Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians or Salvadoreans, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smaller communities in other countries around the world.
El Salvador's population was 6,218,000 in 2010, compared to 2,200,000 in 1950. In 2010, the percentage of the population below the age of 15 was 32.1%, 61% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 6.9% were 65 years or older.
Demonym Although not the academic standard, Salvadorian and Salvadorean are widely-used English demonyms used by those living in the United States and other English-speaking countries. All three versions of the word can be seen in most Salvadoran business signs in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
Centroamericano/a in Spanish and in English Central American is an alternative standard and widespread cultural identity term that Salvadorans use to identify themselves, along with their regional isthmian neighbors. It is a secondary demonym and it is widely used as an interchangeable term for El Salvador and Salvadorans. The demonym Central American is an allusion to the strong union that the Central America region has had since its independence. The term Central America is not only a regional cultural identity, but also a political identity, since the region has been united on various occasions as a single country such as the United Provinces of Central America, Federal Republic of Central America, National Representation of Central America, and Greater Republic of Central America. The same can be said for El Salvador's neighbors, specifically the original five states of Central America.
History Lithic era
El Salvador was inhabited by Paleo-Indians, the first peoples who subsequently inhabited, the Americas during the glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene period. Their paintings (the earliest of which date from 8000 BC) can still be seen in caves outside the towns of Corinto and Cacaopera, both in Morazán. Originating in the Paleolithic period, these cave paintings exhibit the earliest traces of human life in El Salvador; these early Native Americans people used the cave as a refuge, Paleoindian artists created cave and rock paintings that are located in present-day El Salvador.
The Lencas later occupied the caves and utilized them as spiritual spaces. Other ancient petroglyphs are located in San José Villanueva, La Libertad and San Isidro, Cabañas. The rock petroglyphs in San Jose Villanueva near a cave in Walter Thilo Deininger National Park are similar to other ancient rock petroglyph around the country. Regarding the style of the engravings, it has been compared with the petroglyphs of La Peña Herrada (Cuscatlán), el Letrero del Diablo (La Libertad) and la Peña de los Fierros (San Salvador). Other cave locations include the cave of Los Fierros and La Cuevona, both in Cuscatlán.
Archaic Period
Native Americans appeared in the Pleistocene era and became the dominant people in the Lithic stage, developing in the Archaic period in North America to the Formative stage, occupying this phase for thousands of years until European contact at the end of 16th century, spanning from the time of the arrival to the Upper Paleolithic era to European colonization of the Americas during the early modern period.
Mesoamerican cultures
Historically El Salvador has had diverse Native American cultures, coming from the north and south of the continent along with local populations mixed together. El Salvador belongs to the Mesoamerican region, where a myriad of indigenous societies have lived side by side for centuries with their unique cultures and speaking different indigenous languages of the Americas in the beginning of the Formative stage.
Evidence of Olmec civilization presence in western El Salvador can be found in the ruin sites of Chalchuapa in the Ahuachapan Department on boulders in Chalchuapa portraying Olmec warriors with helmets identical to those found on the Olmec colossal heads. This suggest that the area was once an Olmec enclave, before fading away for unknown reasons. The Olmecs are believed to have lived in present-day El Salvador as early as 2000 BC in the beginning of preclassic period. The 'Olmec Boulder, ' is a sculpture of a giant head found near Casa Blanca, El Salvador site in Las Victorias near Chalchuapa. "Olmecoid" figurines, such as the Potbelly sculpture, have been found through this area, in fact most are described as looking primeval proto-Olmeca. In the end of middle preclassic, by 650 BC, this culture would be replaced by the Maya.
The Lenca people are an indigenous people of eastern El Salvador where population today is estimated at about 37,000. The Lenca was a matriarchal society and was one of the first civilizations to develop in El Salvador and were the first major civilization in the country. The pre-Conquest Salvadoran Lenca had frequent contact with various Maya groups as well as other indigenous peoples of Central America. The origin of Lenca populations has been a source of ongoing debate amongst anthropologists and historians. Throughout the regions of Lenca occupation, Lenca pottery is a very distinguishable form of Pre-Columbian art. Handcrafted by Lenca women, Lenca pottery is considered an ethnic marking of their culture. Some scholars have suggested that the Lenca migrated to the Central American region from South America around 3,000 years ago, making it the oldest civilization in El Salvador. Guancasco is the annual ceremony by which Lenca communities, usually two, gather to establish reciprocal obligations in order to confirm peace and friendship. Quelepa is a major site in eastern El Salvador. Its pottery shows strong similarities to ceramics found in central western El Salvador and the Maya highlands. The Lenca sites of Yarumela, Los Naranjos in Honduras, and Quelepa in El Salvador, all contain evidence of the Usulután-style ceramics.
The Cacaopera people are an indigenous people in El Salvador who are also known as the Matagalpa or Ulua. Cacaopera people spoke the Cacaopera language, a Misumalpan language. Cacaopera is an extinct language belonging to the Misumalpan family, formerly spoken in the department of Morazán in El Salvador. It was closely related to Matagalpa, and slightly more distantly to Sumo, but was geographically separated from other Misumalpan languages.
The Xinca people, also known as the Xinka, are a non-Mayan indigenous people of Mesoamerica, with communities in the western part of El Salvador near its border. The Xinka may have been among the earliest inhabitants of western El Salvador, predating the arrival of the Maya and the Pipil. The Xinca ethnic group became extinct in the Mestizo process.
El Salvador has two Maya groups, the Poqomam people and the Ch'orti' people. The Poqomam are a Maya people in western El Salvador near its border. Their indigenous language is also called Poqomam. The Ch'orti' people (alternatively, Ch'orti' Maya or Chorti) are one of the indigenous Maya peoples, who primarily reside in communities and towns of northern El Salvador. The Maya once dominated the entire western portion of El Salvador, up until the eruption of the lake ilopango super volcano. Mayan ruins are the most widely conserved in El Salvador and artifacts such as Maya ceramics Mesoamerican writing systems Mesoamerican calendars and Mesoamerican ballgame can be found in all Maya ruins in El Salvador which include Tazumal, San Andrés, El Salvador, Casa Blanca, El Salvador, Cihuatán, and Joya de Cerén.
The Mangue people, also known as Chorotega, spoke the Mangue language, a now-extinct Oto-Manguean language. They occupied land near the eastern El Salvador border, near the gulf.
The Pipil people are an indigenous people who live in western El Salvador. Their language is called Nahuat or Pipil, related to the Toltec people of the Nahua peoples and were speakers of early Nahuatl languages. However, in general, their mythology is more closely related to the Maya mythology, who are their near neighbors and by oral tradition said to have been adopted by Ch'orti' and Poqomam Mayan people during the Pipil exodus in the 9th century CE. The culture lasted until the Spanish conquest, at which time they still maintained their Nawat language, despite being surrounded by the Maya in western El Salvador. By the time the Spanish arrived, Pipil and Poqomam Maya settlements were interspersed throughout western El Salvador. The Pipil are known as the last indigenous civilization to arrive in El Salvador, being the least oldest and were a determined people who stoutly resisted Spanish efforts to extend their dominion southward. The Pipil are direct descendants of the Toltecs, but not of the Aztecs.
Spanish conquest (1522)
By 1521, the indigenous population of the Mesoamerican area had been drastically reduced by the smallpox epidemic that was spreading throughout the territory, although it had not yet reached pandemic levels in Cuzcatlán or the northern portion Managuara. The first known visit by Spaniards to what is now Salvadoran territory was made by the admiral Andrés Niño, who led an expedition to Central America. He disembarked in the Gulf of Fonseca on 31 May 1522, at Meanguera island, naming it Petronila, and then traversed to Jiquilisco Bay on the mouth of Lempa River. The first indigenous people to have contact with the Spanish were the Lenca of eastern El Salvador.
Growth of the population
El Salvador has the largest population density in Latin America, and is the third most populated country in Central America after Honduras and Guatemala, from the 2005 census, the population exceeds 6 million. The total impact of civil wars, dictatorships and socioeconomics drove over a million Salvadorans (both as immigrants and refugees) into the United States; Guatemala is the second country that hosts more Salvadorans behind the United States, approximately 110,000 Salvadorans according to the national census of 2010. in addition small Salvadoran communities sprung up in Canada, Australia, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Italy, and Sweden since the migration trend began in the early 1970s.
Salvadoran Diaspora in the United States The 2010 U.S. Census counted 1,648,968 Salvadorans in the United States, up from 655,165 in 2000. By 2017, the figure had risen to over 2.3 million. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 American Community Survey, the top Metropolitan statistical areas for the Salvadoran community are:
RankMetropolitan statistical areaSalvadorans - Estimated Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 447,788 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA 288,262 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA 236,892 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA 169,935 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA MSA 85,589 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA 75,536 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA 54,617 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA 44,995 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA 38,026 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA 32,070 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA MSA 27,888 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA 23,464 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA 18,822 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA 15,314 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA 13,920
Salvadoran-American diaspora over time:
Total population (x 1000)Proportionaged 0–14(%)Proportionaged 15–64(%)Proportionaged 65+(%) 19502 20042.753.34.0 19552 43343.652.63.8 19602 77345.151.13.7 19653 24446.350.13.7 19703 73646.449.93.6 19754 23245.850.53.7 19804 66145.250.93.9 19855 00444.151.84.2 19905 34441.753.74.6 19955 74839.655.54.9 20005 95938.356.25.5 20056 07335.758.16.2 20106 21832.161.06.9
Ethnic groups
White and Mestizo Salvadorans