Santa Tecla (), formerly known as Nueva San Salvador ("New San Salvador"), is a city and a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador. It is the capital of the department of La Libertad."Santa Tecla, Cronología" Recopilada por Dr. Juan José Contreras Callejas, Mauricio Alvarado Cea Campo, Ángela Margarita Alvarado: Consejo National para la Cultura y el arte, CONCULTURA, San Salvador 2004
The city was named after Saint Thecla, a saint of the early Christian Church and a reported follower of Paul of Tarsus in the 1st century AD. She is not mentioned in the New Testament, but the earliest record of her comes from the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, probably composed in the early 2nd century.
Santa Tecla is situated at the southern foot of the San Salvador Volcano and is a part of the San Salvador metropolitan area. The municipality of Antiguo Cuscatlán sits on its eastern border.
History Santa Tecla was founded as "Nueva San Salvador" on 8 August 1854, by President José María San Martín after the capital city, San Salvador, was destroyed by an earthquake. By 1865, it had become the capital of the La Libertad Department. The continued development of the city was spurred by the success of the local coffee industry, through which Santa Tecla became a very productive commercial city.
In 2003, the city was renamed "Santa Tecla", which was the historical name of the region prior to the founding of the city. On the occasion of its 150th anniversary (1854–2004), two concerts were presented by the renowned tenor Fernando del Valle, great-great-grandson of Andrés del Valle, President of El Salvador in 1876, and a direct descendant of Colonel José María San Martín, President of El Salvador from 1854 to 1856. The tenor requested that the first concert take place on September 23, the feast day of the saint for whom the city is named.
The current mayor of Santa Tecla is Henry Flores of the Nuevas Ideas party. Until Flores' election, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party had held the office in Santa Tecla for five consecutive terms.
Municipal government and information In recent decades, Santa Tecla has received a major influx of new residents, which among other things has led to the invasion of the main streets by informal sector traders in search of livelihood. The most rapid urban growth and disorderliness occurred in the period between 1968 and 2000, when a series of natural disasters, particularly the 1986 earthquake that struck San Salvador, and a social civil war afflicted the region.
The urban extension to Santa Tecla disrupted the boundaries of the restricted nature areas established by the Metro Plan 80–2000 (which regulates land use and land-use planning in the municipalities of Greater San Salvador), producing a substantial environmental impact in the foothills of the San Salvador Volcano and in the Balsam Mountains.
That combination of factors led to the loss of human lives in the Colonia Las Colinas, a development authorized by the Central Government in restricted areas of the Cordillera del Balsamo, during the earthquakes of January and February 2001. The disaster convinced the municipal government of the need for better urban planning and for participation of the citizenry. In this context, in 2002 the City Council, led by Mayor Oscar Ortiz, began the new participatory strategic planning process concluding with the Participatory Strategic Plan (PEP) of Santa Tecla for the period 2002 to 2012.
Territorial divisions of Santa Tecla Municipal Division Santa Tecla is divided into five districts, each with their own cantons, neighborhoods, and communities:
District 1: Residencial Acovit Residencial Girasoles Reparto El Quequeisque Colonia Quezaltepec Residencial Alpes Suizos 1 Residencial Alpes Suizos 2 Residencial Europa Lotificación Monteverde Colonia Nuevo Amanecer Colonia Don Bosco Colonia Las Delicias Residencial Pinares de Suiza Comunidad Guadalupe 1 y 2 Cantón Victoria
District 2: Colonia Buena Vista Colonia Cumbres de Santa Tecla Residencial San Antonio Residencial Casa Bella Residencial Casa Verde 1 Urbanización Hacienda San José Urbanización Brisas de Santa Tecla Parque Residencial Villas de Francia 1 Residencial Altos de Santa Mónica Residencial Montesión Residencial Pinares de Santa Mónica Parque Residencial Villas de Francia 2 Colonia Jardines del Rey Comunidad Las Margaritas Colonia Santa Mónica Colonia Santa Teresa Comunidad Nueva Esperanza Residencial Los Cipreses 1, 2, 3 y La Colina Comunidad El Progreso Comunidad El Tanque Urbanización San Antonio Las Palmeras Colonia Las Palmeras Residencial San Rafael Residencial Peña Blanca
District 3: Bosques de Santa Teresa Finca de Asturias Norte Finca de Asturias Sur Joyas de la Montaña La Montaña 1 La Montaña 2 Paso Fresco Jardines de La Sabana 1, 2 y 3 Jardines de Merliot Jardines del Volcán 1, 2, 3 y 4 Comunidad El Rosal Residencial Maya Jardines de la Libertad Jardines de Merliot Comunidad El Trébol Residencial Miraflores Residencial Británica Cantón Álvarez Cantón El Progreso
District 4: 8° Calle 4° Calle 3° Calle Entre 16° Y 7° Av. 1° Calle Entre 16° Y 7° Av. 6° Calle Calle Daniel Hernández 2° Calle Calle José Ciriaco López 7° Calle (Entre 2° Y 4° Av.) 5° Calle (Entre 2° Y 4° Av.) 9° Calle (Entre 2° Y 4° Av.) 6° Calle 10° Calle 14° Calle 12° Calle Comunidad María Victoria Residencial El Paraíso Residencial Las Colinas 1 Residencial Cima del Paraíso Comunidad El Paraíso Comunidad San Martin Urbanización Alemania Colonia Residencial El Paraíso Residencial Las Gardenias Comunidad El Carmencito Comunidad Nueva Esperanza Residencial Altos de Utila 1 Residencial Altos de Utila 2 Residencial Altos de Utila 3 Residencial Bethania Residencial Las Piletas Residencial Utila Place Quinta Residencial Las Piletas Urbanización Villa Bosque Urbanización Palmira Parque Residencial Primavera 1 y 2 Colonia San José del Pino Comunidad San Rafael Comunidad Fátima Comunidad La Cruz del Refugio Residencial Alturas De Tenerife Los Arrecifes
District 5: Cantón Ayagualo Cantón Las Granadillas Cantón El Triunfo Cantón El Limón Cantón El Matazano Cantón Sacazil Cantón Los Pajales Comunidad Santa Marta Comunidad Altos del Matazano
Rural zone of Santa Tecla Santa Tecla has a rural zone with 12 cantons: Álvarez Ayagualo El Limón El Matazano El Progreso El Triunfo Las Granadillas Loma Larga Los Pajales Sacazil Victoria
Demographics The population of Santa Tecla is mostly mixed. Most inhabitants of the city of Santa Tecla are internal migrants from other departments of El Salvador, mainly Santa Ana and Chalatenango.
92% of the population lives in urban areas tecleña, making Santa Tecla one of the most urbanized cities in the country. In addition, 8% of the population lives in marginalized communities. Santa Tecla has an unemployment rate of 5.1%. 31% of the population owns a vehicle, while 19% have two or more vehicles. Most homes have the servicios tecleños basic water and sewer, electric power, telephone and garbage collection.
Data Figures Human Development Index 0.955 Life Expectancy 87.0 Literacy Rate (15 years or older) 96.4% Rate of School Enrollment 91 98.4% Per Capita GDP USD $30,203 Access to Running Water 89.4% Unemployment Rate 5.1% (3.7% male, 6.2% female) Population living under poverty (less than $1.25 a day) 5.2%
Geography The municipal district of Santa Tecla is bordered by the following municipalities: Colón, San Juan Opico, Quezaltepeque and Nejapa to the north; San Salvador, Antiguo Cuscatlán, Nuevo Cuscatlán, San José Villanueva, and Zaragoza to the east; La Libertad to the south; and Talnique and Comasagua to the west. It is located between the geographic coordinates 13°44'47" N (northern end) and 13°32'22" N (southern end), 89°15'45" W (eastern end) and 89°23'58" W (far west).
Soil and terrain Pyroclastic materials abound, including andesitic and basaltic lavas, volcanic detrital sediments with pyroclastic material, and lava flows intercalated with dacite lavas and andesitic and basaltic lava flows. The most notable terrain features in the town are the San Salvador Volcano or Quezaltepec; the hills of Los Angeles, El Volador, Los Amates, El Convento, La Virgen or Elephant; the hills Los Cedros, Miralvalle, Los Mangos, El Zapote, Las Pools, La Mira, Santa Teresa, Pena Blanca, Long, El Combo, La Papaya, Guadalupe, El Amate, Alicante, El Sacazil, San Juan, El Manzano, The Pantheon, El Convento, El Dorado, The Bullocks, Three Ceibas, the Campo Santo, Las Canoas and the Pulpit in Santa Elena, El Bosque or El Cedral, El Potrero, Los plums, The Franchona, Santa Emilia, El Triunfo, Brazil, Spiders, Santa Elisa, Los Pajales and the Chichipate. The volcano of San Salvador or Quezaltepec is located north of the city of Santa Tecla, with an elevation of above sea level at the highest edge of the crater. The main hills are Amates, located 7.5 kilometers west of Santa Tecla, with an elevation of 1,036 meters above sea level, the Virgin or Elephant, located west of town with an elevation of above sea level, and El Volador, located 6.3 kilometers southwest of the city, with an elevation of 790 meters above sea level.
As is the case for many regions of El Salvador, the makeup of Santa Tecla's terrain and its many natural springs makes the area prone to landslides. As mentioned above, much of the terrain is composed of pyroclastic materials with low permeability. Pore water pressure or pore air pressure are unable to dissipate fast enough; the subsequent loss of stability triggers landsliding. This is especially true during seismic activity, for instance during the January 2001 and February 2001 El Salvador earthquakes.
Landmarks and buildings
Historic buildings Santa Tecla Museum (MUTE)
The MUTE's neoclassical building was originally designed and built as a prison in 1902 by architect José Jeréz, who also designed most of Santa Tecla's landmarks. The highlight of the building is the main tower, which once served as an office for the mayor of the city. The building was made from various materials including clay brick of volcanic origin. The original prison had four major cells to house 15 inmates each; however, records show that up to 40 inmates were held in each of the cells. In addition, the prison had six small punishment cells and four additional rooms, two for the kitchen and two for special punishment prisoners, one of them named "the little one", where no sound or light could be heard or seen. Visitors today may experience the coldness of this room and other interesting attractions at MUTE.
Santa Tecla Municipal Palace