Municipality of Goascorán
Goascorán is a municipality in the Department of Valle of Honduras.
Etymology
The name Goascorán comes from the word Uaxcayan, which means «houses of Guajes.» Guajes refers to a species of legume native to the area. There is a bird species that reflects the onomatopoeia of GOASCO in its song, which gave rise to the name GOASCORAN. In the past, many raptor bird species came to build their nests in the lush foliage of the coastal areas in the Gulf of Fonseca, including a bird species known as Guas.
History
The town of Goascorán was founded in a place called «Playa Grande del Guayabal,» now known as «Costa de los Amates,» in 1686. Its population consisted of indigenous people. Due to incursions by English pirates in the area, it was decided by the General Captaincy of Guatemala to search for a more central location, and the town was relocated to a place called San Jerónimo.
Even in San Jerónimo, the incursions continued, prompting the inhabitants to move to the current location. In 1971, it became the head of the Curato de Goascorán and was one of the settlements that were part of Comayagua in the first political division of 1825.
Goascorán is one of the few municipalities in Honduras that is the legitimate owner of its land. It has private titles that were purchased from the Spanish Crown. These titles served as evidence of territorial legitimacy during the dispute over the Bolsón de Goascorán with the Republic of El Salvador in the Inter-American Court of The Hague in the Netherlands in 1991.
- It has an approximate population of 16,000 people engaged in agriculture and livestock farming, living in the different villages and hamlets that make up the municipality.
- It has 31 schools and a technical accounting institute for diversified education.
- It has a river that bears the same name, serving as a border between Honduras and El Salvador.
- It has a beautiful park located in the center of the community.
- In the village of Costa de los Amates, watermelon and melon are cultivated for export purposes.
Public Offices
Notable institutions include the municipal town hall, National Registry of Persons (RNP), a Cooperative Savings and Credit agency, a school, an elementary school, and a kindergarten.
It also has one of the most important borders in the country, the El Amatillo border between Honduras and El Salvador, located about 6 kilometers from the center of the community, which is one of the main sources of employment in the area.
Public Services
Postal service, electricity, potable water, clinic, Red Cross, police, telephone, telegraph, sewage, internet, transportation service, and exotic animals in the park.
Notable Figures
- Licenciado Carlos Céleo Arias Lope, President of the Republic of Honduras.
- General Policarpo Paz García, Head of State 1978-1980 and later President of Honduras 1980-1982.
Website
www.migoascoran.com Official Website of Goascorán Valle.
