Honduras is the second biggest country in Central America. It has colonial villages (Gracias, Comayagua), ancient Maya ruins (Copan), natural parks (Moskitia), and Pacific and Caribbean Sea coastline, and the Bay Islands, with great beaches and coral reefs where snorkeling and diving is a must. The country is neighbored by Guatemala to the northwest, El Salvador to the west and Nicaragua to the southeast.

Regions

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Caribbean Honduras

Inland Honduras

Pacific Honduras

Cities

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Tegucigalpa - The capital and largest city of Honduras (1.5 million). It has international airport and offers connections by plane to San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, the door to the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast.

La Ceiba - The door to the Caribbean Coast and the Bay Island. Great beaches, and daily ferries to either Utila and Roatan, where snorkeling and diving is a must.

Comayagua - The former capital of the country is today a quiet colonial town with a beautiful cathedral and historical town center.

Gracias - This nice colonial mountain town hosts Parque Celaque in which the highest mountain of Honduras and a wonderful cloud forest can be found.

Omoa- A small beachfront town with Spanish colonial fortress to the west of Puerto Cortés.

Puerto Cortes - The main harbour of Honduras in the Caribbean Coast

Puerto Lempira- Departamental capital of Gracias a Dios.

San Lorenzo - The main harbour of the whole Central America in the Pacific Coast. Close to Amapala, the historical port based in the Isla del Tigre.

Tela - Turistic city about 1 hour from San Pedro Sula has beautiful coastline.

Trujillo - This is where Columbus first set foot on mainland America, founded in 1525, overlooking a beautiful bay with nice beaches against mountainous backdrop with nature reserve.

San Pedro Sula - Second city and industrial center in the north of the country. It has international airport and is close by car to Tela and La Ceiba, the door to the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast.

Santa Rosa de Copán - This city is in the western part of the country, not to be confused with Copán Ruinas (the town, one of the most toursity in Honduras) nor with the actual ruins of Copán.

Other destinations

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Bay Islands - Utila, Roatán, Guanaja, and the Hog Islands. A natural paradise in the Caribbean Sea where snorkeling and diving is a must.

Copán - One of the most impressive ruins of the Maya civilization, known for the quality of its sculpture.

Lake Yojoa - The biggest lake in Honduras. It used to be a great spot for fishing but today is too contaminated.

Understand

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Honduras is a poor country where tourism is still underdeveloped. Good amenities can be found in cities like Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba but elsewhere conditions can be primitive, especially in the rural areas. You can find good hotels even in small towns if you are willing to pay a bit more (Honduras is not really an expensive country). Nevertheless a visit is worthwhile, especially to the ancient Maya ruins in Copán, the colonial towns of Gracias and Comayagua and the fantastic Caribbean Coast.

Climate
Subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains. Natural hazards: extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast. However, the last damaging hurricane was in 1998. The small Pacific coast region is susceptible to j

Terrain
Mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains. Has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast. Experiences frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes. Highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 meters.

History
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation on 15 September 1821.

After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras was a haven for the Reagan-sponsored anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.

The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage, affecting seriously the development of the country and its main infrastructures.

Get in

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By plane

Major international airports with daily flights to Miami and New York are in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa (Toncontin) and Roatan. The main international airlines serving the region are TACA, Copa Air, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, and American Airlines. Iberia, Spain operates daily flights from Madrid to San Pedro Sula via Guatemala City (connecting with Taca). For interior flights check Isleña, Atlantic and Aerolinas Sosa. Note that the interior domestic airlines frequently have flight cancellations, do not gaurantee service, and are under no obligation to issue refunds if a flight does not occur. However, American carriers and their internaitonal code share partners listed above gaurantee travel per U.S. industry standards. Hence, it is advisable not to rely on a domestic carrier to connect to an outbound international flight without having an alternative means to get to the departure point of the foreign bound aircraft in a timely fashion. For instance, if a flight cancellation occurs in La Cieba headed to San Pedro Sula due to insufficient ticket sales (a common occurance), a taxi can be hired for a $50-$100 spot price to run the distance in under two and a half hours.

By car
Possible from Guatemala, El Salvador, or Nicaragua. Cars are a good selection, but you must always be careful since the roads are not as well developed but good enough to have a pleasant ride. Traffic enforcement outside of stops to curtail the drug trade is minimal to non-existant, and drivers should be cautious of speeding vehicles as well as agressive driving tactics (e.g. passing on uphill, curved terrain).

By bus
From Guatemala - Tica Bus and Hedmann Alas
From Nicaragua - Tica Bus and King Quality
From El Salvador - Tica Bus and King Quality

By boat
Boats from Belize come in to the Caribbean ports like Puerto Cortes, but schedules are not regular and cannot be checked through the internet. Cruise ships commonly stop at the Bay Islands, however.

There is regular boat service from La Ceiba to the bay islands of Roatan and Utila.

Service to Roatan is on the Galaxy Wave II. The ferry trip costs less than flying, and leaves (mostly) on time. A round-trip prima class ticket costs $53; round-trip general class, $43. Both prima and general seating areas are comfortable and offer air conditioning and flat-screen TVs for your entertainment. The crossing takes about 80 minutes each way.

Service to Utila is on the Utila Princess. Tickets cost about $30 round trip and the crossing takes about 60 minutes.

Both ferries leave from the same dock. You should arrive at the dock in La Ceiba about an hour early to buy tickets and check luggage. **If traveling to the bay islands during Semana Santa (Easter week) it is highly recommended to fly, as the wait for a ferry can be up to 8 hours.

FERRY SCHEDULES
THE GALAXY II DEPARTUE TIMES: Roatan - La Ceiba 7:00 A.M.; La Ceiba - Roatan 10 A.M.;
Roatan - La Ceiba 1:00 P.M.; La Ceiba - Roatan 4:00 P.M.
THE NEW PRINCESS DEPARTURE TIMES:
Utila - La Ceiba 6:20 A.M.;
La Ceiba - Utila 9:30 A.M.;
Utila - La Ceiba 2:00 P.M.;
La Ceiba - Utila 4:00 P.M.

By thumb
Hitchhiking is possible in Honduras, although it might be tricky to leave larger cities because its hard to find the right local bus without good area knowledge.

In rural areas the driver sometimes might expect you to pay him. This should rarely be more than 2 USD (40 L).

Hitchhiking is common in rural areas, even for single women, when there is no proper bus connection.

Talk

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Spanish is the primary language spoken. English is hardly spoken outside of the biggest towns or Bay Islands. In some areas such as Utila, Spanish and English have hybridized in the context of low educational attainment to produce a pidgin tongue that can at times be indecipherable even to native speakers of both languages. Native languages (Lenca, Miskitu, Garifuna, among others) are spoken in various parts of the country.

Buy

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Handicrafts - Honduras is famous for its Lenca ceramics and cotton sock manufacturing.

If visiting San Pedro Sula, be sure to visit El Mercado Guamilito. You will find many wonderful and cheap handicrafts like hand carved wooden boxes, Lencan pottery, hammocks, paintings, leather products from Nicaragua, and beautiful hand-woven fabrics from Guatemala.

Eat

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The Honduran "Plato tipico" is the most famous lunch. It consists of rice, beef, fried beans (frijolitos), and fried bananas (tajaditas). If you are lucky, it will also come with chimol, a fresh, non-spicy salsa made of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cilantro and lime juice.

Baleadas are a Honduran original. A baleada sencilla (simple) consists of a thick flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese (queso), and a type of cream similar to sour cream but not sour (crema or mantequilla). A baleada especial usually also comes with eggs in it and you can sometimes get avacado or even meat.

Other choices are tacos and enchiladas, though don't expect them to be like those in Mexico. The tacos are meat rolled in a corn tortilla and deep fried. The enchiladas are a flat fried corn tortilla topped with ground beef, cheese and a red sauce.

In the big cities, there are also plenty of chains from the U.S. like Pizza Hut, Applebees, TGI Fridays, and all the burger and fried chicken joints you can think of.

Drink

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National beers: Salvavida, Port Royal, Imperial and the newest Barena

Coffee is great, and the brands from Copan are usually the best. Welches is considered to be the best by many locals.

Taste Central American rum Flor de Caña (from Nicaragua)

Great "licuados" -fruit juices and milk shakes- (mango, piña, watermelon, banana, etc.)

Stay safe

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Take special care at night. It is common from time to time for a foreigner to be robbed on the streets of Tegucigalpa at night. Thieves will stake out areas in front of tourist hotels, especially the Hotel Maya in Tegucigalpa. Crime is getting higher, especially in tourist areas. The best tip is not to risk yourself by walking through the poor parts of any towns or taking public transportion. You should cooperate with burglars if one is being robbed. This problem is mainly in big cities. In small towns, robbery is not a great issue. On main cities be sure to never be walking alone (especially at night), but it is definitely better to avoid walking in large cities. The best solution is to travel by car. It is also very important to know that there are parts of the city especially dangerous, and parts which are relatively safe (always ask people).Note, that the situation is completely different in smaller towns. This is type of issues are mainly common on Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and a bit less in La Ceiba. Ask local people about which places are safe and which are not, and follow their advice.

The murder rate in Honduras is 53.0 per 100,000 population. In comparison, the murder rate in the U.S.A. is 5.6 per 100,000.

Stay healthy

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Purified water is used in big-city hotels and restaurants, but bottled water is definitely recommended for outlying areas.

Malaria occurs in rural areas, Roatán and other Bay Islands.

Dengue fever is endemic in both urban and rural areas.

It is not recommended to buy much food in the streets (people who are selling food just by the sidewalk). Remember Honduran food can be spicy too, so be careful if you are not used to it.

Many travel agencies and different places will tell you that Honduras is a dangerous country concerning illnesses, this is not true. People are just as ill all over Latin America (nothing out of what is normal), just take the necessary precautions. HIV is a problem in Honduras so be careful as you would in your own country.

Carry a first aid kit and have contact phone numbers with you.

If hiking or spending significant time in the great outdoors, be prepared for a wide range of natural threats and nuisances including snakes, spiders, scorpions, and mosquitoes. On the upswing, however, you can actually pick fruit off the trees.

Respect

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Follow the golden rule but do not be duped by the "culture of need". The Hondurans are very friendly but many are poor and uneducated. Demonstrate grace and respect but maintain your awareness.

Cope

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Electricity is 110V/60Hz, as in the United States and Canada, however three-prong grounded plugs are not as common, so two-prong adapters come in handy.



Honduras (IPA: hɑnˈduːrəs, in Spanish: República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize). The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea.

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Etymology

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The Spanish used at least three different terms to refer to the area that became the Central American country of Honduras.

Guaymuras - a name Columbus provided for a town near modern Trujillo. Las Casas subsequently generalized it to apply to the whole colony.

Higueras - a reference to the gourds that come from the Jicaro tree, many of which were found floating in the waters off the northwest coast of Honduras.

Honduras - literally "depths" in Spanish. Columbus is traditionally quoted as having written Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas Honduras (English: "Thank God we have come out of those depths") while along the northeastern coast of Honduras.

History

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Archaeologists have demonstrated that Honduras had a rich, multi-ethnic prehistory. An important part of that prehistory was the Mayan presence around the city of Copán in western Honduras, near the Guatemalan border. Here a major Mayan city flourished during the classic period (150-900). It has many beautiful carved inscriptions and stelae. The ancient kingdom, named Xukpi, existed from the fifth century to the early ninth century, with antecedents going back to at least the second century. The Mayan civilization began a marked decline in the ninth century, but there is evidence of people still living in and around the city until at least 1200. By the time the Spanish came to Honduras, the once great city-state of Copán was overrun by the jungle, and the Lencas, not the Mayans, were the main Amerindian people living in western Honduras.
On his fourth and final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus reached the Bay Islands on the coast of Honduras. Landing near the modern town of Trujillo, in the vicinity of the Guaimoreto Lagoon. After the Spanish discovery, Honduras became part of Spain's vast empire in the New World within the Kingdom of Guatemala. Trujillo and Gracias were the first city-capitals. The Spanish ruled what would become Honduras for approximately three centuries.

Honduras declared independence from Spain on September 15 1821 with the rest of the Central American provinces. In 1822 the Central American State was annexed to the newly declared Mexican Empire of Iturbide. The Iturbide Empire was overthrown in 1823 and Central America separated from it, forming the Federal Republic of Central America, which disintegrated in 1838. As a result the states of the republic became independent nations.

Silver mining was a key factor in the Spanish conquest and settlement of Honduras, but has been only a minor part of the national economy in recent years. The American-owned Rosario Mining Company was a major gold and silver producer, but shut down its large mine at San Juancito in 1954.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Honduras joined the Allied Nations on December 8, 1941. Less than a month later, on the first day of 1942, Honduras, along with twenty-five other governments, signed the Declaration by United Nations.

In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought what would become known as The Football War. There had been border tension between the two countries after Oswaldo López Arellano, a former president of Honduras, blamed the poor economy on the large number of immigrants from El Salvador. From that point on the relationship between El Salvador and Honduras was acrimonious. It reached a low when El Salvador met Honduras for a three-round football elimination match as a preliminary to the World Cup. Tensions escalated, and on July 14 1969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire which took effect on July 20, and brought about a withdrawal of Salvadoran troops in early August.

Contributing factors in the conflict were a boundary dispute and the presence of thousands of Salvadorans living in Honduras illegally. After the week-long war football war in July 1969, many Salvadoran families and workers were expelled. El Salvador had agreed on a truce to settle the boundary issue, but Honduras later paid war damage costs for expelled refugees.

During the 1980s, the United States established a very large military presence in Honduras with the purpose of supporting the illegally US funded anti-Sandinista Contras fighting the Nicaraguan government, and to support the El Salvador military fighting against the FMLN guerrillas. The U.S. built the airbase known as Palmerola, near Comayagua, with a 10,000 foot runway so that C5-A cargo planes could land there, rather than at the public airport in San Pedro Sula. The U.S. also built a training base near Trujillo which primarily trained Contras and the Salvadoran military, and in conjunction with this, developed Puerto Castillo into a modern port. The United States built many airstrips near the Nicaraguan border to help move supplies to the Contra forces fighting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged a campaign against leftists which included extra judicial killings and forced disappearances of political opponents by government-backed death squads, most notably Battalion 316.

Hurricane Fifi caused severe damage while skimming the northern coast of Honduras on September 18 and 19, 1974.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused such massive and widespread loss that former Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores claimed that fifty years of progress in the country were reversed. Mitch obliterated about 70% of the crops and an estimated 70-80% of the transportation infrastructure, including nearly all bridges and secondary roads. Across the country, 33,000 houses were destroyed, an additional 50,000 damaged, some 5,000 people killed, 12,000 injured, and total loss estimated at $3 billion USD.

Politics

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A Presidential and General Election was held on November 27, 2005. Manuel Zelaya of the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras: PLH) won, with Porfirio Pepe Lobo of the National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras: PNH) coming in second. The PNH challenged the election results, and Lobo Sosa did not concede until December 7. Towards the end of December, the government finally released the total ballot count, giving Zelaya the official victory. Zelaya was inaugurated as Honduras' new president on January 27, 2006. His government has generally been considered fragile and he does not hold a majority in the National Congress. His first year in office has been dominated by trying to lessen the cost of procuring oil for the country.

Honduras has five registered political parties: PNH, PLH, Social Democrats (Partido Innovación Nacional y Social Demócrata: PINU-SD), Social Christians (Partido Demócrata-Cristiano: DC), and Democrat Unification (Partido Unificación Democrática: UD). The PNH and PLH have ruled the country for decades. In the last years, Honduras has had five Liberal presidents: Roberto Suazo Córdova, José Azcona del Hoyo, Carlos Roberto Reina, Carlos Roberto Flores and Manuel Zelaya, and two Nationalists: Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero and Ricardo Maduro. The elections have been full of controversies, including questions about whether Azcona was born in Honduras or Spain, and whether Maduro should have been able to stand given he was born in Panama.

In 1963, a military coup was mounted against the democratically-elected president Villeda Morales and a military junta established which held power until 1981. In this year Suazo Córdova (LPH) was elected president and Honduras changed from a military authoritarian regime to an electoral democracy.

In 1986, there were five Liberal candidates and four Nationalists running for president. Because no one candidate obtained a clear majority, the so-called "Formula B" was invoked and Azcona del Hoyo became president. In 1990, Callejas won the election under the slogan "Llegó el momento del Cambio," (English "The time for change has arrived"), which was heavily criticized for resembling El Salvador's "ARENAs" political campaign. Once in office, Callejas Romero gained a reputation for illicit enrichment, and has been the subject of several scandals and accusations. It was during Flores Facusse's mandate that Hurricane Mitch hit the country and decades of economic growth were eradicated in less than a week.

Beginning in 2004, separate ballots were used for mayors, congress, and presidents; 2005 witnessed an increase in the number of registered candidates.

Although the Nationalist and Liberal parties are distinct entities with their own dedicated band of supporters, some have pointed out that their interests and policy measures throughout the twenty-five years of uninterrupted democracy have been very similar. They are often characterized as primarily serving the interests of their own members, who receive jobs when their party gains power and lose them again when the other party is elected. Both are seen as supportive of the elite that owns most of the wealth in the country, while neither extensively promotes socialist ideals. In many ways Honduras resembles a democratic version of an old socialist state, with price controls and nationalized electric and land-line telephone services.

President Maduro's administration did "de-nationalize" the telecommunications sector in a move to promote the rapid diffusion of these services to the Honduran population. As of November 2005, there were around 10 private-sector telecommunications companies in the Honduran market, including two mobile phone companies.

Departments and municipalities

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The largest department by surface area is Olancho department and by population is Cortes department, where San Pedro Sula, the commercial capital of the country is located, and the smallest by both surface area and population is the Islas de la Bahía department.

Atlántida Choluteca Colón Comayagua Copán Cortés El Paraíso Francisco Morazán Gracias a Dios

Intibucá Islas de la Bahía La Paz Lempira Ocotepeque Olancho Santa Bárbara Valle Yoro

The departments are divided into municipalities, which are further subdivided into aldeas.

Geography

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Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea on the north coast and the Pacific Ocean on the south through the Gulf of Fonseca. The climate varies from tropical in the lowlands to temperate in the mountains. The central and southern regions are relatively hotter and less humid than the northern coast.

The Honduran territory consists mainly of mountains (~81%), but there are narrow plains along the coasts, a large undeveloped lowland jungle La Mosquitia region in the northeast, and the heavily populated lowland San Pedro Sula valley in the northwest. In La Mosquitia lies the UNESCO-world heritage site Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, with the Coco River which divides the country from Nicaragua.

Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, shrimp, and hydropower.

The Islas de la Bahía and the Swan Islands are part of Honduras. Misteriosa Bank and Rosario Bank, 130 to 150 km north of the Swan Islands, falls within the EEZ of Honduras.

Economy

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Honduras is the poorest country in Central America and second poorest in the Western Hemisphere with GDP per capita at US$3,000 per year (2006).
The economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized with average wages remaining very low. Economic growth in the last few years has averaged 5% a year, but 50% of the population still remain below the poverty line. It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million people who are unemployed, the rate of unemployment standing at 27.9%. In June of 2007 the exchange rate between United States Dollars and Honduran Lempiras was approximately 1 to 18.89.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund classify Honduras as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries eligible for debt relief, which was given in 2005.

Both the electricity services (ENEE) and land-line telephone services (HONDUTEL) have been operated by government agencies, with the ENEE receiving heavy subsidies because of chronic financial problems. HONDUTEL, however, is no longer a monopoly, the telecommunication sector having been opened to private-sector companies after December 25 2005; this was one of the requirements before approving the beginning of CAFTA. There are price controls on petrol, and other temporary price controls for basic commodities are often passed for short periods by the Congress.

After years of declining against the U.S. dollar the Lempira has stabilized at around 19 Lempiras per dollar.

In 2005 Honduras signed the CAFTA (Free Trade Agreement with USA). In December 2005, Honduras' main seaport Puerto Cortes was included in the U.S. Container Security Initiative.

On December 7 2006, the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Energy (DOE) announced the first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative, an unprecedented effort to build upon existing port security measures by enhancing the U.S. federal government’s ability to scan containers for nuclear and radiological materials overseas and to better assess the risk of inbound containers. The initial phase of Secure Freight involves the deployment of a combination of existing technology and proven nuclear detection devices to six foreign ports: Port Qasim in Pakistan; Puerto Cortes in Honduras; Southampton in the United Kingdom; Port Salalah in Oman; Port of Singapore; and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in Korea. Beginning in early 2007, containers from these ports will be scanned for radiation and information risk factors before they are allowed to depart for the United States.
Environment

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Honduras is part of Mesoamerica. The region is considered a biodiversity hotspot due to the numerous plant and animal species that can be found there. Like other countries in the region, Honduras contains vast biological resources. This 43,278 square mile (112,092 km²) country hosts more than 6,000 species of vascular plants, of which 630 (described so far) are Orchids; around 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 700 bird species, and 110 mammal species, half of them being bats.

In the northeastern region of La Mosquitia lies the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a lowland rainforest which is home to a great diversity of life. Sometimes called "The Last Lungs of Central America", this Reserve was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1982.

Honduras has rain forests, cloud forests (which can rise up to nearly three thousand meters above sea level), mangroves, savannas and mountain ranges with pine and oak trees, and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. In the Bay Islands there are bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, parrot fish, schools of blue tang and whale shark.

Demographics

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The population of Honduras is 7.1 million. 90% of the population is Mestizo, 7 % Amerindian , 2% black and 1% white according to the CIA World Factbook.

90% of the Honduran population is Mestizo (a mixture of Amerindian and European) having more predominantily Amerindian features, except along the northern coast where, until recently, communities of English speakers maintained a somewhat distinct culture. This is primarily because some islands and some Caribbean coastal areas were occupied by pirates and by the British at one time or another.

7% of the Honduran population consist of diverse indigenous groups. The Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras (CONPAH) counts seven different indigenous groups, among these the Afro-Caribbean and Garífuna groups which are not Amerindian:

the Ch'orti', a Mayan group living in the southwest on the border with Guatemala;

the Garifuna speaking a Carib 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 in the Department of Yoro and in the reserve of the Montaña de la Flor;

the Lenca Indians living in the Valle and Choluteca departments;

the Miskito Indians living on the eastern coastline 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 190,000 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. Asians mostly of Chinese descent, and to a lesser extent Japanese. Korean, Ryukyuan, Filipino and Vietnamese also make up a small percent due to their arrival to Honduras as contract laborers in the 1980s and 1990s. There is also an estimated 1000 Sumos (or Mayangnas) that live in Honduras, the majority of which 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, Hindu, Bahá'í, Rastafari and indigenous denominations and religions exist. Evangelicalism in particular is increasing in popularity.

Language
The Spanish language is predominant, while (pidgin) English is spoken in the Caribbean Islas de la Bahia Department, but nonetheless is slowly being superseded. Some Indigenous Amerindian languages such as Miskito, Pech, Jicaque, Sumu and Garifuna are also spoken. Spanish is becoming more popular in areas where it was not widely spoken, due to efforts by the government, including making Spanish the language of education.

Diaspora

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Since 1975, emigration from Honduras has accelerated as job-seekers and political refugees sought an allegedly 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.

Culture

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The most renowned Honduran painter is Jose Antonio Velasquez. 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, Francisco Carranza and Camilo Rivera Guevara.

Hondurans are often referred to as Catracho or Catracha (fem) in Spanish. The word is derived 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.

Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga is a Cardinal who was a potential candidate for Pope in the Papal Conclave, 2005. Salvador Moncada is a world-renowned scientist who has authored over twelve oft-cited papers, including work on nitric oxide. His research on heart-related drugs includes the development of Viagra. Moncada works at the University College of London and funds an NGO in Tegucigalpa. He is married to Princess Maria-Esmeralda of Belgium.

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.

Three important Honduran journalists who work in the United States are Neida Sandoval and Satcha Pretto, Univision, in Miami, Florida; and Dunia Elvir, Telemundo, in Los Angeles, California.

Some notable Hondurans in entertainment include Renán Almendárez Coello, the radio host of El Cucuy de la Mañana ("The Bogeyman of the Morning") on KLAX-FM in Los Angeles, California, the famed America Ferrera from the ABC comedy Ugly Betty, and Carlos Mencia from Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia who was born in San Pedro Sula.

Celebrations

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The most popular events are: Honduras Independence Day on September 15, Day of the Child or Dia del Niño, 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. Other holidays are Easter, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Christmas, 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 who dance all over the streets. 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, people gather with their families and close friends to have dinner, then give out presents 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.

Folklore

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Honduras is a country full of folklore, its famous Lluvia de Peces (Fish Rain) being a good example. The legend of El Cadejo and La Ciguanaba(La Sucia) are also popular. Giovanni "Giovanello Von Bismarck" Bardales has played a fundamental role in the spread and development of folkloric dances in Honduras.
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. The show was canceled due to low ratings and has been recently restarted.

Sports

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

Honduras' Football Federation

Honduras national football team

:Category:Honduran football clubs

:Category:Honduran football competitions

:Category:Honduran footballers

:Category:Football venues in Honduras

Facts

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Honduras is home to the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest in the world.

Bay Islands, Honduras is one of the few places were you can swim with the largest fish in the world, the whale shark.

Honduras boasts the oldest functioning clock in the Americas; built by the Moors in the twelfth Century, it was transferred to the Cathedral of Comayagua in 1636.

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

The country once had Communist sympathizers, which, as in El Salvador, became a political party. This communist party no longer exists.

Honduras is considered one of the most violent countries in Central America. At one point, murders reached a ratio of 154 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the USA which has the still high rate of 4.8 per 100,000.

Bibliography

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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

External links

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La Prensa - Honduras newspaper

El Tiempo - Honduras newspaper

La Tribuna - Honduras newspaper

El Heraldo - Honduras newspaper

Rural poverty in Honduras (IFAD)

Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros

Secretaria de Cultura, Artes y Deportes - Portal de Secretaria de Cultura, Artes y Deportes.

Portal Gubernamental - Government portal

Information about Honduran wildlife

Honduras This Week Wikipedia article is Honduras This Week

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Honduras

La Ceiba Botanical Garden photos

Honduras Scuba Diving photos

HRN la voz De Honduras Honduras Radio Station