Las Flores, El Salvador Explained

Las Flores
Settlement Type:Municipality
Pushpin Map:El Salvador
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in El Salvador
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: El Salvador
Subdivision Type1:Department
Subdivision Name1:Chalatenango Department
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2006
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Coordinates:14.05°N -138°W

San José Las Flores (or Las Flores) is a municipality and city in Chalatenango Department, El Salvador. It played an important and strategic role during the Salvadoran Civil War. The town was one of the first settlements to be repopulated by refugees who had been driven away by government bombing during the early 1980s. In 1986, in defiance of the military, the civilian population returned to reconstruct the village. This was part of a campaign of a number of towns throughout northern El Salvador, with the assistance of humanitarian groups in North America and Europe, to resist the militarization of the area and prevent continued bombing during the war. For this reason, a number of U.S. cities became sister cities with Salvadoran towns to demonstrate support for the civilians during the war. Nearby towns that were also in this movement include Arcatao and Guarjila, which were repopulated in 1987.

Geography

The community of San Jose Las Flores is situated to the east of the city of Chalatenango on the road towards Nueva Trinidad and Arcatao.

Patronal Festivals

People in San Jose Las Flores celebrate the day of the village's patron saint in March. Local people celebrate over the course of a week with street processions, live music shows and ranching displays (known locally as Jaripeo)

Tourism

Most tourists visit San Jose Las Flores when coming to the nearby River Sumpul complex. Two miles beyond Las Flores is a tourist complex with cabins, a small restaurant and a swimming area complete with two large waterslides, which are very popular with local people and visitors from further afield.

Sister cities

The elementary school Escuela San Jose Las Flores has two sister schools, Holy Trinity High School, in Kanata and St. Gregory Catholic School in Ottawa. Both schools are in Ontario, Canada. It is a sister city of Cambridge, MA, United States since 1986, ratified by the Cambridge government in 1987.