Interesting Facts of Honduras

1. The term “Banana Republic” was first applied to Honduras by the American writer O. Henry, for the influence the U.S. banana companies had at some time.
2. The Honduras official language is Spanish.
3. Christopher Columbus is said to have said after leaving behind a storm: “Thank God we’ve left these Depths.” And he called Depths (Honduras) the area, and Thank God (Gracias a Dios) the Cape he left.
4. As “Soccer War” is known the armed conflict that occurred as a result of a military aggression of El Salvador against Honduras after a soccer match between the two countries in 1969. The real reason of the aggression was to contain the Salvadoran population pressure.
5. Hondurans are also called “Catrachos” because of general Florence Xatruch, who fought in Nicaragua against the American filibuster William Walker. “Catrachos” is a corruption of the name Xatruch. “Here come the Xatruches” they said in the beginning; within a time they said: “Here come the Catrachos”.
6. The capital of Honduras is composed of two cities: Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela.
7. The Honduran currency is the lempira, and it is named after an Indian chief that fought to death against the Spanish conquerors. It is assumed that a lempira bill has an image representing the face of the legendary chief Lempira, but instead contains the image of an American Red Indian.
8. Honduras is located in the waist or isthmus that links North America with South America, and it was the result of the clash of these two landmasses. If not for the existence of the Central American isthmus, in which Honduras is in the middle, sea currents would have taken other directions, the weather had been different in Africa, and humans would not have evolved as they did.
9. The military base of Soto Cano, known as Palmerola, is of strategic importance to the United States.
10. For its strategic geographical position, Honduras is a necessary step for the drug that comes from South America.
11. Trujillo is believed to be the place where the first Mass was celebrated in the Americas.
12. Platano Forest was nominated as one of the new seven new wonders of the world.
13. There are no active volcanoes in Honduras, and there is only one natural lake: Lake Yojoa.
14. Comayagua has one of the oldest clocks in the world.
15. In Yoro there is the phenomenon of fish rain (lluvia de peces). Literally, fish fall from the sky.
16. Most of the population is Catholic, and the Virgin of Suyapa —represented by a tiny statuette— is considered the patron saint of Honduras. There is also a significant growth of evangelical sects, which are competing for the faithful with the Catholic Church.
17. Contrary to what happens on mainland, Bay Islands is predominantly Protestant, because of the early English influence.
18. With the amount of coral reefs that are in the Bay Islands, Honduras is the second country in the world with more coral reef after Australia.
19. In addition to receiving gifts at Christmas, children are celebrated and receive gifts on 10 September, day of the Honduran Child.
20. The Maya were the pre-colombian culture most advanced in the present territory of Honduras, but when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, this magnificent culture had already disappeared. The Mayan people did not disappeared, but returned to lower levels of development. It is unknown if their disappearence was by natural causes or by the collapse of its social organization. The Copan Ruins are the most important Mayan ruins in Honduras.
21. Most Hondurans are mestizos.

La Mosquitia

Officially, La Mosquitia is part of the department of Gracias a Dios and its name comes from the Miskitos, its legendary inhabitants. Although it has no geographical boundaries of its own (and indeed is mixed with the portion that corresponds to Nicaragua), this vast region is considered by many scholars as the largest rainforest in the Americas after the Amazon.

Due to the lush vegetation and great variety of wildlife that inhabits the area, La Mosquitia has become increasingly popular as a destination for adventure and ecotourism. However, there is very little infrastructure and any tourist who ventures out here should be fully aware that it will not have the comforts of the modern world. Within the region there are five areas protected by the laws of Honduras: the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve; Tawahka Anthropological Reserve; Patuca National Park; Cruta Caratasca Wildlife Reserve and Rus Rus Biological Reserve, which includes the Warunta Sierra and its famous limestone caves.

Ciudad Blanca of Honduras

La Ciudad Blanca (pronounced: [la sjuˈðað ˈblaŋka], Spanish for "The White City") is a legendary settlement said to be located in the Mosquitia region of the Gracias a Dios Department in eastern Honduras. This extensive area of rainforest, which includes the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, has long been the subject of multidisciplinary research.Archaeologists refer to it as being a part of the Isthmo-Colombian Area of the Americas, one in which the predominant indigenous languages included those in the Chibchan andMisumalpan families. Due to the many variants of the story in the region, most professional archaeologists doubt it refers to any one actual settlement, much less one representing a city of the Pre-Columbian era.

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés reported hearing "trustworthy" information on a region with "towns and villages" of extreme wealth in Honduras, but never located these. In 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh reported seeing a "white city" while flying over eastern Honduras. The first known mention by an academic of the ruins under the name Ciudad Blanca (White City) was by Eduard Conzemius, an ethnographer from Luxembourg in 1927. In his report on the Pech people of Honduras to the Society of Americanists, he said the ruins had been found about twenty-five years previously by someone looking for rubber who got lost in the area between the Paulaya River and the Plantain River. He said it was called the White City because its buildings and a wall around it were white stone.

In 1939, adventurer Theodore Morde claimed to have found a "City of the Monkey God". However, he never provided a precise location for this, a place that later sources equated with Ciudad Blanca. Morde died before returning to the region to undertake further exploration. Explorer Tibor Sekelj searched for The White City in 1952 on a small, unsuccessful, expedition that was financed by the Ministry of Culture of Honduras.

Honduras Flag

This national flag of Honduras was adopted on March 7, 1866, based on the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America. In 1823 Honduras joined the United Provinces of Central America and adopted their flag. In 1866 it was amended; five cerulean stars were placed in the center to represent the five original Central American provinces. The colors and pattern are the same as the flag of the United Provinces of Central America.^[1]

The flag consists of three horizontal bands of equal width with an overall length:width ratio of 2:1. The two outer cerulean bands represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and also represent the blue sky and brotherhood. The inner white band represents the land between the ocean and the sea, the peace and prosperity of its people, and purity of thoughts.

The five cerulean five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band represent the five nations of the former Federal Republic of Central America (El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala) and the hope that the nations may form a union again.

Civilian and government ships fly the national flag as an ensign. Ships of the Honduran Navy fly as a naval ensign a version of the national flag in which the five star emblem is replaced by the coat of arms of Honduras above an inverted arch of five small turquoise stars.

Use	National flag and civil and state ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	March 7, 1866
Design	A horizontal triband of blue (top and bottom) and white with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered on the white band
Variant flag of Honduras
Use	Naval Ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A horizontal triband of blue (top and bottom) and white with the National Coat of Arms of Honduras above an arc of five blue five-pointed stars centered on the white band

Honduras Map

Official NameRepublic of Honduras

ContinentNorth America

Lat Long15 00 N, 86 30 W

CapitalTegucigalpa

Largest CityTegucigalpa

Area112,492 km2 (43,278 sq mi)

Population8249574 2010 estimate

Official LanguageSpanish

Major ReligionRoman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%

National day15. September 1821

Form of GovernmentConstitutional republic

PresidentJuan Orlando Hernandez

Vice PresidentRicardo Alvarez

CurrencyLempira (HNL)

GDP$40.983 billion (2014 estimate)

Calling code504

Time ZoneCST (UTC-6)

Internet TLD.hn

Honduras Christmas Tradition

Christmas is an all-important annual festivity for Hondurans, as much so as in any other country. Not only because the majority of the population are devout Catholics, but also because, as in Western society, it is an intrinsic part of traditional family life. Few things bring families closer together than a shared meal around the table, especially in this festive period which is all about celebrating with those near and dear.

(This article was published in three parts last year. We are running an edited version this year because, like Christmas itself, its content endures.)

Christmas is an all-important annual festivity for Hondurans, as much so as in any other country. Not only because the majority of the population are devout Catholics, but also because, as in Western society, it is an intrinsic part of traditional family life. Few things bring families closer together than a shared meal around the table, especially in this festive period which is all about celebrating with those near and dear.

The following are a little more than a handful of the most popular Christmastime traditions Hondurans observe this time of year.

Honduras has adopted its ‘Ronpopo’ tradition from Western countries but it is now very much the Honduran Christmas beverage of choice. The drink, which can be drunk hot or cold, is typically prepared with milk, egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and a liquor of choice acting as preservative and giving a warming, little kick.

The word “eggnog” literally means ‘egg in a small cup’ and comes from East Anglia in England, as far back as the early 19th century (where ‘nog’ was slang for ale, which was used as an ingredient before spirits). It became more popular however, and still is now, over the Atlantic where dairy products and rum were plentiful.

(the last year Honduras got the biggest human tree) 

Sports in Honduras

The national team, nicknamed Los Catrachos, first played their international game in Guatemala in 1921. The Honduras national football team took the 1981 CONCACAF Championship home and finished in second place in 1985 losing to Canada. In 1991, they were also the runners-up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup losing only to the United States, the host nation. They also have won the UNCAF Nations Cup in three separate occassions (1993, 1995 and 2011). Their most recent World Cup outing is in the 2014 FIFA World Cup where they took down the Mexican team in Azteca.

Honduras also has great interest in a number of sports like baseball, tennis as well as American football. Honduras first joined the Olympic Games in 1968 Summer Olympic Games which was the first Olympic Games that were held in Latin America. They skipped the Munich Games, joined the 1976 Montreal Games and skipped the 1980 Moscow Games. Starting from the 1984 Games held in Los Angeles, Honduras have religiously sent athletes to the biggest sporting event in the world.

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Honduras. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please make a comment below.

Popular sports of Honduras

• Football (Soccer), baseball, tennis as well as American football.

Honduras Sporting Success

• won 1981 CONCACAF Championship
• won the UNCAF Nations Cup in three separate occassions (1993, 1995 and 2011)

Honduras Religion Statistics

Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution of 1982. The Roman Catholic Church reports a membership that comprises slightly more than 80% of the country's total population. However, according to estimates based on a 2002 poll of citizens 18 or older, only 63% of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholic. Approximately 23% report themselves to be evangelical Christians, and 14% designate themselves as belonging to other religious groups. The remainder were either "others" or provided no answer. The primary faiths include Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Greek Orthodox, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mennonite, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Union Church, and about 300 evangelical Protestant churches (including the Abundant Life, Living Love, and the Grand Commission church)

Honduras Literature

Honduras literature has poets, novelists and storytellers of remarkable quality in different periods of the history of this Central American country.
In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, more noteworthy writers like Froylán Turcios and the modernist poet, Juan Ramon Molina. Lucila Gamero (1873-1964) is the most important novelist of romanticism in Honduras. While green Imprisonment Ramón Amaya Amador, is the novel par excellence with which the literature of social realism in the country was inaugurated. Poets Oscar Acosta, Roberto Sosa, Rigoberto Paredes, Jose Adan Castelar, Alexis Ramirez and Jose Luis Quesada, along with narrators as Julio Escoto, Eduardo Bähr - story book, The Tale of the war - and Ernesto Bondy Reyes - "Women ugly and restorer "- among others and others are opening new writers -literaria and generational perspectives on how to make the national literary and face made from the 60s, 70s and today. You can not ignore the renowned writers Oscar Amaya with her latest tale of prícipes The Prodigy; Galel Cardenas with his latest novel water wall; Denia novelist Nelson Moncada, an outstanding realistic style with an innovative magical touch in his novel "The Return of Wetback," based on testimony awarded in Australia; in this novel, first in Honduran literature, use of some terms of Spanglish is made.
Helen Umaña is one of the few Honduran writers who focused his literary work to the essay and literary criticism, apart from the historian Leticia Oyuela, who has written essays on painting and has published several books on the history of Honduras.

  Crafts in Honduras.

In Honduras a wide variety of fine crafts are made. The cottage industry organized in most cases in the form of cooperatives, is widespread throughout the country , and contributes greatly to the development of the national economy.

  Mud and clay dishes, vases , bowls and vases are made. Bamboo and wicker furniture and baskets are made. The wood is transformed into trunks , fruit and dining sets and palm baskets, hats, fans and wallets.

Copan few crafts are produced locally , but here can you find the most complete range of crafts and sourvenir produced in Honduras , that in different stores that are dedicated to the people around .

In El Progreso is Imapro , handicraft school where you can watch the students artesanostallar highly artistic pieces in mahogany and cedar. Best of all is that there is also a large variety of pieces on display that can be purchased . 

 Santa Barbara reed fabric plays a unifying social function , for men, women and children work alike. Reeds grown men , women and children, and weave the fibers processed objects , as this container violets and potpourri of craft Santa Barbara

 Joya grande zoo

 

  

Located in Santa Cruz de Yojoa , in the department of Cortés , an hour and a half from San Pedro Sula , one of the main cities of Honduras.

The Joya Grande Zoo is a park that favors us an area for extreme sports . As its name says it is a jewel that has become one pole in the tourist development of Honduras.

The amusement park and zoo Joya Grande has emerged as one of the major attractions that, among other things , displays 500 animals of 59 species and offers games for thrill seekers as the canopy .

The "animal offer " contains , for example, 48 cats, of which 14 are tigers, 13 lions, cougars 9 , 8 jaguars, ocelots and 3 1 tigrillo.    

CUEVAS DE TALGUA  (COMAYAGUA)

The talgua caves ( origin Lenca word meaning Tal: cave and gua : water) are located in the Sierra Agalta National Park , in the town of Catacamas , Olancho Department ( only 10 kilometers of paved road from the village Catacamas ).  

Scientists agree that the majesty of this natural cavity molded about a million years ago by the undercurrents Pinabete River, which on leaving the depths of the hill merges with the Rio Talgua. In this basin may be several archaeological sites, witness the many human settlements in the area for nearly three thousand years. 

Among all the discoveries that have surprised this region is the ossuary of the talgua caves. The importance of this burial is that in Honduras have discovered few burial caves of the pre-Hispanic period, and these caves are the first country to be The The discovery took place in April 1994.

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