San Juancito, Honduras
Encyclopedia
San Juancito is a small pueblo in central Honduras
, located 40 kilometers northeast of Tegucigalpa
, the nation's capital. The town is in the department of Francisco Morazán
. Including the dependent hamlets of Nuevo Rosario, Guacamaya, and Plan Grande, the population totals at about 1400. Its central neighborhood is depicted on the back of the 500 Lempira bill.
While its history is linked to mining, its current importance lies in that it is located within the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park
, a cloud forest
ecosystem
and Honduras' first national park. The park is a huge watershed
, providing water for over a half million people in the capital; San Juancito is located on the northern side of the La Tigra, and has had paved access since 2003. It is the lesser-visited of the park's two entrances (the other being at Jutiapa, on the southwestern side of the park).
In the late 19th century, mining activities were revived but on a much larger and highly organized scale. President Marco Aurelio Soto
advertised the mineral wealth of San Juancito, with the intention of attracting foreign investment. In 1880, Julius Valentine, of New York City
founded the New York and Honduras Rosario Mining Company, exchanging 50% of the Company's stock for the mining rights of the El Rosario deposits at San Juancito which were owned by Soto. Because of this, San Juancito may have played a role in the relocation of the nation's capital from Comayagua
to Tegucigalpa
in 1880. While popular myth holds that the capital was moved because of the unwillingness on the part of the Comayaguan elite to accept President Soto's indigenous wife into their social circles, the true motive behind the move was related to his business investments and the development of southern Honduras.
Between 1880 and 1954 the company extracted gold and silver from veins in the mountainside, most of which was destined for the United States. Julius Valentine's son, Washington Valentine soon took over his father's post and became the figurehead of the corporation, as well as the human manifestation of all that it represented to the local population. At the onset of operations the Honduran government provided the Company with generous financial incentives, operating with essentially no tax burdens, shipping gold and silver to the US but by 1895 the Company suffered setbacks from declining silver prices, significant tax burdens and acute labor shortages. The company imported heavy machinery from the United States and was granted timber and water rights in the countryside. The timber harvests were utilized for housing construction and mine tunnel support and the water rights permitted for the development of the Country's first hydroelectric power. The result of this was incredibly rapid growth that meant that by 1888, the mines were far and away the most powerful economic interest in Honduras.
During its heyday, technological advancements came to San Juancito before any town in Honduras. The first light bulb in Honduras flickered on in San Juancito as a result of the hydroelectric plant built by the mining company, also a national first. The first cinema in all of Central and South America was built in San Juancito. as well as the nation's first telegraph. Pepsi built the first bottling plant in all of Central America here, and a fully operating American Consulate was erected by the mining company's headquarters at over 1600 meters (5300 feet) above sea-level. In the early 20th century, San Juancito had a population of 44,000, roughly equaling that of Tegucigalpa at the time, and was a major trading center in Central America
.
Life in San Juancito during its mining days was highly segregated. The minority of foreign staff personnel lived in an established camp near the mining headquarters and the majority Honduran population lived down below in San Juancito proper. Everything from dance-halls to schools, sporting clubs, and graveyards. The Honduran miners were well paid by local standards and enjoyed the benefits of schools and the hospital established by the Company.
In 1954, due to the exhaustion of mineral reserves, which coincided with a national labor movement, and new mine development at El Mochito, Las Vegas, Sta. Barbara, El Rosario mine ceased operations and left San Juancito. With the company went the vast majority of the town's inhabitants, as it was the only major source of labor in the region; many of the El Rosario miners were subsequently employed at El Mochito.
In 1980 Honduras declared La Tigra as the nation's first National Park
and San Juancito found itself located within the buffer zone at one of the two designated entrances. Many remnants of the former mining mecca such as mine tunnels and railworks can be found within the nuclear zone of the national park, as well as a number of historical buildings and homes erected by the mining company.
On October 30, 1998 Hurricane Mitch
struck Honduras. It was and still is the most costly (in lives and money) natural disaster to ever befall the country. Its deluge of rain had a devastating effect on San Juancito with around 60 buildings destroyed by the cascading waters of the town's two rivers. In the aftermath of the hurricane a large number of NGO's came to San Juancito to help with the rebuilding effort. While the skeletal remains of some buildings damaged by the hurricane can still be seen today, much of the infrastructure has been rebuilt.
Because of its history as a mining town, San Juancito was not founded with thought being given to terrain. It is perched in the mountains on very uneven land, and therefore does not have the Spanish-inspired central layout that tends to be the style of rural Honduran communities. For this, San Juancito is really an agglomeration of four core barrio
s, and three outlying dependent hamlets
. The four core barrios are known by residents as Barrio el Centro, Barrio Arriba, El Plan, and Carboneras, and are divided by rivers and precipices. Two rivers meet in Barrio El Centro, with two bridges traversing them. The three outlying dependent hamlets are known as Nuevo Rosario (the former headquarters of mining operations), Guacamaya, and Plan Grande. The first two are located along an old mining road about 350 meters (1150 feet) above San Juancito proper, each about 2.5 kilometers from the town center. Nuevo Rosario and Guacamayas are located at 1621 Meters (5300 feet) and 1538 Meters (5000 feet) above sea-level, respectively.
Of the four core barrios, El Plan is distinct in that many of its structures were built after Hurricane Mitch. It is located on a small mesa well above the river, so not surprisingly it was chosen as the main redevelopment site when NGO efforts were working to provide housing to those displaced by the hurricane.
Barrio El Centro was the hardest hit by the hurricane, with most of the buildings lost having been located in this section of town. This barrio, along with Barrio Arriba, Carboneras, and the outlying hamlet of Nuevo Rosario contain the vast majority of San Juancito's historical structures, however mine-shafts dot the landscape indiscriminately.
upon entering La Tigra National Park. As a result of the abundance and variety of flora
and fauna
supported by these ecosystem
s, San Juancito finds itself in a biodiversity hotspot
. The town center is located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from the entrance to the nuclear zone of the national park, which is actually in the hamlet of Nuevo Rosario. In La Tigra there are over 200 species of bird, including the resplendant quetzal
and a variety of hummingbirds. The park is also home to some very reclusive monkeys, pumas, and ocelots. Aside from the wild fruits and vegetables that grow in the region, there is also an abundance of eucalyptus
, sweet gum, oak
s, Caribbean pine
s, Ocote
, and avocado
. A high number of orchids can be found here as well. The common infiltration of clouds into the forest also means that the region abounds with fern
s, bromeliads, and literally hundreds of other epiphytic
species'.
is situated within the tropics
, San Juancito sees little temperature variation year round. As such, what is called winter
is actually the rainy season
, whereas what is called summer
is actually the dry season
. In the tropics, altitude plays a larger role in determining temperature than does either precipitation or time of year. San Juancito's location at 1239 meters (4027 feet) above sea-level ensures a temperate, if not slightly cool climate year round. Highs during the summer (March-June) tend to be around 26˚C (78˚F) with lows during this season averaging at about 18˚C (64˚F). The average winter high is 20˚F (68˚F), and the average winter low is about 14˚C (58˚F).
production, as its climate and altitude are incredibly conducive to the production of high quality coffee beans. COMISAJUL, a joint cooperative of a few hundred small coffee farmers in central Honduras, has its office in San Juancito.
Aside from coffee, San Juancito has a relatively diverse array of subsistence based agricultural activities, with small plots of berries, potatoes, bananas, cabbage
, celery
, bitter oranges, avocado
, pineapple
, guava
, corn
, and other local fruits and vegetables all existing in the immediate vicinity of the community.
Much of San Juancito's male population works in a massive sugarcane cropping and refining operation located 10 kilometers to the south in the valley of Cantarranas, San Juan de Flores
.
Outside of agriculture many townspeople work in Tegucigalpa, as urban migration has put a strain on job opportunities in small communities like San Juancito.
San Juancito also has an art workshop, operated by the San Juancito Foundation, and located in the renovated Pepsi Co. bottling plant building. Most of the employees of the "Taller" as it is known, are women. The workshop produces extremely high quality paper, metal, and glass based functional artwork that is sold at a gallery in Tegucigalpa.
It is also worth noting that a small number of residents work part or full time with AMITIGRA, the organization in charge of the administration and maintenance of La Tigra National Park.
Also providing independent trade-based education to the community are two initiatives set-up by the San Juancito Foundation, the brainchild of Honduran artist Regina Aguilar. The aforementioned art workshop also operates as a training center for artisans who wish to fine-tune their skills, as well as offering scholarships and diplomas to adolescents who wish to pursue a career in art. The San Juancito Foundation also operates a school "La Escuela Magica," which is a free of charge art education center for children in the community.
In 2003, a paved two-lane road from Tegucigalpa reached San Juancito, connecting it to Honduras' growing network of highways. Currently, the road passes through the municipalities of Santa Lucía and Valle de Angeles on its way to San Juancito. Beyond San Juancito the pavement continues 10 kilometers until Cantarranas (also known as San Juan de Flores
). Currently, there is construction on the 30 kilometer segment to the north of Cantarranas toward the town of Talanga
, connecting with the highway to Olancho. This segment, along with another segment bypassing Tegucigalpa on its way to the department of El Paraíso
, and further on to Danlí and ultimately Nicaragua
, is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
Buses
Tegucigalpa
to San Juancito
Direct buses leave at 1:00PM, 3:00PM and 5:00PM daily.
Buses to Cantarranas, which pass the exit to San Juancito (2 km from the town center) leave at 6:30AM, 9:30AM, 10:30AM, 12:00PM, 1:30PM, 2:00PM 3:30PM, 4:30PM, 5:00PM and 6:00PM.
"Rapiditos," which are small, tour style direct buses leave the same stop in Tegucigalpa every 1/2 hour between 6:00am and 6:00pm with their final stop being Valle de Angeles
. From Valle de Angeles one can hire an auto rickshaw
for 150 Lempiras to make the final 12 km leg between Valle de Angeles and San Juancito.
San Juancito to Tegucigalpa
Direct buses leave at 5:15AM, 6:20AM and 7:45AM daily.
Buses from Cantarranas pass the San Juancito exit at 5:30AM, 6:30AM, 7:30AM, 9:00AM, 10:30AM, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, and 5:30PM.
Note: All buses listed leave from Hospital San Felipe in Northeastern Tegucigalpa
.
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, located 40 kilometers northeast of Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, the nation's capital. The town is in the department of Francisco Morazán
Francisco Morazán
General Francisco Morazán was a Honduran general and a politician who ruled several Central American states at different times during the turbulent period from 1827 to 1842. He rose to prominence at the legendary Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827...
. Including the dependent hamlets of Nuevo Rosario, Guacamaya, and Plan Grande, the population totals at about 1400. Its central neighborhood is depicted on the back of the 500 Lempira bill.
While its history is linked to mining, its current importance lies in that it is located within the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park
La Tigra National Park
La Tigra National Park was the first national park in Honduras, by decree No. 976-80 whose principal objective is "The Conservation, Ecologic Preservation and Maintenance of The Hydrologic Potential of this Reserve". It was established on 1 January 1980 and covers an area of 238.21 square kilometers...
, a cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
and Honduras' first national park. The park is a huge watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, providing water for over a half million people in the capital; San Juancito is located on the northern side of the La Tigra, and has had paved access since 2003. It is the lesser-visited of the park's two entrances (the other being at Jutiapa, on the southwestern side of the park).
History
The history of San Juancito is inextricably linked to the mineral wealth of the mountains in which it is perched. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the descendants of today's Tolupan/Jicaque people exploited, in small scale, the minerals of the region. In the 16th century the Spanish made a short-lived attempt at extracting ore from in the area's mountains. Using the indigenous population as labor, they proceeded to extract gold and silver from the mountainside; however after a few short years the indigenous population was so ravaged by disease and abysmal working conditions that the Spaniards, with no reliable source of labor left, packed up and relocated to other seemingly more viable sites in Honduras.In the late 19th century, mining activities were revived but on a much larger and highly organized scale. President Marco Aurelio Soto
Marco Aurelio Soto
Marco Aurelio Soto was President of Honduras from 27 August 1876 until 19 October 1883. he was known as a liberal. He was a reforming President and had a great impact on the Honduras of his time, including the establishment of the Biblioteca Nacional de Honduras in 1880.-Biography:Dr. Marco...
advertised the mineral wealth of San Juancito, with the intention of attracting foreign investment. In 1880, Julius Valentine, of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
founded the New York and Honduras Rosario Mining Company, exchanging 50% of the Company's stock for the mining rights of the El Rosario deposits at San Juancito which were owned by Soto. Because of this, San Juancito may have played a role in the relocation of the nation's capital from Comayagua
Comayagua
Comayagua is a city in Honduras, some 80 km northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula at an elevation of 594 meters above sea level. In 2003 the estimated population was 60,000 people. It is the capital of the Comayagua department of Honduras. The city is noted for its wealth...
to Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
in 1880. While popular myth holds that the capital was moved because of the unwillingness on the part of the Comayaguan elite to accept President Soto's indigenous wife into their social circles, the true motive behind the move was related to his business investments and the development of southern Honduras.
Between 1880 and 1954 the company extracted gold and silver from veins in the mountainside, most of which was destined for the United States. Julius Valentine's son, Washington Valentine soon took over his father's post and became the figurehead of the corporation, as well as the human manifestation of all that it represented to the local population. At the onset of operations the Honduran government provided the Company with generous financial incentives, operating with essentially no tax burdens, shipping gold and silver to the US but by 1895 the Company suffered setbacks from declining silver prices, significant tax burdens and acute labor shortages. The company imported heavy machinery from the United States and was granted timber and water rights in the countryside. The timber harvests were utilized for housing construction and mine tunnel support and the water rights permitted for the development of the Country's first hydroelectric power. The result of this was incredibly rapid growth that meant that by 1888, the mines were far and away the most powerful economic interest in Honduras.
During its heyday, technological advancements came to San Juancito before any town in Honduras. The first light bulb in Honduras flickered on in San Juancito as a result of the hydroelectric plant built by the mining company, also a national first. The first cinema in all of Central and South America was built in San Juancito. as well as the nation's first telegraph. Pepsi built the first bottling plant in all of Central America here, and a fully operating American Consulate was erected by the mining company's headquarters at over 1600 meters (5300 feet) above sea-level. In the early 20th century, San Juancito had a population of 44,000, roughly equaling that of Tegucigalpa at the time, and was a major trading center in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
Life in San Juancito during its mining days was highly segregated. The minority of foreign staff personnel lived in an established camp near the mining headquarters and the majority Honduran population lived down below in San Juancito proper. Everything from dance-halls to schools, sporting clubs, and graveyards. The Honduran miners were well paid by local standards and enjoyed the benefits of schools and the hospital established by the Company.
In 1954, due to the exhaustion of mineral reserves, which coincided with a national labor movement, and new mine development at El Mochito, Las Vegas, Sta. Barbara, El Rosario mine ceased operations and left San Juancito. With the company went the vast majority of the town's inhabitants, as it was the only major source of labor in the region; many of the El Rosario miners were subsequently employed at El Mochito.
In 1980 Honduras declared La Tigra as the nation's first National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
and San Juancito found itself located within the buffer zone at one of the two designated entrances. Many remnants of the former mining mecca such as mine tunnels and railworks can be found within the nuclear zone of the national park, as well as a number of historical buildings and homes erected by the mining company.
On October 30, 1998 Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
struck Honduras. It was and still is the most costly (in lives and money) natural disaster to ever befall the country. Its deluge of rain had a devastating effect on San Juancito with around 60 buildings destroyed by the cascading waters of the town's two rivers. In the aftermath of the hurricane a large number of NGO's came to San Juancito to help with the rebuilding effort. While the skeletal remains of some buildings damaged by the hurricane can still be seen today, much of the infrastructure has been rebuilt.
Geography
Since the closing of the mines, reforestation efforts have brought back foliage to previously barren swaths of mountainside. Accordingly, the pueblo sits in a verdant amphitheater of sorts, with the backdrop being dominated by the three highest peaks in the department: Cerro La Estrella (2,245mts/7,297 ft), Cerro El Volcán (2,270mts/7,378 ft) and Cerro La Peña de Andino (2,290mts/7,443 ft). In the immediate vicinity of the pueblo there is still some limited deforestation; the work of local small farmers using slash-and-burn agricultural techniques, mostly for banana cultivation.Because of its history as a mining town, San Juancito was not founded with thought being given to terrain. It is perched in the mountains on very uneven land, and therefore does not have the Spanish-inspired central layout that tends to be the style of rural Honduran communities. For this, San Juancito is really an agglomeration of four core barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
s, and three outlying dependent hamlets
Hamlets
Hamlets is the name of an open source system for generating web-pages originally developed by René Pawlitzek at IBM...
. The four core barrios are known by residents as Barrio el Centro, Barrio Arriba, El Plan, and Carboneras, and are divided by rivers and precipices. Two rivers meet in Barrio El Centro, with two bridges traversing them. The three outlying dependent hamlets are known as Nuevo Rosario (the former headquarters of mining operations), Guacamaya, and Plan Grande. The first two are located along an old mining road about 350 meters (1150 feet) above San Juancito proper, each about 2.5 kilometers from the town center. Nuevo Rosario and Guacamayas are located at 1621 Meters (5300 feet) and 1538 Meters (5000 feet) above sea-level, respectively.
Of the four core barrios, El Plan is distinct in that many of its structures were built after Hurricane Mitch. It is located on a small mesa well above the river, so not surprisingly it was chosen as the main redevelopment site when NGO efforts were working to provide housing to those displaced by the hurricane.
Barrio El Centro was the hardest hit by the hurricane, with most of the buildings lost having been located in this section of town. This barrio, along with Barrio Arriba, Carboneras, and the outlying hamlet of Nuevo Rosario contain the vast majority of San Juancito's historical structures, however mine-shafts dot the landscape indiscriminately.
Ecology
The town of San Juancito is located in a subtropical moist forest, which transitions into cloud forestCloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
upon entering La Tigra National Park. As a result of the abundance and variety of flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
supported by these ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s, San Juancito finds itself in a biodiversity hotspot
Biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” , revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in...
. The town center is located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from the entrance to the nuclear zone of the national park, which is actually in the hamlet of Nuevo Rosario. In La Tigra there are over 200 species of bird, including the resplendant quetzal
Quetzal
Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...
and a variety of hummingbirds. The park is also home to some very reclusive monkeys, pumas, and ocelots. Aside from the wild fruits and vegetables that grow in the region, there is also an abundance of eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, sweet gum, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s, Caribbean pine
Caribbean Pine
The Caribbean Pine, Pinus caribaea, is a hard pine native to Central America, Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, which include both lowland savannas and montane forests...
s, Ocote
Ocote
Ocote may refer to:*Pinus apulcensis*Pinus ayacahuite*Pinus cooperi*Pinus devoniana*Pinus durangensis*Pinus gordoniana*Pinus greggii*Pinus hartwegii*Pinus herrerae*Pinus jaliscana*Pinus leiophylla...
, and avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
. A high number of orchids can be found here as well. The common infiltration of clouds into the forest also means that the region abounds with fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, bromeliads, and literally hundreds of other epiphytic
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
species'.
Climate
Because HondurasHonduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
is situated within the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
, San Juancito sees little temperature variation year round. As such, what is called winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
is actually the rainy season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
, whereas what is called summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
is actually the dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
. In the tropics, altitude plays a larger role in determining temperature than does either precipitation or time of year. San Juancito's location at 1239 meters (4027 feet) above sea-level ensures a temperate, if not slightly cool climate year round. Highs during the summer (March-June) tend to be around 26˚C (78˚F) with lows during this season averaging at about 18˚C (64˚F). The average winter high is 20˚F (68˚F), and the average winter low is about 14˚C (58˚F).
Economy
San Juancito's modern-day economy is heavily based in agriculture, most of which being small-scale coffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
production, as its climate and altitude are incredibly conducive to the production of high quality coffee beans. COMISAJUL, a joint cooperative of a few hundred small coffee farmers in central Honduras, has its office in San Juancito.
Aside from coffee, San Juancito has a relatively diverse array of subsistence based agricultural activities, with small plots of berries, potatoes, bananas, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
, bitter oranges, avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, and other local fruits and vegetables all existing in the immediate vicinity of the community.
Much of San Juancito's male population works in a massive sugarcane cropping and refining operation located 10 kilometers to the south in the valley of Cantarranas, San Juan de Flores
San Juan de Flores
San Juan de Flores is a municipality in the Honduran department of Francisco Morazán.It is also known as Cantaranas or "Singing Frogs" in English and is located approximately 55 minutes north of the capital, Tegucigalpa and about 20 minutes away from Valle de Angeles.Annual Events: Festival de...
.
Outside of agriculture many townspeople work in Tegucigalpa, as urban migration has put a strain on job opportunities in small communities like San Juancito.
San Juancito also has an art workshop, operated by the San Juancito Foundation, and located in the renovated Pepsi Co. bottling plant building. Most of the employees of the "Taller" as it is known, are women. The workshop produces extremely high quality paper, metal, and glass based functional artwork that is sold at a gallery in Tegucigalpa.
It is also worth noting that a small number of residents work part or full time with AMITIGRA, the organization in charge of the administration and maintenance of La Tigra National Park.
Education
San Juancito has a High School, Colegio Marcial Solis and an elementary school, Escuela Marco Aurelio Soto, the latter being named for the president who played such a large role in the history of the pueblo. There are also three small elementary schools in the outlying communities of Nuevo Rosario, Guacamaya, and Plan Grande.Also providing independent trade-based education to the community are two initiatives set-up by the San Juancito Foundation, the brainchild of Honduran artist Regina Aguilar. The aforementioned art workshop also operates as a training center for artisans who wish to fine-tune their skills, as well as offering scholarships and diplomas to adolescents who wish to pursue a career in art. The San Juancito Foundation also operates a school "La Escuela Magica," which is a free of charge art education center for children in the community.
Transportation
HighwaysIn 2003, a paved two-lane road from Tegucigalpa reached San Juancito, connecting it to Honduras' growing network of highways. Currently, the road passes through the municipalities of Santa Lucía and Valle de Angeles on its way to San Juancito. Beyond San Juancito the pavement continues 10 kilometers until Cantarranas (also known as San Juan de Flores
San Juan de Flores
San Juan de Flores is a municipality in the Honduran department of Francisco Morazán.It is also known as Cantaranas or "Singing Frogs" in English and is located approximately 55 minutes north of the capital, Tegucigalpa and about 20 minutes away from Valle de Angeles.Annual Events: Festival de...
). Currently, there is construction on the 30 kilometer segment to the north of Cantarranas toward the town of Talanga
Talanga
Talanga is a municipality in the Honduran department of Francisco Morazán.It lies on the highway connecting Tegucigalpa with the department of Olancho. Talanga is a medium-sized municipality relying heavily on agriculture. Its most important crops include corn, sugar cane and livestock...
, connecting with the highway to Olancho. This segment, along with another segment bypassing Tegucigalpa on its way to the department of El Paraíso
El Paraíso
El Paraíso is a municipality in the Honduran department of El Paraíso. The capital is Yuscaran.The town is the site of a cigar factory operated by Nestor Plasencia, in which cigars are made under a variety of labels, including that of Rocky Patel....
, and further on to Danlí and ultimately Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
Buses
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
to San Juancito
Direct buses leave at 1:00PM, 3:00PM and 5:00PM daily.
Buses to Cantarranas, which pass the exit to San Juancito (2 km from the town center) leave at 6:30AM, 9:30AM, 10:30AM, 12:00PM, 1:30PM, 2:00PM 3:30PM, 4:30PM, 5:00PM and 6:00PM.
"Rapiditos," which are small, tour style direct buses leave the same stop in Tegucigalpa every 1/2 hour between 6:00am and 6:00pm with their final stop being Valle de Angeles
Valle de Ángeles
Valle de Ángeles is a municipality in the Honduran department of Francisco Morazán.The local holiday is October 4th, San Francisco Day.- Location :...
. From Valle de Angeles one can hire an auto rickshaw
Auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw or three-wheeler is a usually three-wheeled cabin cycle for private use and as a vehicle for hire. It is a motorized version of the traditional pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw...
for 150 Lempiras to make the final 12 km leg between Valle de Angeles and San Juancito.
San Juancito to Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
Direct buses leave at 5:15AM, 6:20AM and 7:45AM daily.
Buses from Cantarranas pass the San Juancito exit at 5:30AM, 6:30AM, 7:30AM, 9:00AM, 10:30AM, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, and 5:30PM.
Note: All buses listed leave from Hospital San Felipe in Northeastern Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
.