Izalco Culture, History and Traditions
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IZALCO CULTURE, HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. At the foot of Izalco Volcano, you’ll find a city of the same name, whose rich history and age-old, mystical traditions will captivate you. Historically, Izalco represents the largest indigenous community of the region where the people used to farm cacao and balsam for international export. From 1880 to 1930, this region produced more than 50% of the country’s total production of coffee. Nowadays, the higher elevations are still favorable for growing coffee and the lower elevations grow sugar cane, grains, fruit and cacao. The founding of Izalco is actually the history of two towns becoming one. During colonization, Asuncion (Lower Izalco) and Dolores (Upper Izalco) were bridged together, which is why Izalco now has two colonial churches and two central parks. In the Dolores Church, built in 1716, you can find many colonial images, paintings and embossed silver tabernacles. The Asuncion Church was built in 1576 in Baroque style, but all that can be seen are the ruins left by the Santa Marta earthquake of 1773. Izalco also has a mystical allure. The town has retained its indigenous healing traditions and rituals that the Spanish conquerors once referred to as witchcraft. The indigenous healers refer to themselves “curanderos” or naturopaths with specialties in spiritual healing. Many people prefer to visit the naturopaths instead of Westernized clinics because the plants they are prescribed are readily available and the treatment is more affordable. IZALCO, CITY WITH INDIGENOUS ROOTS Izalco belongs to the department of Sonsonate. Izalco is located on the road CA 8 from San Salvador to Sonsonate, at a distance of 58 km. The capital of the municipality of Izalco is located at 430 m ASL on the southwest skirts of the volcano Izalco. According to the monk Juan de Torquemada "Tecpan Izalco" was founded in 1054 by Topiltzin-Acxil. Since the colony, Izalco was part of the municipality of Sonsonate. In 1770 it was divided into the churches of Asuncion Izalco and Dolores Izalco, where the divisions between Indians and Spaniards was remarkable; the latter ones were forbidden to interact with the people from conquered towns. Spaniards had to live near the cocoa plantations since they knew Indians were not going to cultivate it unless forced to, because they knew they were not going to make any profit out of it. This situation caused many Spaniards to move from Sonsonate to Izalco, which later led to the mestizoes (union between Spaniards and Indians). After the Independence was gained from Spain, Izalco became part of the state of Guatemala. Among the many famous people born here we can recall: General Francisco Malespin (Founder of the National University), Writers: Calixto Velado, Oscar Escobar Velado, etc. The nahuatl word "Itzalco" means "place of the houses of obsidian". Izalco was one of the towns defeated during the 1932 rebellion, just like the town of Juayua. Some people say more than 20,000 people were killed including Feliciano Ama - indigenous leader/cacique. Many people believe the 1932 rebellion is the cause why not many people in El Salvador speak the dialect "Nahuatl" or wear traditional indigenous clothes (chal, refajo, caites); since people were afraid of being recognized as participants of the rebellion. EXPLORING IZALCO Izalco which name could mean “obsidian’s house”. This is also given to the volcano that in ancient times was a lighthouse for the navigators, it also refers to the warlocks that lived there, Izalco is a town that keeps a rich history of the past, like the pre-Hispanic and colonial time, and also the tragic murder of thousands of indigenous in 1932. Also Izalco is a place where you can find a lot touristic attractions, in fact, some of the companies are offering touristic packages and the City Hall has an office that promote the tourism and provide information for the tourists, also contact the tour operators or the travel agencies when tourists require any other service, it also promote sightseeing to famous places like the volcano, churches or other interesting places. IZALCO, INSURECCTION OF 1932, “THE GENOCIDE” Izalco, is a village with so many histories and one of the most representative is the insurrection of 1932 that took place in the western departments of El Salvador; also known as “the Massacre” The insurrection was a result of poverty and lack of land by indigenous that also by the high depression in 1929 the western part of the country was affective by low rate of coffee exportation so the wealthy as a consequence lowed the salary of the workers. But the uprising was quickly suppressed by the government led by Maximiliano Hernández Martinez, whose army was vastly superior in terms of soldiers and proceeded to execute anyone who stood again it. The rebellion was a mixture of protest and insurrection and ended in ethnocide, claiming the lives of anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 peasants and other civilians many of them indigenous people. The fighting broke out on January 22, 1932. Rebels led by the communist party and Agustin Farabundo Marti, Mario Zapata and Alfonso Luna, attacked government forces with support that was largely from Pipil Indians. Peasants rose against the new, corrupt government of Martinez, but this was crushed by the Army. Martinez started genocide against his own population. Since most of the people that participated in the uprising were of indigenous origin, anyone that looked or dressed like a native or spoke Nahuatl was killed by the army. The number massacred is estimated at 30,000. However, the political ideology of the Martinez administration was fascism. He admired Hitler and did not allow any Jews, Palestine or black people to enter the country The towns of Nahuizalco, Juayua, Apaneca and Izalco were assaulted by the army. Feliciano Ama an Indian leader was hanged and this event was shown on postage stamps of the time. Following the Matanza from 1932–1979, military officers held the presidency, with some presidents using more repression than others. El Salvador's problems included unfair minimum wages, repression against student and general demonstrations, and election fraud. In the aftermath, accounts of the uprising and massacre were purged from libraries and replaced by the myth of Martínez as the savior of Salvadorans from vicious communists and barbaric Indians. To avoid further violence, members of the Pipil indigenous group generally severed their ties to their culture and Pipil language, adopting Western dress and the Spanish language as well as intermarrying with members of non-indigenous groups. In modern-day El Salvador, it is estimated that 1% or less of the population is of exclusively indigenous descent. IZALCO LAST PIPIL LEADER José Feliciano Ama (1881 – February 28, 1932) was an indigenous peasant leader, a Pipil from Izalco in El Salvador, who participated and died in the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising. Ama had his lands taken by the wealthy coffee planting family, the Regalados, during which he was hung by his thumbs and beaten. This was in the context of liberal reforms which stripped the indigenous population of access to their communal lands, which were appropriated by private landowners. Ama was a day laborer in Izalco. He married Josefa Shupan, who came from an influential Pipil family in Izalco. 1917 he became member of the catholic brotherhood Cofradía Del Corpus Christi. His father-in-law Patricio Shupan was majordomo of the brotherhood, who died in 1917 after participating at a dinner with President Carlos Meléndez. After Shupan's death Feliciano Ama became head of the brotherhood, which consisted exclusively of Pipil. In the early morning of January 22, 1932 Feliciano Ama lead the Pipil peasants of Izalco into the uprising against the landlords. With several hundred supporters he marched to the capital of the department Sonsonate. There the mayor was killed by insurgents from Juayúa, but landlords accused Ama, who fled into the hills of Izalco. There he was found by soldiers from the garrison of Izalco under commander Cabrera, captured and hanged in the center of Izalco. IZALCO’LEGENDS Since the beginning of the times wherever you go we’ll find old stories from ancient times, or the stories, not always true, that people tell about a famous event or person, or animal that is the case to our country mainly in IZALCO we must mention as follow: LA HISTORIA DEL CADEJO. (Un espíritu protector) LA LEYENDA DE LA SIGUANABA EL CIPITÍO LEYENDA CUYANCÚA LA PUERTA DEL DIABLO LA DESCARNADA EL DUENDE EL PADRE SIN CABEZA LA CARRETA CHILLONA EL TABUDO JUSTO JUEZ DE LA NOCHE LA FLOR DEL AMATE LA LLORONA MICO BRUJO CANTAROS DE ORO O DE PLATA In overall terms all of those are the most common, but if we emphasize the principle believes to Izalco’legend here you are: EL CADEJO. "El cadejo" is represented by a dog of great size and penetrating gaze. There are two cadejos, white and black. White cadejo symbolizes the good and black cadejo symbolizes the evil. Some people say that the black cadejo represents an evil spirit which appears to people who wander late at night, persecutes and hypnotize its victims with its huge red eyes, similar to burning coals. According to the legend, if black cadejo hypnotize you, it can steal your soul. LA DESCARNADA When the drivers asked where she was headed, she just answered to went a few kilometers from the place, then she mounted the car and began to seduce the driver. When the men began to touch and kiss her something dreadful happened, the skin of women dropped from her body and she was converted into a human skeleton. Minutes after the victims were found in a total confusion state and only recalled the moments in which the gloomy scene occurred.