San Salvador (English:
Holy Savior) is the capital city of
El Salvador, and the capital of the
San Salvador department. It is the country's most populated municipality as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center. The
San Salvador Metro Area is the core nucleus of El Salvador and is one of the largest urban centers in the
Central America isthmus. Due to destruction caused by earthquakes, original Spanish colonial period structures are almost non-existent in the city; instead Gothic- and Modernist-style cathedrals have taken their place. Architecturally, San Salvador's noteworthy structures have distinct
Modern,
Googie and
Populuxe influences, similarly to those of Los Angeles, a city San Salvador is influenced by. As a
gamma global city, San Salvador is also an important financial center hub within Central America. The city is home to the
Concejo de Ministros de El Salvador (Council of Ministries of El Salvador),
La Asamblea Legislativa (The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador), the
Corte Suprema de Justicia (The Supreme Court), and other governmental institutions, as well as the official residence of the president of the Republic. San Salvador is located in the Salvadoran highlands, surrounded by volcanoes and prone to earthquakes. The Spaniards called the area "El Valle de Las Hamacas" (English:
The Valley of Hammocks), a translation of the name given it by the native
Pipil people in allusion to the need for beds that would sway with the earth's movements during an earthquake. With a population of 567,698 (2,442,017 in the metro area), it is the fifth most populated city in
Central America, and its metropolitan area is the second most populated. The city is also home to the
Catholic Archdiocese, as well as many Protestant branches of Christianity, including
Evangelicals,
Latter-day Saints,
Baptists, and
Pentecostals. San Salvador has the second largest
Jewish community in Central America, and a small
Muslim community.
Spanish is spoken by the entire population, and a high percentage speaks
English.