Alegría, El Salvador facts for kids
Alegría is a town and a municipality in the Usulután department of El Salvador. It's a cool and interesting place to visit!
About Alegría
Alegría is located high up, about 1,200 meters (nearly 4,000 feet) above sea level. Because of its cool climate, many plant nurseries grow here. These nurseries specialize in beautiful tropical flowers like birds of paradise, anthuriums, orchids, and different kinds of bromelias.
The town is very famous for its volcanic lake, called the Alegría Laguna. This lake is a special protected area, looked after by a group called ADESCAM. There's a local story that a siren or mermaid lives in the lake. The myth says she might try to lure men who swim there to their deaths. One of the small villages that belongs to Alegría is called El Zapotillo.
Laguna Alegría: The Emerald Lake
In the Sierra of Chinameca mountains, there's an important volcano called Tecapa. It's about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Usulután and just 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) south of Alegría. The top of Tecapa volcano is 1,603 meters (5,259 feet) high. It has a large, oval-shaped crater. At the bottom of this crater, there's a small lake with yellow-greenish water. This color comes from the sulfur deposits around it.
This lake is one of the most beautiful spots in El Salvador. It used to be called Tecapa, just like the volcano. But more recently, people started calling it "Laguna de Alegría" because it's right next to the town of Alegría. The lake has hot springs and steam vents, especially on its northwest side. You can even drive around the lake on a special road! In the ancient Nahuatl language, the name Tecapa means "Lagoon of stones."
On the slopes of the Tecapa volcano, to the north, you can find more hot springs and steam vents. Some of these are called Bufadero, Tronador, Tronadorcito, Loma China, and El Pinar.
Laguna de Alegría is also known as "America's Emerald." This nickname was given to it by Gabriela Mistral, a famous writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945.
History of Alegría
In the park of Alegría, there is a statue honoring a teacher named Presbytery José Miguel Alegría. He was a great Latin professor who started a philosophy school in the town of Tecapa around 1838. Because of a law passed on February 17, 1891, the town of Tecapa was officially renamed "Alegría" in his honor. This famous professor's body is buried in the crypt of the town's church.
The current church building in Alegría started being built on August 26, 1870. Alegría is also the hometown of another important Salvadoran teacher and thinker, don Alberto Masferrer.
Images for kids
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The church in Alegría, Usulután.
See Also
In Spanish: Alegría (El Salvador) para niños
