Honduras

A type of Honduran Police Cars

Transportation in Honduras consists of the following infrastructure: 699 km of railways;^[8] 13,603 km of roadways;^[8] 7 ports and harbors;^{[citation needed]} and 112 airports altogether (12 Paved, 100 unpaved).^[8] Responsibility for policy in the transport sector rests with the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing (SOPRTRAVI after its Spanish acronym).

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Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Honduras

See also: Hondurans

According to the CIA World Factbook, Honduras has a population of 7.48 million; 90% of the population is Mestizo, 7% Amerindian, 2% black and 1% white.^[9]

Village in Copán

90% of the Honduran population is Mestizo (a mixture of Amerindian and European ancestry). About 7% of the Honduran population are members of one of the seven recognized indigenous groups. The Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras (CONPAH) and the government of Honduras count seven different indigenous groups:

the Ch'orti', a Mayan group living in the northwest on the border with Guatemala;
the Garifuna speaking an Arawakan language. They live along the entire Caribbean coastline of Honduras, and in the Bay Islands;
the Pech or Paya Indians living in a small area in the Olancho department;
the Tolupan (also called Jicaque, "Xicaque", or Tol), living in the Department of Yoro and in the reserve of the Montaña de la Flor and parts of the department of Yoro;
the Lenca Indians living in the Valle and Choluteca departments;
the Miskito Indians living on the northeast coast along the border with Nicaragua.

The confederation and each separate group of indigenous people have worked, since the 1980s, for bettering the life of the aboriginal peoples. Change, however, has been elusive as these peoples still face violence and discrimination.

About 2% of Honduras's population is black, or Afro-Honduran, and mainly reside on the country's Caribbean or Atlantic coast. The black population comes from a number of sources. Most are the descendants of the West Indian islands brought to Honduras as slaves and indentured servants. Another large group (about 150,000 today) are the Garifuna, descendants of an Afro-Carib population which revolted against British authorities on the island of St. Vincent and were forcibly moved to Belize and Honduras during the eighteenth century. Garífunas are part of Honduran identity through theatrical presentations such as Louvavagu.

Honduras hosts a significant Palestinian community (the vast majority of whom are Christian Arabs). The Palestinians arrived in the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing themselves especially in the city of San Pedro Sula. The Palestinian community, well integrated in Honduras, is prominent in business, commerce, banking, industry, and politics. There is also an East Asian community that is primarily Chinese descent, and to a lesser extent Japanese. Korean, Ryukyuan, Vietnamese also make up a small percentage due to their arrival to Honduras as contract laborers in the 1980s and 1990s. There are also an estimated 1000 Sumos (or Mayangnas) that live in Honduras, the majority of whom reside on the Caribbean coast.

Although Honduras is nominally Roman Catholic, membership in the Roman Catholic Church is declining while membership in Protestant churches is increasing. There are thriving Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Lutheran, Pentacostal and Mormon churches, and they are all growing rapidly. There are Protestant seminaries. Practitioners of the Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Bahá'í, Rastafari and indigenous denominations and religions exist. Evangelicalism in particular is increasing in popularity.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) claims over 120,000 members in Honduras as of the beginning of 2007 (lds.org newsroom site).

Since 1975, emigration from Honduras has accelerated as job-seekers and political refugees sought a better life elsewhere. Although many Hondurans have relatives in Nicaragua, Spain, Mexico, El Salvador and Canada, the majority of Hondurans living abroad are in the United States.

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Culture

The Cathedral of Comayagua

Colonial architecture

See also: Culture of Honduras

The most renowned Honduran painter is Jose Antonio Velásquez. Other important painters include Carlos Garay, and Roque Zelaya. Two of Honduras' most notable writers are Froylan Turcios and Ramón Amaya Amador. Others include Marco Antonio Rosa, Roberto Sosa, Lucila Gamero de Medina, Eduardo Bähr, Amanda Castro, Javier Abril Espinoza, and Roberto Quesada. Some of Honduras' notable musicians include Rafael Coello Ramos, Lidia Handal, Victoriano Lopez, Guillermo Anderson, Victor Donaire, Francisco Carranza and Camilo Rivera Guevara.

Hondurans are often referred to as Catracho or Catracha (fem) in Spanish. The word was coined by Nicaraguans and derives from the last name of the French Honduran General Florencio Xatruch, who, in 1857, led Honduran armed forces against an attempted invasion by North American adventurer William Walker. The nickname is considered complimentary, not derogatory.

Honduras This Week is a weekly English language newspaper that has been published for seventeen years in Tegucigalpa. On the islands of Roatan, Utila and Guanaja the Bay Islands Voice has been a source of monthly news since 2003.

Honduran cuisine makes extensive use of coconut, in both sweet and savory foods, and even in soups.

In San Pedro Sula we can find the José Francisco Saybe theater, home of Círculo Teatral Sampedrano (Theatrical Circle of San Pedro Sula).

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Notable Hondurans

David Suazo, a highly popular soccer player, who plays on the Honduras National team and is currently playing for Inter Milan.
Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, a Cardinal and potential candidate for Pope in the Papal Conclave, 2005
Salvador Moncada works at University College London and funds an NGO in Tegucigalpa. He is married to Princess Maria-Esmeralda of Belgium
José Antonio Velásquez is a Honduran primitivist painter, considered by many critics as the best primitivist painter in the world.^{[citation needed]}
Carlos Campos is a fashion designer, born in San Pedro Sula, notably working for big-time celebrities, who also owns two stores: one in New York and the other in San Pedro Sula
Renán Almendárez Coello, the radio host of El Cucuy de la Mañana ("The Boogeyman of the Morning") on KLAX-FM in Los Angeles
Carlos Mencia from Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia
Leticia de Oyuela was a Honduran historian
Neida Sandoval presenter of Univision morning show Despierta America in Miami
Satcha Pretto co-host of Univision show Primer Impacto Fin de Semana in Miami
Dunia Elvir presenter Telemundo in Los Angeles
David Archuleta, a contestant on American Idol Season 7, his mother is from Honduras
America Ferrera [1], Hollywood actress, Won Golden Globe & Emmy Awards for "Ugly Betty" or Betty la Fea, her parents are from Honduras.
Rickerby Hinds[2], an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside who is a well known play write who graduated from UCLA. He emigrated from Honduras at the age of nine with his family.

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Celebrations

Sawdust Carpets of Comayagua During the Easter Celebrations

Some of Honduras's national holidays include Honduras Independence Day on September 15 and Children's Day or Dia del Niño, which is celebrated in homes, schools and churches on September 10; on this day children receive presents and have parties similar to Christmas or Birthday celebrations. Some neighborhoods have piñatas on the street. Other holidays are Easter, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Day of the Soldier (October 3rd to celebrate the birth of Francisco Morazán), Christmas, El Dia de Lempira on July 20,^[10] and New Year's Eve. Honduras Independence Day festivities start early in the morning with marching bands. Each band wears different colors and features cheerleaders. Fiesta Catracha takes place this same day: typical Honduran foods such as beans, tamales, baleadas, yucca with chicharron, and tortillas are offered. On Christmas Eve, the people reunite with their families and close friends to have dinner, then give out presents at midnight. In some cities fireworks are seen and heard at midnight. On New Year's Eve there is food and "cohetes" or fireworks. Birthdays are also great events, and include the famous “piñata” which is filled with candies and surprises for the children invited. La Feria Isidra is celebrated in La Ceiba in the end of May A city located in the coast. It is usually called "The Friendship Carnaval". People from all over the world come for one week of festivities. Every night there is a little carnaval (carnavalito) in a neighborhood. Finally, on Saturday there is a big parade with floats and displays with people from Brazil, New Orleans, Japan, Jamaica, Barbados and many other countries. This celebration is also accompanied by the Milk Fair, where many Hondurans come to show of their farm products and animals.

Tela is a popular beach destination for Hondurans on holidays

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Folklore

Legends and stories are paramount within the Honderus culture, Lluvia de Peces (Fish Rain) n example of this. The legend of El Cadejo and La Ciguanaba (La Sucia) are also popular.

During the 1960s-70s and through mid 80s Honduras Radio Noticias (HRN), a local Honduran radio, was the only one which transmitted these folklore stories. The program was called "Cuentos y Leyendas de Honduras". This show was responsible for the diffusion of the folk stories in the country.

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Sports

Football (soccer), is the most popular sport in Honduras. Information on teams, competitions and players is available in the following articles:

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See also

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Bibliography

Adventures in Nature: Honduras; James D. Gollin
Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks From The Heart: The Story of Elvia Alvarado; Medea Benjamin
Honduras: The Making of a Banana Republic; Alison Acker
Honduras: State for Sale; Richard Lapper, James Painter
Inside Honduras; Kent Norsworthy and Tom Berry
La Mosquitia: A Guide to the Savannas, Rain Forest and Turtle Hunters; Derek Parent
Moon Handbooks: Honduras; Christopher Humphrey
Reinterpreting the Banana Republic: Region and State in Honduras, 1870-1972; Dario A. Euraque
Seven Names for the Bellbird: Conservation Geography in Honduras; Mark Bonta
Ulysses Travel Guide: Honduras; Eric Ilamovitch
The United States in Honduras, 1980-1981: An Ambassador's Memoir; Jack R. Binns
The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969; Thomas P. Anderson