Santa Rita, Chalatenango
Santa Rita is a municipality in the Chalatenango department of El Salvador and is one of the largest municipalities of Chalatenango. It has a shoreline on Lake Suchitlán and is bordered by the municipalities of Comalapa, Dulce Nombre de María, Concepción Quetzaltepeque, El Paraíso, and San Rafael.[4]
Santa Rita, Chalatenango | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
  Santa Rita, Chalatenango Location in El Salvador | |
| Coordinates: 14°07′43″N 89°00′18″W | |
| Country |  El Salvador |
| Department |  Chalatenango |
| Established | 1807 or 1822 |
| Disestablished | 12 May 1902 |
| Reestablished | 28 April 1903 |
| Named for | Rita of Cascia[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ismael Romero Gutiérrez (ARENA) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 20.52 sq mi (53.14 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,257 ft (383 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 7,367[3] |
| • Density | 359/sq mi (138.6/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC–6 |
History
Official reports record the town of Santa Rita being established in 1822, while according to Colonial Intendant Antonio Gutiérrez y Ulloa, it was established in 1807.[4][5][6] Santa Rita was a part of San Salvador from its establishment until 13 May 1833, after which it was transferred to Chalatenango under the administration of Tejutla until being returned to San Salvador on 21 October 1833.[6] In 1835, it was transferred to Cuscatlán and was incorporated into El Salvador in 1841.[6]
On 1 November 1846, General Francisco Malespín defeated Salvadoran soldiers under Joaquín Peralta, who were loyal to President Eugenio Aguilar, in battle in Santa Rita during his war to retake the presidency.[6] Santa Ana transferred a final time to Chalatenango in 1855.[6] It was dissolved on 12 May 1902 and transferred to Dulce Nombre de María on the executive decree of President Tomás Regalado.[4][5][6] President Pedro José Escalón reestablished the municipality through an executive decree on 28 April 1903.[4][5][6] Another law was passed on 15 July 1919 that reinforced the existence of Santa Rita as separate from both Tejutla and Dulce Nombre de María.[6]
On 17 March 1982, four Dutch journalists and four guerrillas of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) were massacred on the road from El Paraíso to Santa Rita by the Atonal Battalion during the Salvadoran Civil War.[7]
Geography
Santa Rita has an elevation of 1,257 feet or 383 meters and is 20.52 square miles or 53.14 square kilometers large.[2][6] According to Global Forest Watch, from 2001 to 2019, the municipality lost 310 hectares of tree cover, which was a decrease of 18%.[8]
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 1,090 | — |
| 1956 | 2,241 | +105.6% |
| 2007 | 5,985 | +167.1% |
| 2020 (est.) | 7,367 | +23.1% |
Santa Rita had a population of 1,090 in 1890 and a population of 2,241 in 1956.[5][9] In the 2007 census, Santa Rita had a population of 5,985 people, with only 400 or 6.7% living in urban areas and the remainder living in rural areas.[10] There were 1,498 occupied homes with an average of 6 people per household.[11] As of 2020, the municipality had a population of 7,367.[3]
Administrative divisions
Santa Rita is divided into four cantons and three caserios:[1]
|
|
Mayors of Santa Rita
The current mayor of Santa Rita is Ismael Romero Gutiérrez of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA).[1]
| Mayor | Term of office | Political party | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Duration | |||||
| Atilio López López | 2000 | 1 May 2000 | 1 May 2003 | 3 years | ARENA | [12] | |
| Adolfo Guardado Vásquez | 2003 | 1 May 2003 | 1 May 2006 | 3 years | PCN | [13] | |
| Ismael Romero Gutiérrez | 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018 2021 |
1 May 2006 | Incumbent | 16 years, 2 days | ARENA | [1] [14] [15] [16] [17] | |
See also
References
Citations
- "Santa Rita". iSDEM (in Spanish). 25 January 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- "Santa Rita". Geonames. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- "Santa Rita". City Population. 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- "Santa Rita". Chalatenango.sv (in Spanish). 1 February 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Santa Rita". Fondo de Inversión Social para el Desarrollo Loca (in Spanish). 4 October 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- "Santa Rita, Chalatenango". ElSalvadorEsHermoso (in Spanish). September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Betancur, Belisario; Figueredo Planchart, Reinaldo; Buergenthal, Thomas (26 January 2001). "From Madness to Hope: the 12–Year War in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador" (PDF). The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Tree Cover Loss in Santa Rita, Chalatenango, El Salvador". Global Forest Watch. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Ministry of the Economy 1959, p. 216
- Census 2008, p. 34
- Census 2008, p. 79
- "Listado de Agremiados 2000–2003" [List of Members 2000–2003]. Comures.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Listado de Agremiados 2003–2006" [List of Members 2003–2006]. Comures.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Listado de Agremiados 2006–2009" [List of Members 2006–2009]. Comures.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Listado de Agremiados 2009–2012" [List of Members 2009–2012]. Comures.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Listado de Agremiados 2012–2015" [List of Members 2012–2015]. Comures.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Listado de Agremiados 2018–2021" [List of Members 2018–2021]. Comures.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
Bibliography
- "VI Censo de Población y V de Vivienda 2007 – Población, Viviendas, Hogares" [VI Census of Population and V of Housing 2007 – Population, Housing, Households] (PDF) (in Spanish). Ministry of the Economy of El Salvador. April 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- "Diccionario Geografico de la República de El Salvador – 1959" [Geographic Dictionary of the Republic of El Salvador – 1959] (PDF) (in Spanish). San Salvador, El Salvador: Ministry of the Economy. 1959. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
