The department of La Paz extends across the center-south of El Salvador, over the Pacific coastal plain, with the silhouette of the Chichontepec volcano rising to the north. Its geography combines fertile agricultural lands —sugarcane, grains, cattle— with a coastline marked by the Jaltepeque estuary, an extensive system of mangroves that forms one of the richest natural areas of the country's central coast.
Of Pipil and Nonualco roots, the region was inhabited by Maya communities until the 11th century, when the Nahua waves arrived. Its capital, Zacatecoluca —whose Nahuat name alludes to 'place of grass and owls'— received the title of city in 1844 and became the departmental capital in 1852, when the department of La Paz was created. It was historically an important center of the colonial 'indigo fairs'.
La Paz is the land of the Nonualcos, a Pipil group that founded or repopulated towns such as San Juan Nonualco, Santiago Nonualco, San Pedro Nonualco and Zacatecoluca. In 1833, this region was the setting of one of the most remembered episodes of 19th-century Salvadoran history: the indigenous rebellion led by Anastasio Aquino, a laborer from Santiago Nonualco who rose up against the abuses, tributes and forced recruitment imposed by the government.
Aquino came to dominate much of the center of the country and to proclaim himself symbolically 'king' or 'emperor of the Nonualcos', before being defeated, captured and executed in 1833. His figure became an enduring symbol of indigenous and peasant resistance in El Salvador, and his memory remains alive in the towns of La Paz and neighboring San Vicente.
Zacatecoluca was the birthplace of one of the great humanist figures of Central America: the priest and patriot José Simeón Cañas. In 1823 and 1824, within the Constituent Assembly of the United Provinces of Central America, Cañas proposed and achieved the abolition of slavery throughout the region, one of the first abolitionist decrees on the American continent.
For that feat he is known as 'the liberator of the slaves of Central America', and his name today honors one of the country's main universities. The memory of Cañas makes Zacatecoluca and the department of La Paz a key place in the history of human rights and freedom in the Central American region.
The great tourist attraction of La Paz is the Costa del Sol, a long and narrow sandy peninsula set between the Pacific Ocean on one side and the calm Jaltepeque estuary on the other. It is one of the most developed and accessible beach areas in El Salvador, famous for its extensive strip of sand, its resorts, hotels, clubs and summer houses, much frequented by Salvadoran families and by visitors.
Being bathed by two bodies of water gives it a particular charm: the open sea for bathing and sport, and the mangroves of the estuary for boat rides, kayaking, fishing and birdwatching. The Jaltepeque estuary is also an important nesting area for sea turtles, protected by conservation projects.
La Paz plays a strategic role in connecting El Salvador with the world: in its territory, near Comalapa, lies the Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport of El Salvador, the country's main air gateway and one of the connection hubs of Central America. Its proximity makes the Costa del Sol one of the most quickly accessible beaches for those arriving by plane.
Around the airport a free-trade zone with maquila industry and services has developed, important for the departmental economy. Between the agriculture of its plains, the tourism of its beaches, the memory of its heroes and its role as the country's air gateway, La Paz combines tradition and modernity on the central Salvadoran coast.