History

Mayan Indians came to Western Honduras 3000 years ago and established Xukpi as their capital. It was abandoned in 150-190 AD for unknown reasons and today is known as Copán. In 1502 Columbus, on his last voyage, reached the Honduran coast during a storm and said, gracias a dios hemos salido de estas honduras (thank God we have gotten out of these depths).

Honduras gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. In 1823 they joined the Federation of United Provinces of Central America until 1838 when they became fully independent.

Their history has been largely problematic. Since Honduras declared independence from Spain in 1821, it has been involved in almost 300 internal rebellions, civil wars, and changes of government - more than half occurring during the 20th century. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule in the late 1960’s through the 1970’s and a Soccer War with El Salvador in 1969, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982 and has persisted. Today Honduras is a constitutional republic. The current president, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, was elected in November 2005.

Today their main efforts are recovery from the $5 billion damage from hurricane Mitch which devastated the country in 1998, killing 13,000 and leaving two million people homeless.

Country

Honduras is the second largest Central American country with land area roughly equal to Tennessee (45,000 sq. miles). It is bordered on the northwest by Guatemala, on the southwest by El Salvador, and on the southeast by Nicaragua. They are located in the Central Time Zone (same as Chicago).

Honduras is a mountainous country, with ranges from 3,000 to 9,000 feet in altitude covering 80% of the nation. Though fertile valleys and plateaus lie between the mountains and in the coastal areas, it is estimated that only 15 percent of the landmass is arable. About 45 percent of the land is covered with forest.

The prevailing climate pattern is characterized by a wet season from May through October and a dry season from November to April.

Tegucigalpa is the capital with 875,000 people. The other 7.1 million people live throughout the country - 60 to 80 percent of which are in poverty. The UN Health Density Index for Honduras is .667, second lowest in the Western Hemisphere and number 116 of 180 nations overall. Hondurans can be called catrachos or catrachas, which originates from the name of general Xatruch, leader against the North American invasion of 1857.

Ten Lempira

Honduran boy

Culture

Honduran society is a mixture of Hispanic and Indian (mestizo) traditions rapidly being influenced by Western values. The extended family is the basic social unit and kinship ties are strong. The population of Honduras is 90 percent mestizo. Other groups include Amerindians, black Caribs (Garifuna) along the north coast, and small minority of Europeans, Chinese and Arabs.

Spanish is universally spoken although minority groups also speak Garifuna and some indigenous dialects. Most Hondurans are Roman Catholics; however other Christian denominations have been enjoying greater acceptance in recent years.

Futbol (soccer) is by far the most important past-time in Honduras. Great players are considered national heroes. Popular clubs include  Marathon, Motagua, Olimpia and Real CD España.

Food is typically plantains, rice and bean make of the diet of the majority of Hondurans. Tortillas filled with meat, beans and cheese are called baleadas. Another dish made with friend dough and cheese or meat is called a pupusa. Fried chicken with chopped cabbage is a favorite special dish.

Every year during Semana Santa carpets are handmade from colored saw dust. Once complete religious processions walk over and destroy them.

information adapted from Wikipedia and The Peace Corps