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Theme Week Honduras – Comayagua

Tuesday, 22 June 2021 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: South America / Südamerika
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post Comayagua is a city and municipality in Honduras, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and 594 metres (1,949 feet) above sea level. The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authorities to structure a territorial reorganization plan. Between the years of 1945 -1975 the population of the city quadrupled due to the high rate of population growth achieved at that time (4.8%) and to migratory movements in the interior of the country. In 2020 the estimated population of the city was 111,700. It is the capital of the Comayagua department of Honduras and it is noted for its wealth of Spanish Colonial architecture. The cathedral, at the central square, has the oldest clock in the Americas.

Semana santa (holy week) is a famous Roman Catholic holiday celebrated in Comaygua, its still practiced as the same like the Spanish way that was introduced in the 16th century. Every holly week people make the famous “alfombras de aserrín” or colored carpets made of wood dust that represents a part of the life of Jesus of Nazareth and representations of other biblical characters like the Virgin Mary and the Holy spirit. Also many catholic saints are represented in the carpets like Saint Jude the Apostle. These traditions had their roots in southern Spain and were mostly practiced in Guatemala and Hondurans during the colony. The Honduran Semana santa have been compared to the one celebrated in Andalusia Spain in cities like Seville due to its incredible similarity to the old Spanish catholic tradition taught to the indigenous people.

Other famous traditions of Comayagua are the mixes of indigenous and Spanish elements, like el baile de los diablitos (littles devils dance), were dancers wore colorful clothes and masks that represent something like an animal, a person, or a mythological creatures. These tradition has its roots in the 17th century, when indigenous people mixed its religious rituals with the catholic ones.

Comaygua has pieces of arts that dates from different eras, like the pre-Columbian Lencan art in the pottery exposed in the Archeological museum as the pieces of art from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, some of them even dates from the late 16th century. The altarpiece of the Catedral of immaculate conception was made in Jaén Spain in the 17th century, its considered one of the most beautiful baroque pieces in Honduras, same as the altarpieces and paintings of the many other churches of the city. Most pieces of art are now preserved in museums of the city like the ones exposed in the Museum of religious art. Other arts are the expositions of national painters in the archeological museum were shows the art works of different Hondurans from the entire country.

Right in front of the plaza is located City Hall, which has been reconstructed a couple of times. The building is of neoclassic style and was built during the 19th century. The Cathedral de la inmaculada concepcion of Comayagua was built during the colonial era in Honduras. It was inaugurated on 8 December 1711. In the cathedral there is also the oldest clock in America, built by the Arabs during their occupation in Spain around the year 1100. It was moved in the colonial period as a gift from King Carlos III. Another attraction is the Plaza de San Francisco, which has a park, the colonial church and is located a few meters from the main square, this church possesses the Antonina Bell, is the oldest bell in America, being cast in Alcalá de Henares, Spain in 1460. The houses of the city still preserve their original Spanish colonial architecture from the XVIII century, many of them have been turned into museums. The most important examples are the museum of colonial religious art, the archeological museum that contains relics of the Lenca people of the pre-Hispanic era, and the republican museum. Another square in the old town is the Plaza de la Merced, it is known for having a monument known as the obelisk and in front of it is the Iglesia de la Merced. Which was the first cathedral of the city before the current one was completed in 1711.

Another attraction is the Caxa real, a colonial house that was built between 1739 and 1741 and developed by the Spanish architect Bartolomé de Maradiaga as a center where the tributes for the Spanish crown were stored, within it Gold, silver and plaster extracted from the mines of Honduras were processed, to later be shipped to Europe. On the ground floor of the building, introduce some elements that were not in common use in Central American architecture; It makes a very good difference between the purely official area, the Courtroom, the Accounting Office, the Treasury, the Azogues room, the piece of fifth silver; This sector was entered through a large hall called by the men on horseback and which were on the street that the Chiquito River rises to the Plaza Mayor. In 1774, an earthquake that caused serious damage to the structure, however, was repaired within a few months, although the house was weaker. In 1809 another earthquake damaged the building.

It was rebuilt in 2013 and is currently an events center that has hosted important international political figures, such as Queen Leticia of Spain, and the former President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto on his visit to Honduras. The Plaza de San Francisco is another place of note, located a few meters from the cathedral and has one of the oldest churches in Honduras built in the mid-16th century by Bishop Fray Alonso de la Cerda and it was the second church built in Comayagua, being the second oldest in the city. The church has five bells, one of which, all imported from Spain.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on VisitCentroAmerica.com – Comayagua, Wikivoyage Comayagua and Wikipedia Comayagua. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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