in their honor. One of the largest celebrations is the Carnival at La Ceiba, held during the third week of May. On the Saturday, there are parades, music and merrymaking in the streets. Other popular fairs are held in San Pedro Sula during the last week of June, in Tela on June 13, Trujillo on June 24 and Danlí on the last weekend of August. (Taken from http://www.cp-pc.ca/)

Honduran Holidays

January 1 - New Year’s Day
March or April - Good Friday, Easter, Easter Monday
April 14 - Day of the Americas
May 1 - Labor Day
September 15 - Independence Day
October 3 - Morazán Day
October 12 - Columbus Day
October 21 - Armed Forces Day
December 25 - Christmas Day

Religion in Honduras

Religion in Honduras is dominated by the Catholic church. However, evangelical congregations are very popular as well and growing. Those from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons have a strong presence as well, as do the Jehovah's Witness.

Google Honduras

For some reason, Google has Honduran specific Google page. I'm not sure if it's just there to make Honduras feel unique or what. I tried a Spanish word search, and it showed Spanish results. When doing an English word search, the results were English pages. Either way, if you're wanting to Google Honduran style the page is http://www.google.hn/

Honduras National Football team

The Honduras national football team, nicknamed La Garra Catracha, is the national team of Honduras and is controlled by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras. They are a rising power in CONCACAF. The head coach is Reynaldo Rueda. Their highest FIFA ranking was 20 in 2001, and lowest was 95 in 1998.

Poverty in Honduras

Honduras is the poorest country in Central America and second poorest in the Western Hemisphere with GDP per capita at US$3,000 per year (2006). The economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized with average wages remaining very low. Economic growth in the last few years has averaged 5% a year, but 50% of the population still remain below the poverty line. It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million people who are unemployed, the rate of unemployment standing at 27.9%.

Meaning of the name "Honduras"

Wikipedia has this to say:
"The Spanish used at least three different terms to refer to the area that became the Central American country of Honduras.
Guaymuras - a name Columbus provided for a town near modern Trujillo. Las Casas subsequently generalized it to apply to the whole colony.
Higueras - a reference to the gourds that come from the Jicaro tree, many of which were found floating in the waters off the northwest coast of Honduras.
Honduras - literally "depths" in Spanish. Columbus is traditionally quoted as having written Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas honduras (English: "Thanks to God we have come out from those depths") while along the northeastern coast of Honduras.

In English, Honduras is sometimes referred to as Spanish Honduras to distinguish it from British Honduras, known today as Belize.

Politics

Honduran politics have always been dominated by the National and Liberal parties. At times, these parties were pushed aside from their quarreling by the military taking over. The current president of Honduras is Manuel Zelaya. He is a member of the liberal party and has taken as a main goal the control of petroleum prices.

Valle de Angeles

Valle de Angeles (Valley of Angels) is a village about a half an hours drive outside of Tegucigalpa. Many Hondurans make day trips out to the village to admire the scenery and take in the quaint charm of this village. During the week it makes for a quick and quiet getaway, however, on the weekends it becomes very busy. Local art may be purchased such as leather goods, woodworks, and paintings.

Siguatepeque

Siguatepeque is a city in central Honduras that is located 1100 meters above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. Due to its elevation, the climate is mild and actually relatively cold during during winter nights and mornings. The city has about 45,000 people and is located in the state of Comayagua.

Honduran Independence

Honduras and other Central American provinces gained independence from Spain in 1821. The country was then briefly annexed to the Mexican Empire. In 1823, Honduras joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America, which collapsed in 1838. Hondurans celebrate their independence day on the 15th of September. Firecrackers can be heard throughout the day and night and parades are had in the cities and towns.

Platanos

Plantanos, or plantains are similar to bananas. Wikipedia says, "The word "banana" is often used incorrectly to describe other plantain varieties as well, when in fact the generic name is "plantain" and the specific varieties are cooking plantain, banana plantain, bocadillo plantain (the little one), etc...Plantains tend to be firmer and lower in sugar content than dessert bananas and are used either when green or underripe (and therefore starchy) or overripe (and therefore sweet). Plantains are a staple food in the tropical regions of the world, treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when unripe." Platanos in Honduras are fried and eaten with mantequilla crema (a sour cream).

Comayagua

Comayagua (Come-a-ya-gwa) is a colonial town located in central Honduras. This city that was founded in 1537 and used to be the capital city from 1540 to 1880. There is a large catholic presence in Comayagua. Nuns as well as monks may be scene in the town square where a clock which is said to be the oldest in the New World is located. Comayagua has become a tourist destination in Honduras. There are several colonial cathedrals throughout the town as well museums.

Honduran weather

Right now during the month of April is the hottest time of year in Honduras. The spring time in the U.S. the hottest months of the year pass by for Honduras. During a U.S. summer, Honduras experiences a rainy season that last through to October-November. During November - January there is a very mild winter that is really only felt at higher elevations.

Maras

Maras, or gangs, are a very serious problem in Honduras and most of Central America. The Honduran gang scene is dominated by the two gangs by the names of 18 (dieceocho) and MS, or mara salvatrucha. In recent years these gangs have made strong in roads into the U.S. In Honduras, many of the gang leaders are former members of gangs in L.A and other major U.S. cities. They help with drug trafficking and our guilty of something as common as petty theft to decapitation of politicians.

Indigenous Groups of Honduras

Honduras has several indigenous groups which include the Lenca, Garifuna, Miskito, Chorti Maya, the Pech, and Ahuas. Most of these groups are friendly to visitors and our happy to show their crafts and demonstrate their culture. Many of these groups have Mayan ancestry and speak a Mayan dialect. A great website for detailed information on the individual groups, their history, and customs is SidewalkMystic.com

Francisco Morazán

Francisco Morazán was president of the United Provinces of Central America. He was unsuccessful in maintaining their unity but is considered a hero in Honduras to this day. While president, he enacted liberal reforms that helped form the basis of representative government for the region. A statue of him on a horse resides in the main plaza of Tegucigalpa. Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, is located in the department (state) of Francisco Morazán.

Roatán

Roatán is an island off northern coast of Honduras. It is approximately 60km long and only 8km wide at its widest point. Although the island has a population of 30,000, the number of tourists in 2006 likely reached 250,000. Roatán is located near the second largest barrier reef in the world and has become a very important scuba and cruising destination for Honduras.

Honduran Peace

Although Honduras has not had the benefit of a very stable political past, it has never experienced the violence and civil war in the way that its neighbors have. During the 1980s, Honduras was surrounded by civil wars taking place in Guatemala and El Salvador to its east, and Nicaragua to its west. The U.S. government saw Honduras as a prime location to focus peace efforts during the time. Honduras became a host country for U.S. forces and during this time was able to avoid much of the violence that surrounded it. Hondurans people take pride in their relatively peaceful past and the example this has shown.

The Flag

The flag of Honduras is a simple design of two horizontal blue bars with five blue stars on a field of white. The two blue bars represent of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that lie to the north and southwest of the country. The five stars represent the original five countries of that made up the United Provinces of Central America.

La Mosquitia

La Mosquitia is a region in Northeastern Honduras that is undeveloped and contains indigenous populations of the Miskito, Pech, Rama, Susu, and Tawakha. The area is accessed primarily by water or air. Currently there are several companies that off tourist excursions to the area.

Soccer War

The so called Soccer or Football War was a six-day war fought by El Salvador and Honduras during 1969. Though tensions between the two nations may have been somewhat elevated by a football competition, the war was primarily caused by political differences between Hondurans and Salvadorans, including immigration from El Salvador to Honduras during the Salvadoran civil war. The name is derived from the timing of the war, which overlapped with rioting from a series of soccer matches.

San Pedro Sula

San Pedro Sula is the second most populous city in Honduras located about 60km from the north coast. It is the industrial capital of the city due to the many factories, plantation, and businesses in the area. Most of the job and economic growth in Honduras has been in the San Pedro Sula area. The Spanish were never very attracted to the city and it didn't experience great population growth until the 1920s when it grew from 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. Today the city is home to over a million people and continues to expand.

El Cadejo

The story of El Cadejo (El-Ka-de-ho) talks of an imaginary animal that lurks at night. This animal takes the form of dog-like creature and grows larger when it is seen. There is a good cadejo that is white and an evil cadejo that is black. The good cadejo protects night travelers from the evil cadejo that tries to kill its victims. When one is caught by the black cadejo they are not bitten, but beaten to death. This tale acts a typical scary story told in Honduras and is many times used by parents and grandparents to discourage children from playing into the night.

Honduran Lempira

Lempira was the ruler of an indigenous people in western Honduras named the Lencas. During the 1530s he was a war captain and led a resistance against the Spanish conquest of the region. To honor his memory the Honduran currency bares his name.

Alfombras in Comayagua

Comayagua (Come-a-ya-gwa) is a colonial town located in central Honduras. Every year during the Christian holiday of Holy Week extensive celebrations take place. One of these is the making of alfombras (al-fome-bras), or carpets, on Good Friday. These carpets contain elaborate religious designs that are made from stenciling dyed saw dust from pine wood. Artists create the carpets for display by working for up to ten hours designing such images as the last supper and ornate patterns. Spectators can admire the creativity of the carpets until 10:30pm when they walked over by the Procession of Vía Crucis (Vee-a-Croo-sis). Although the celebration is considered Catholic, Hondurans of all faiths enjoy the dedication and artistry that is apparent in the carpets.

Copan

Copan is an ancient Mayan city in far western Honduras. It was considered the Paris of the Mayan kingdom as it is most famous for its portrait stelae. Peoples first lived established a kingdom in the area around 159. The area reached a peak during the 5th century, but declined greatly during the 8th-9th century. The site today is easily accessible and is one of the most important tourist attractions in Honduras.

Honduran Mercenaries

A special session of the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva heard testimony by José Luis Gómez del Prado, Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries, who outlined his team’s findings in Honduras. The Working Group has operated with a mandate to both monitor and study activities of private military and security outfits; evaluating their impact on human rights and international law in many countries, including Honduras. Claims by former private security personnel who claim they trained at the disputed base have so far been rejected by the military authorities. The Honduran Human Rights Prosecutors Office is currently investigating any wrong doing. Taken from http://www.marrder.com/htw/national.html

Honduran Slang

Cipote – boy
Puchica / pucha – sheesh, dang, oh my, etc.
Cheque – cool
Macizo – cool
Planchero – lazy, bum
Caliche - slang

Pinus Oocarpa - National Tree

Surprisingly to many, Honduras’s national tree is the pine tree. Moving inland, away from the coast, Honduras has a very hilly and mountainous terrain throughout the country. The pinus oocarpa is found on these hills in abundance. This pine tree grown in much of southern Mexico into Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and northwest Nicaragua.

Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela

Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and its sister city Comayagüela, constitute a metro area of some 1.2 million inhabitants. Although Comayagüela was originally a separate city it is now considered a “barrio” of Tegucigalpa. The two areas are separated by the Choluteca River that flows from the south to the north. Tegucigalpa generally contains most of the wealth and business of the capital, while Comayagüela includes the international airport and many colonias, or neighborhoods.

Old Photos of Tegucigalpa

On the website of La Tribuna, a Honduran newspaper, they have an article about some of the main city streets of Tegucigalpa. The photos taken in the 1930's that are shown are very interesting.
Article
English Translation

Typical Honduran House in the Country

Garifuna

The Garifuna are a people that live on the northern coast of Honduras and have a very distinct and vibrant culture. They are descendant from Carib and Arawakan Amerindian tribes, as well as escaped African slaves. In 1635 two Spanish ships loaded with black slaves sunk off the coast of San Vicente. The Africans quikly mixed with the natives to avoid being sent back to their owners as slaves. From this mixture, Garifuna culture began. Through a series of disputes and battles between the French and English, the Garifunas were expatriated to the nothern coast of Honduras in 1797.

Garifunas speak a dialect of the native Brazilian language family Arawakan, and within Honduras they are well known for their dance, the Punta. There are around 70,000 to 80,000 Garifunas living in Honduras out of a total population of around 200,000. Signfigant Garifuna populations are also found in Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua, as well as Los Angeles and New York City. I experienced Garifuna culture a little bit when I lived in Honduras and when I returned and visited the northern coast. I as well met a Garifuna woman in Dallas, and I would have to say they are a people who are extremely proud of their culture and mixed heritage. I found a great site of Garifuna culture as well is this YouTube video of Garifuna dancing. Here you can see the webpage of a "#1 Souleh Chillin Garifuna Mami."

Hurricane Mitch

When many people think of Honduras, they think of the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. Hurricane Mitch was a category 5 storm that hit Honduras in 1998. Today many Hondurans still think of life in terms of before and after Hurricane Mitch like Americans think of 9/11. The hurricane left 20% of the population homeless (~1.5 million), ~7,000 dead, and the Honduran president at the time claimed it destroyed 50 years of progress in the country. In 2001 I took this picture of destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch. Wikipedia has this good writeup.

New Blog!

Welcome to La Baliada! The purpose of this blog is to provide general news and information that pertains to Honduras and Honduran culture. La Baliada refers to one of my favorite Honduran foods, baleadas. The baleada is a simple yet very delicious concoction made up of a flour tortilla, refried red beans, and mantequilla crema (similar to sour cream). Sometimes scrambled eggs are added as well. Baleadas are akin to a sandwich in the U.S. They're very easy to make and offer a quick and tasty way to fill the stomach. I couldn't find a picture of an actual, true life baleada, so please enjoy this picture of prepared refried red beans in a can.

The "i" in La Baliada as opposed to the standard "e" is in reference to internet. Inspired by the meaning behind the name "iMac", La Baliada is like a delicious digital baleada.