Alegria City!!!

"Alegría City"

Alegría City, (Usulután, El Salvador)

Alegría is a municipality in El Salvador, from the department of Usulután, located in the eastern region, located 122 km east of the city of San Salvador.
The municipality has a land area of 43.2 km ² and a population of 15.000 inhabitants (estimate 2001). The town is located at an altitude of 1240 meters, what makes this city has a temperate climate. The main economic activity of the population is growing coffee.

Origins and place names

A mid-seventeenth century or pipiles Yaqui tribes founded in the heart of the volcanic mountains of Chinameca two twin towns, separated only by a street. Tecapa that Spanish missionaries placed under the patronage of the name of Jesus. Pipilnáhuat language, Tecapa means "lake of stones from the roots as technology, stone, rock, and switched river or pond, stream or water tank.
At the same language Zapotitán means "City of the sapodilla", "location between zapotes" as formative roots of this name is sapote, sapodilla and titan, in between, city.

Colonial History

The two twin towns Zapotitán Tecapa and flourished in the middle region occupied by people of Lenca origin, and in 1740, according to the mayor of San Salvador de Galvez Manuel Corral, San Pedro Tecapa and Name of Jesus Zapotitán were respectively 38 and 37 Indian tax or heads of household, resulting in a population of about 190 inhabitants for the former and 187 for the second.
In 1770, according to Archbishop Pedro Cortes y Larraz, who does not specifically mention Zapotitán Tecapa village and neighboring ranches had a population of 1920 persons distributed in 409 families.

In 1807, according to Mayor Antonio Gutierrez y Ulloa, both as Zapotitán Tecapa belonged in the church, the new parish church of Chinameca, even as the political and administrative, from 1786, belonged to the party of San Miguel. The same mayor talking about the position of the people of Tecapa says: "... the great volcano Cerro or Tecapa, whose eminence is situated the town of that name, to skirt the north are many rocks and between them a vent surrounded by wetlands, which continually throws, by boiling, a column of smoke 10 to 12 yards."

Subsequent events

In creating the Department of San Miguel, by law of June 12, 1824, the twin villages of Zapotitán Tecapa and were included in their geographic area. The Act of March 5, 1827 was created at the expense of the district of San Miguel, Chinameca district and the new administrative division was incorporated peoples concerned.
For the year 1837 or 38, according to traditional, established in the village of Tecapa the priest Don José Miguel Alegría, notable professor of Latin, who founded a school of philosophy there, where he gave his wise teachings for long decades. The Salvadoran State glorified this teacher, then by law of February 18, 1857, it ordered the funds to make the University a portrait of the famous priest who was to be placed in the session hall of the Alma Mater at the foot of the the following words "The Legislature of 1857 agreed to place this portrait of the illustrious priest Don José Miguel Alegría, as a testimony of gratitude for the perseverance, zeal and selflessness with which for more than 20 years has been to spread the lights to Salvadoran youth. "
For the same year as versions held by tradition, families Tecapa migrants founded, not far from this population, the people of Tecapa. On February 25, 1848 was issued by legislative order which gave the city of Tecapa, rent, land Cuchupuná so-called, in order that their product would cover the liabilities that driving to the drinking water people.
In creating the Department of Usulután by executive decree of 22 June 1865, the people of Tecapa-is no longer mentioned in this law Zapotitán, no doubt because it had merged with it, he joined the new department. By law and February 4, 1867 this county was segregated Chinameca district and joined in the Jucuapa. On March 7, 1874 a prosperous city of Canton Tecapa called Gramal Valley ", was erected in a town with the name of Santiago de María.

Villa Title

The people of Tecapa, prosperous and flourishing, not only by the number of inhabitants but also for its active agricultural production and trade, rose to the rank of Villa during the administration of Field Marshal Don Santiago Gonzalez, Legislative Decree of 10 of March 1874.

Title Town

A few years later by Legislative Decree 6 of 1879 of February issued during the administration of Dr. Rafael Zaldívar, was awarded to the Village of Tecapa the title of city "because of their moral and material development."
At 12.00 am 26 August 1879 occurred in this population, the blessing and lying of the cornerstone of the new Catholic Church in the town, the priest being the parish priest Tomas Martinez Cárdenas, and having delivered a speech the President of the Board Protective of the Work, Mr. Enrique Masferrer.
The jurisdiction of the young town were segregated cantons of El Salto, Cuchupuná, Los Ríos, El Cedro and the Ceiba, which, in conjunction with the Canton Linares, Jiquilisco's jurisdiction, constituted by Act of February 22, 1881. The municipality of San Agustin. Four years later by Legislative Decree of 31 October 1885, he dismembered the valleys or cantons de Agua Caliente, Channel, Montañita, Loma Alta and San Lorenzo, which formed the town of Berlin. In 1890 the city had 4.200 inhabitants Tecapa.

Name Change

For several years old and full of merit, respected and loved, had died the distinguished educator and priest Don José Miguel Alegría, whose body was buried in the parish church of Tecapa. One of his disciples, Rep. Don Leandro Guzmán Vásquez, motions within the National Legislative Assembly in 1891 in that it be renamed native of that city by the City of Joy, "thereby perpetuating the memory of Priest Dr. Don (Joseph) Michael Alegría.” Made rigorous procedures in meeting the February 17, 1891, the legislature agreed to: change the name of Tecapa by Alegría. Years later, residents of this city erected in the main square a memorial to the eminent educator, consisting of a bust placed on a beautiful column.

Jurisdictional boundaries

The erection of the town of Berlin, from valleys or cantons of the jurisdiction of the ancient city of Tecapa, caused difficulties with regard to justice soon and wanting to avoid this, and unnecessary disagreements between neighbors of both population in terms of limits, the Legislature, dated March 4, 1891 provided that "... the boundary line between the towns of Berlin and Joy is the foot of the hill called" Sabaneta ", playing straight line on the north the river "Agua Caliente", and the South under the "Amatón. In the corners of the angles formed by the line marked, ordered the Governor to set departmental masonry stones."

District Header

Jucuapa district much larger and richer and more municipalities than Usulután, split in two by legislative decree of 9 March 1892; that of Jucuapa and Alegría. Under this Act, the District of Alegría was composed as follows: header, the City of Joy, municipalities annexes, Santiago de Maria, Berlin, Tecapa, Mercedes Umaña and St. Augustine. A short time later, by Legislative Decree of 7 March 1893, moved to the head of Santiago de María, Alegría District.

Alegría District Epilogue

It was a contradiction, or at least cushion conflict with the custom, the fact that Joy district, are named, when his header was Santiago de María. However, for many years kept that name and that header, even by legislative decree of November 12, 1947, was created at their expense the district of Berlin. Finally by Act of October 26, 1948, died Alegría district court area and district was renamed Santiago de Maria, with head in the city of that name, and annexes, the City of Alegría, the village Tecapa, and the people of California.

Population
The municipality has a total population of 15, 205 inhabitants, consisting of a rural population of 10, 741 people and an urban population of 4, 464 people.
Geographical position
Alegría is bounded on the north by Mercedes Umaña, on the east Jucuapa and Santiago de Maria, south of Santiago de Maria and Tecapa and West Berlin. It is located between the following geographical coordinates: 13 ° 32'20 "north end LN and 13 º 27'10" LN southern tip, 88 º 26'29 "east end LWG and 88 º 31'35" west end LWG with a total area of 40.43 square kilometers.

Our Culture

Alegría from their origins that are lost in the mists of time, has been blessed to have seen the birth of important people who have excelled in different fields of human endeavor, among which we mention to Don Alberto Masferrer, to Camilio Campos, Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, Don Pedro de la Trinidad Motiño, Fagoaga Don Miguel Bernal and his son Ricardo Arturo Hernandez, Humberto Vásquez Guzmán nightingale, in the end to a long series of figures which made the name of this ancient city, the same way now we can mention characters who excel in the art of music, both composers and performers, among the first mention of Oscar Antonio Segovia and in the second to Jose Saul Araujo. As an example of art of all present today in this space in the first instance the book "A Poet's Dream" in Don Humberto Vásquez Guzmán, which can be downloaded from the link shown below, we also present an interpretation of Joseph Saul Araujo which can be heard from the media player to show. Down the page we present with pride the resume of a man of science who was also born in this beautiful city we refer to Dr. Manuel Francisco Sigarán Ramirez, here you can see how wide has been his career in medicine.

Alberto Masferrer

 

 

Vicente Alberto Masferrer Monico was a teacher, philosopher, journalist, essayist, poet and politician Salvadoran born July 24, 1868 in Alegría (formerly Tecapa) Usulután and died in exile on September 4, 1932 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Writer with its letters marking an era of Salvadoran literature through the definition of his thoughts bent on defending the poorest and social criticism.
Alberto Masferrer was born in a town in eastern El Salvador, pipil home and subsequently dominated by the Lenca.
His education was self-taught in conjunction with formal education. His love of reading led her to choose teaching as a career. In this regard, Arturo Ambrogi stated that "I have rarely seen a player as awful as Alberto."


As a journalist and political
between 1928 and 1930 he founded and directed the newspaper Patria, which was social criticism and called for justice for the needy in the context of widespread poverty in the country. He worked day and national and international journals, was the editor of newspapers and the Chilean El Mercurio, Santiago de Chile, the weekly La Reforma newspaper The workers united, in the magazines The Republic of Central America, News, Science-Literary Bibliography, The Seed and others.
He began his political career as Consul of El Salvador in Argentina (1901), Chile (1902), Costa Rica (1907) and Belgium (1910), as well as the International Court of Justice in 1912, also served as archivist of the accounting nation's largest, editor and director of the Official Journal (1892), Secretary of the National Institute (1890) and Advisor to the Ministry of Education (1916). Under the fundamental premise of peaceful struggle for the rights of each individual, became the ideologue and political campaign manager in 1930 led the president to engineer Arturo Araujo.

That same year he was elected as national deputy president and separated politically from their positions.

Despite his opposition to the arrival to the presidency of General Maximiliano Hernández Martinez, the military takeover was inevitable. Since then, Masferrer tried to contain the violence unleashed months later, in the peasant uprising of 1932, which would resulting in the death of thousands of indigenous and Masferrer exile to Honduras. His relationship with the Salvadoran Communist Party is unclear, although there are references about the influence pacifist writer, so failed, he tried to exercise.

As a teacher and writer
He taught in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina and is named "teacher and director of Crowds" by Claudia Lars.
As a writer, his work was characterized mainly by treating social issues, requiring a minimum of rights for each person, dignifying the human being through the use of words mainly hard, arguing about socially acceptable behavior. Occasionally used the pseudonym "Lutrin."Muerte

After his political and moral defeat for the outbreak of violence that tried to contain, was exiled to Honduras, where he died a victim of his weak health and cardiac arrest. Throughout his life he suffered from various diseases such as tuberculosis, syphilis, severe pneumonia and a series of serious strokes which left him confined to a wheelchair for short periods but many times, spending almost half his life in a of them.

he gritty details of his death are unknown since his death in solitude. For the same reason, it has raised a debate about the site of his death; a minority may find sources said he died in San Salvador.
In tribute to Masferrer, there are various schools, universities, places and monuments that bear his name, honored at the official level, and recognizing their strong influence on generations of students and national writers. Furthermore, by legislative decree of 30 August 1949, Masferrer's grave is considered a national monument.

Places