Portal:Central America

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The Central America Portal

Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America is usually defined as consisting of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.

In the pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east. Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Spain began to colonize the Americas. From 1609 to 1821, the majority of Central American territories (except for what would become Belize and Panama, and including the modern Mexican state of Chiapas) were governed by the viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which established New Spain's independence from Spain. On 15 September 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire and provide for the establishment of a new Central American state. Some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region (i.e. what would become Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) were annexed to the First Mexican Empire; however in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America until 1838. (Full article...)

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Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising 130,370 km² (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 6,850,540 as of 2021, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras. Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and a shared maritime border with El Salvador to the west. The country's largest city and national capital is Managua, the fourth-largest city in Central America with a population of 1,055,247 as of 2020. Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage. The country's most spoken language is Spanish, though indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English.

Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s. (Full article...)

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Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Panama Mesoamerica Potbelly sculpture El Salvador national football team Mayan languages Maya stelae Hurricane Gert Maya civilization Maya peoples Central American squirrel monkey Final Offensive of 1981 (El Salvador) Mantled howler Convict cichlid Spanish American wars of independence Honduran white bat

Did you know...

... that to animate conquistadors in Jungle Cruise, frogs were recorded in a Costa Rican forest?
... that Panama cross-banded tree frog males synchronize their mating calls to confuse predators that locate them by sound?
... that the government of El Salvador, the Catholic Church, and street gangs negotiated a truce to reduce homicides from 2012 to 2014?
... that José Adán Aguerri's family opened the first movie theater in Nicaragua?
... that Victor Hugo Tinoco was a deputy in the National Assembly of Nicaragua, first for the Sandinista National Liberation Front, then for the opposition Sandinista Renovation Movement?
... that Mariano Fiallos Oyanguren refused to participate in an attempt to rig the 1990 Nicaraguan presidential election?
... that the 7th Macho de Monte Infantry Company of the Panama Defense Forces was named after a tapir?
... that while Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios was exiled from Nicaragua and living in Costa Rica in the 1980s, his sister Claudia was there as Nicaragua’s ambassador?

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General images

The following are images from various Central America-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Young Costa Ricans in San José. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 2Central America until 1860, showing the Kingdom of Mosquitia. (from History of Central America)
Image 3San Andres (from Mesoamerica)
Image 4Tazumal (from Mesoamerica)
Image 5Celebration of the Chinese year in Costa Rica (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 6The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan, an example of a Mesoamerican settlement planned according to concepts of directionality (from Mesoamerica)
Image 7Rigoberta Menchú K'iche'-Guatemalan (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 8Mesoamerica and Central America in the 16th century before Spanish arrival ^{[according to whom?]} (from Mesoamerica)
Image 9Harry Shum, Jr Asian-Costa Rican – Glee Actor/Dancer (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 10Berta Caceres, Lencan environmental activist. -Honduran (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 11Xochicalco, Temple of the Feathered Serpent, 650–900 CE (from Mesoamerica)
Image 12Holy Spirit Grotto (from Mesoamerica)
Image 13A small ceremonial ballcourt at Tikal. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 14The xoloitzcuintle is one of the naguales of the god Quetzalcoatl. In this form, it helps the dead cross the Chicnahuapan, a river that separates the world of the living from the dead. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 15Cihuatán (from Mesoamerica)
Image 16Art with ideological and political meaning: depiction of an Aztec tzompantli (skull-rack) from the Ramirez Codex (from Mesoamerica)
Image 17Ballgame marker from the classic Lowland Maya site of Chinkultic, Mexico depicting a ballplayer in full gear (from Mesoamerica)
Image 18Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites, urban centers, and tourist attractions of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 19Mesoamerica and its cultural areas^{[according to whom?]} (from Mesoamerica)
Image 20Ritual human sacrifice portrayed in Codex Laud (from Mesoamerica)
Image 21Yojoa Lake in Honduras. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 22Salvadoran School Children from Metapan (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 23Olmec Colossal Head No. 3 1200–900 BCE (from Mesoamerica)
Image 24Indigenous Salvadoran women dancing in the traditional "Procession of Palms" a custom celebrated in the town of Panchimalco in El Salvador. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 25Pyramid of the Moon viewed from atop of the Pyramid of the Sun. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 26The emblem glyph of Tikal (Mutal) (from Mesoamerica)
Image 27Flag of Central America (from History of Central America)
Image 28The Aztec Empire in 1512 (from Mesoamerica)
Image 29Detail of the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal, 10th century (from Mesoamerica)
Image 3020th century political map of Central America (from History of Central America)
Image 31Illustration that recreates the structures of the archaeological site of Yarumela or El Chircal in Honduras, this place reflects the Olmec influence that existed in Central America in the pre-classic period. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 32Anthropomorphic figure from the Proto-Lencan culture found at Los Naranjos, Honduras. An example of Mesomerican art during the preclassic Period. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 33Nery Brenes Costa Rican Athlete (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 34Casa Blanca (from Mesoamerica)
Image 35One of the earliest examples of the Mesoamerican writing systems, the Epi-Olmec script on the La Mojarra Stela 1 dated to around 150 CE. Mesoamerica is one of the five places in the world where writing has developed independently. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 36José Matías Delgado At the time of signing the Central American act of independence, in a representation of the meeting of September 15, 1821 of the Chilean painter Luis Vergara Ahumada. (from History of Central America)
Image 37"Head Variant" or "Patron Gods" glyphs for Maya days (from Mesoamerica)
Image 38K'inich Kan B'alam II, the Classic period ruler of Palenque, as depicted on a stele (from Mesoamerica)
Image 39Landscape of the Mesoamerican highlands (from Mesoamerica)
Image 40José Matías Delgado y de León listed as the intellectual leader of the independence movement; Delgado was defined as influential, skillful, and intelligent, he started the revolutionary movements against the Spanish crown. (from History of Central America)
Image 41El Mirador flourished from 600 BCE to 100 CE, and may have had a population of over 100,000. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 42Zapotec mask of the Bat God. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 43Countries and capitals of Central America (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 44Joya de Cerén (from Mesoamerica)
Image 45Examples of the diversity of maize (from Mesoamerica)

In the news

6 April 2024 – 2024 raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador: Nicaragua suspends diplomatic relations with Ecuador following the raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador. (Al Arabiya)
24 March 2024 – Salvadoran gang crackdown: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announces the beginning of a blockade of four municipalities in northern El Salvador, mobilizing 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers to arrest suspected gang members. (El Mundo)
23 March 2024 – Red Sea crisis: A Houthi missile hits Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker Huang Pu. It suffers minimal damage and a fire on board is quickly extinguished. No casualties are reported, and the vessel resumes its course. (X) (Newsweek) (Marine Log)
8 March 2024 –: Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández is found guilty of drug trafficking charges in a federal court in New York, United States. (AP)

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v t e Central American volcanoes
Guatemala	Acatenango Agua Almolonga Atitlán Chicabal Cuilapa-Barbarena Fuego Jumay Moyuta Pacaya Santa María/Santiaguito San Pedro Santo Tomás Siete Orejas Tacaná Tajumulco Tecuamburro Tolimán
El Salvador	Chinameca Chingo Conchagua Izalco Santa Ana San Miguel San Salvador San Vicente Usulután
Nicaragua	Apoyeque Cerro Negro Concepción Cosigüina Maderas Masaya Mombacho Momotombo San Cristóbal Telica
Costa Rica	Arenal Irazú Miravalles Platanar Poás Rincón de la Vieja Tenorio Turrialba
Panama	Barú La Yeguada El Valle
Note: volcanoes are ordered from north-west to south-east.

v t e Central American and Caribbean Games
Central American and Caribbean Games	1926 Mexico City 1930 Havana 1935 San Salvador 1938 Panama City 1946 Barranquilla 1950 Guatemala City 1954 Mexico City 1959 Caracas 1962 Kingston 1966 San Juan 1970 Panama City 1974 Santo Domingo 1978 Medellín 1982 Havana 1986 Santiago 1990 Mexico City 1993 Ponce 1998 Maracaibo 2002 San Salvador 2006 Cartagena 2010 Mayagüez 2014 Veracruz 2018 Baranquilla 2023 San Salvador 2026 Santo Domingo 2030 TBD
Central American and Caribbean Beach Games	2022 Santa Marta 2025 Puntarenas
Central American and Caribbean Junior Games	2024

v t e Cuisine of Latin America and the Caribbean
Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago
Central America	Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Middle America	Mexico
South America	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies not included. Semi-autonomous territories are in italics.

v t e Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean
Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago
Central America	Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Middle America	Mexico
South America	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies not included. Semi-autonomous territories are in italics.