Ilobasco

Ilobasco
Municipality
Ilobasco

Location in El Salvador

Coordinates: 13°51′N 88°51′W / 13.850°N 88.850°W / 13.850; -88.850
Country  El Salvador
Department Cabañas Department
Government
 • Alcalde José María Dimas Castellanos Hernández
Area
 • Total 96.41 sq mi (249.69 km2)
Elevation 2,460 ft (750 m)
Population (2007)
 • Total 61,510
 • Density 640/sq mi (246/km2)
Time zone UTC-6

Ilobasco is a municipality in the Cabañas department of El Salvador. It is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of the capital, San Salvador.

This town is known country wide (and internationally) for its clay (other materials also used) craftsmanship or pottery.[1]

The clay is extracted and prepared locally. The clay work includes the "miniatures", which are small representations of daily scenes as lived by Salvadorans, no bigger than 2 inches tall. The Town is also home for second division soccer team El Roble.

One version of the miniatures are the "surprises", which are basically a scene covered with another piece of clay shaped and painted in the form of a fruit, an egg, a house or other things. The cover can be removed and then the scene can be seen.

Toponymy

The actual origin and meaning of its name is unknown, most of the proposed names are nahuatl, such as: Xilohuako (Place of Dry Young-Corn), Xilotlaxko (Place of Young-Corn Tortilla), Xilotazoko (Place of Young-Corn Clay). A document found on December 1859 affirms that the name is native and it means "Golden Thread" but origin of this word is unknown.

Sports

The local football club is El Roble, formerly known as A.F.I. They currently play in the Salvadoran Second Division.

Notes

  1. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/bps/topic/283164/Ilobasco

Coordinates: 13°50′N 88°51′W / 13.84°N 88.85°W / 13.84; -88.85

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.