Parts of Honduras used to be part of the Mayan civilization until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. When the revolution in Mexico in the 1810s and 1820s occurred, the country was a Mexican province. Needless to say, the Hondurans and the other Central Americans weren't happy with this, and they broke away to form the Central American Federation. But it didn't last long; in 1838, Honduras proclaimed independence.
It had serious troubles with dictators, grinding poverty, natural disasters like hurricanes and floods (like in 1998 and 2008) and the like. In fact, Honduras was one of the countries that embody the Banana Republic trope most faithfully; bananas used to be Honduras' number 1 export, and for a time, Honduras was the world's leading banana producer. These days, textiles are the leading export.
In July 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought the The Football War, allegedly because of a dispute on a football match, but then, there are serious undertones as well. Many Salvadorans emigrated to Honduras for work and land and were used as scapegoats during an economic repression by the then-dictator; Oswaldo Lopez Arellano, leading to the persecution and deportation of Salvadoran immigrants and their children. In response, the Salvadoran government declared war on Honduras and invaded by land after bombarding various Honduran airports and bases. The war lasted four gruelling days (in those four days, 3000 people died, think about it for a moment) and was only stopped because the OAS threatened to heavily sanction El Salvador if they didn't withdrew their troops from Honduras.
Following the war, Honduras became the United States' headquarters for anti-communists operations in Central America, with Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries, and Salvadoran and Guatemalan elite forces being trained there during The '80s by Vietnam War veterans under the command of the CIA.
Right now, Honduras has stabilized most of its economy and adopted a more efficent structure to bring investors. However, due to the presence of regional criminal gangs and South American drug cartels, many of its poorest neighborhoods have become crime-ridden slums, where finding a fresh corpse has become a common occurence. Also, their political scene is full of corruption, nepotism and censored repression that has been tolerated by the United States for one reason or another. This has led to a bigger economic gap between the rich and the poor that it's not helped with their bigger population and urban-to-rural ratio in comparison with it's neighbors (excluding Nicaragua).
Famous Hondurans:
- Honduran-American actor José Zúñiga.
- Illich Guardiola, former voice actor who primarily worked in anime.
- Maximiliano Hernández, best known for playing Jasper Sitwell in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Drag queen Bianca Del Rio (Roy R. Haylock) is of Honduran descent.
- America Ferrera's parents are both Honduran migrants, one of whom has Lenca ancestry.
- Rapper ScHoolboy Q is of partial Honduran descent.
- Francia Raisa was born to Renán Almendárez Coello, a Honduran-born radio personality based in the US.
- Voice actress Brina Palencia is Honduran-American, and spent some of her childhood years in the country.
- David Archuleta, runner-up of the seventh season of American Idol, was born to a Honduran mother, and is fluent in Spanish.
The Honduran flag
Like those of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, the Honduran flag reuses the design and colors of the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America, to which they once belonged, albeit in this case the colors also had unique symbolism — the blue upper and lower stripes symbolize both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, while the white stripe in the middle stands for the country straddling between both oceans. The colors can also symbolize fraternity and peace, respectively. At the center are five blue stars, symbolizing the former components of the Central American federation as well as the hope for its rebirth.
The Honduran national anthem
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
India virgen y hermosa dormías
De tus mares al canto sonoro,
Cuando echada en tus cuencas de oro
El audaz navegante te halló;
Y al mirar tu belleza extasiado
Al influjo ideal de tu encanto,
La orla azul de tu espléndido manto
Con un beso de amor consagró.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
De un país donde el sol se levanta,
Mas allá del Atlante azulado,
Aquel hombre te había soñado
Y en tu busca a la mar se lanzó.
Cuando erguiste la pálida frente,
En la viva ansiedad de tu anhelo,
Bajo el dombo gentil de tu cielo
Ya flotaba un extraño pendón.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
Era inutil que el indio tu amado
Se aprestara a la lucha con ira,
Porque envuelto en su sangre Lempira,
En la noche profunda se hundió;
Y de la épica hazaña, en memoria,
La leyenda tan sólo ha guardado
De un sepulcro el lugar ignorado
Y el severo perfil de un peñón.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
Por tres siglos tus hijos oyeron
El mandato imperioso del amo;
Por tres siglos tu inútil reclamo
En la atmosfera azul se perdió;
Pero un día gloria tu oído
Percibió, poderoso y distante,
Que allá lejos, por sobre el Atlante,
Indignado rugía un León.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
Era Francia, la libre, la heroica,
Que en su sueño de siglos dormida
Despertaba iracunda a la vida
Al reclamo viril de Dantón:
Era Francia, que enviaba a la muerte
La cabeza del Rey consagrado,
Y que alzaba soberbia a su lado,
El altar de la diosa razón.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
Tú también, ¡oh mi patria!, te alzaste
De tu sueño servil y profundo;
Tú también enseñaste al mundo
Destrozado el infame eslabón.
Y en tu suelo bendito, tras la alta
Cabellera del monte salvaje,
Como un ave de negro plumaje,
La colonia fugaz se perdió.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
Por guardar ese emblema divino,
Marcharemos Oh! Patria a la muerte,
Generosa será nuestra suerte,
Si morimos pensando en tu amor.
Defendiendo tu santa bandera
Y en tus pliegues gloriosos cubiertos,
Serán muchos, Honduras tus muertos,
Pero todos caerán con honor.
Tu bandera, tu bandera es un lampo de cielo
Por un bloque, por un bloque de nieve cruzado;
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado
Cinco estrellas de pálido azul;
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso
Con sus ondas bravías escuda,
De un volcán, de un volcán tras la cima desnuda
Hay un astro, hay un astro de nítida luz.
—
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
Like an Indian maiden you have been sleeping,
Lulled by the resonant song of your seas,
When, set in your golden valleys,
The bold navigator found you;
And on seeing, enraptured, your beauty,
And feeling your enchantment,
He dedicated a kiss of love to the blue hem
of your splendid mantle.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
From a country where the sun rises,
Beyond the blue Atlantic,
That man who had dreamt you
In search of you he launched to sea.
When you raised your pale forehead,
In the lively anxiousness of your hope,
Under the gentle dome of your sky
Already floated a strange banner.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
It was useless that your beloved Indian
Rushed into the fight with ire,
Because, covered with his blood, Lempira,
In the deep night he sank;
And of the heroic deed, in memory,
The legend alone has kept
A sepulcher in a forgotten place,
And the severe profile of a mountain peak.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
For three centuries your children heard
The imperious mandate of the master;
For three centuries your useless complaint
In the blue atmosphere was lost
But one glorious day your ear
Perceived, powerful and distant,
That there, far away, over the Atlantic,
Indignantly, a lion roared.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
It was France, the free, the heroic,
Which in its dreams of centuries slept,
Awoke irate to life
At the virile protest of Danton:
It was France, who sent to the death
The head of the consecrated King,
And which built up proudly at its side,
The altar of the goddess of Reason.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
You also, oh my country!, arose
From your servile deep sleep;
You also showed the world
The infamous shackle destroyed.
And in your blessed soil, behind the tall
Hair of the wild jungle,
Like a bird of black feathers,
The fleeting colony was lost.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
To guard this sacred emblem
We shall march, oh fatherland, to our death;
Our death will be honoured
If we die thinking of your love.
Having defended your holy flag,
And shrouded in its glorious folds,
Many, Honduras, shall die for you,
But shall fall in honour.
Your flag is a splendour of sky
Crossed with a band of snow;
And there can be seen, in its sacred depths,
Five pale blue stars.
In your emblem, which a rough sea
With its wild waves protects,
Behind the bare summit of a volcano,
A star brightly shines.
Government
- Unitary presidential republic
- President: Xiomara Castro
- 1st Vice President: Salvador Nasralla
- 2nd Vice President: Doris Gutiérrez
- 3rd Vice President: Renato Florentino
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Tegucigalpa
- Population: 9,587,522
- Area: 112,492 sq km (43,433 sq mi) (101st)
- Currency: Lempira (L) (HNL)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: HN
- Country calling code: 504
- Highest point: Cerro Las Minas (2870 m/9,416 ft) (73rd)
- Lowest points: Caribbean Sea (7,686 m/25,217 ft) (-) and Pacific Ocean (10,911 m/35,797 ft) (-)
