San Miguel, San Miguel

San Miguel is a municipality in the San Miguel department of El Salvador, and is also the department's capital.

San Miguel is the third largest city in the country, and holds the economy of El Salvador's eastern region, but half of the country's wealth is located at the capital and largest city San Salvador. The eastern wealth of the country is expected to increase when the Puerto La Union construction finishes on 2008.

Every last Saturday of November, San Miguel celebrates de Carnaval De San Miguel in honor to "Nuestra Señora De La Paz". This is the biggest festival of music and food in the eastern region of El Salvador. Currently, San Miguel's Mayor Wilfredo Salgado wants to develop "mini carnavals" or "carnavalitos" in different zones of the city. The Mayor is interested in doing this to reflect the growth of the city.

San Miguel is famous for night life along the Calle Roosevelt, the main street that runs through the city dividing the city into two sides. One of those sides encompases the historical places like the Catedral de San Miguel, Parque Guzman, Alcaldia Municipal and Palacio Municipal. The other side is the modern San Miguel, new communities called "colonias". Many Salvadoran historical figures were born in San Miguel: Capitan General Gerado Barrios, writer Francisco Gavidia, and poet Juan J. Canas. The city of San Miguel is surrounded by the Volcan Chaparrastique, perhaps the most representative image of San Miguel.