User:Andreacqo

My name is Andrea Quinonez. I was born in kissimee Florida but reared in El Salvador.I enjoy watching movies and the outdoors. I love anything that has to do with food yumm! This is my second year living in Dallas Texas and everyday is a new experience .

Home town

El Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), which in turn are subdivided into 262 municipalities (municipios).

Department names and abbreviations for the 14 Salvadoran Departments:

Departments of El Salvador

Western El Salvador Ahuachapán (Ahuachapán) Santa Ana (Santa Ana) Sonsonate (Sonsonate)	Central El Salvador La Libertad(Santa Tecla) Chalatenango (Chalatenango) Cuscatlán (Cojutepeque) San Salvador (San Salvador) La Paz (Zacatecoluca) Cabañas (Sensuntepeque) San Vicente (San Vicente)	Eastern El Salvador Usulután (Usulután) San Miguel (San Miguel) Morazán (San Francisco Gotera) La Unión (La Unión)
Note: Departamental capitals are in parentheses.

Cuisine

One of El Salvador's notable dishes is the pupusa. Pupusas are a thick hand-made corn tortilla (made of masa de maíz or masa de arroz, a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese such as quesillo, similar to mozarella), chicharrón, or refried beans. Sometimes the filling is queso con loroco (cheese combined with loroco, a vine flower bud native to Central America). Pupusas revueltas are pupusas filled with beans, cheese and pork. There are also vegetarian options. Some adventurous restaurants even offer pupusas stuffed with shrimp or spinach. The name "pupusa" comes from the pipil-nahuatl word, pupushahua. The pupusa's exact origins are debated, although its presence in El Salvador is known to predate the arrival of the Spaniards.^[1]

Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are yuca frita and panes rellenos. Yuca frita, which is deep fried cassava root served with curtido (a pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and pork rinds with pescaditas (fried baby sardines). The Yuca is sometimes served boiled instead of fried. Panes con Pavo (literally breads with turkey) are warm turkey-filled submarine sandwiches. The turkey is marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and handpulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with chicken, tomato, and watercress along with cucumber, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard.

One of El Salvador's typical breakfasts is fried plantain, usually served with cream. It is common in Salvadoran restaurants and homes, including those of immigrants to the United States.

"Maria Luisa" is a dessert commonly found in El Salvador. It is a layered cake that is soaked in orange marmalade and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

A popular drink that Salvadorans enjoy is Horchata, a drink native to the Valencian Community in Spain. Horchata is most commonly made of the morro seed ground into a powder and added to milk or water, and sugar. Horchata is drunk year round and can be drunk anytime of day. It mostly is accompanied by a plate of pupusas or fried yucca. Horchata from El Salvador has a very distinct taste and is not to be confused with Mexican horchata, which is rice based. Coffee is also a common morning beverage.^[2]

Other popular drinks in El Salvador include "Ensaladas" a drink made of chopped fruit swimming in fruit juice and Kolachampan, a sugar cane-flavored carbonated beverage.

One of the most popular desserts is the cake Pastel de tres leches (Cake of three milks), consisting of three types of milk; evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cream.

Tourism

The only airport serving international flights in the country is Comalapa International Airport. This airport is located about 40 km (25 mi) southeast of San Salvador.^[3] The airport is commonly known as Comalapa International or El Salvador International.

El Salvador's tourism industry has grown dynamically over recent years as the Salvadoran government focuses on developing this sector. Last year tourism accounted for 4.6% of GDP; only 10 years ago, it accounted for 0.4%. In this same year tourism grew 4.5% worldwide. Comparatively, El Salvador saw an increase of 8.97%, from 1.15 million to 1.27 million tourists. This has led to revenue from tourism growing 35.9% from $634 million to $862 million. As a reference point, in 1996 tourism revenue was $44.2 million. Also, there has been an even greater increase in the number of excursionists (visits that do not include an overnight stay). 222,000 excursionists visited El Salvador in 2006, a 24% increase over the previous year.^[4]

Most North American and European tourists are seeking out El Salvador's beaches and nightlife. Besides these two choices, El Salvador's tourism landscape is slightly different than those of other Central American countries. Because of its geographical size and urbanization, there are not many nature-themed tourist destinations such as ecotours or archaeological monuments. Surfing, however, is a natural tourist sector that has gained popularity in recent years as Salvadoran beaches have become increasingly popular. Surfers visit many beaches on the coast of La Libertad and the east side of the country, finding surfing spots that are not yet overcrowded. Also, the use of the United States dollar as Salvadoran currency and direct flights of 4–6 hours from most cities in the United States are important things to note for first-time travelers from the United States. Urbanization and Americanization of Salvadoran culture has also led to something else that first time tourists might be surprised to see: the abundance of American-style malls, stores, and restaurants in the three main urban areas, especially greater San Salvador.

Currently, tourists to El Salvador can be classified into four groups: Central Americans; North Americans; Salvadorans living abroad, primarily in the United States; and Europeans and South Americans. The first three represent the vast majority of tourists. Recently, El Salvador has attempted to broaden its tourist base and increase the number of visitors from Europe and South America. Early indicators show that the government's efforts are working. When comparing January–March 2007 to the same period in 2006 (most recent data available), overall tourism has grown 10%, while from North America 38%, Europe 31%, and South America 36%.^[5] In the fall, Livingston Airlines will initiate the only direct flight between Europe (departing from Milan) and El Salvador. The Decameron Salinitas, a recently inaugurated resort, has contributed to the growth of tourism from South American visitors (because of name recognition of the resort chain) and is looking to do the same with Europeans.

A whole new segment of tourism has grown up around El Salvador's recent turbulent past.^[6] Artillery fragments, battle photographs, combat plans, and mountain hideouts have become tourist attractions in themselves. Since 1992, residents in some economically depressed areas have set up local enterprises to profit from these. The mountain town of Perquin was considered the "guerrilla capital", and today it is home to the "Museum of the Revolution", featuring cannons, uniforms, pieces of Soviet weaponry, and other weapons of war once used by the FMLN's (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) headquarters.

According to the El Salvadoran newspaper El Diario De Hoy, the top 10 attractions are: the coastal beaches, La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores, Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana (location of the country's highest volcano), Nahuizalco, Apaneca, Juayua, and San Ignacio.^[7]