Casa Presidencial

Categories: Official residences | El Salvador

Casa Presidencial, or "Presidential House" in the Spanish Language, is the official residence of the president of El Salvador. It is situated in Avenida Cuscatlan facing the Beethoven fountains near the National Zoo in San Salvador.

History

The start of the construction work of the current official residence took place in 1911, year in which the President of the republic, Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, emitted a decree which would authorize the aquisition of a property called “Quinta Natalia”. That property was situated in the San Jacinto neighborhood, to the south of the capital city. On May 9,1912, the Legislative Assembly allowed the hiring of a national, North American, or European firm for the construction of several buildings, including one destined to be "The Normal School for Teachers" which would later become the presidential House.

This area had evidence of human occupation since Pre-Columbian times, because of the numerous archeological items found there. Next to the property the famous “Modelo” hacienda lay, where the National Zoo is now located. After of the death of president Araujo, Don Carlos Meléndez succeded him as president. President Meléndez modified the original plan for the "Normal School for Teachers" and decided to make it "The Normal School for Boys". On the 21st of de September of 1913 he set the first stone on the “Quinta Natalia” property for construction.

This building is, in great part, deed of the engineer Luis Fleury, whose design combines the elegant Classic and Art Noveau styles. Its finalization was delayed severan years varios años because of a series of circumstances, among them the damages suffered from the 1917 and 1919 earthquakes, and the delays caused by the first world war. It was finished in 1921,but until 1924 it started to function officially as the Formal School for Boys.

In 1931, after the overthrowing of president Arturo Araujo, general Maximiliano Hernández Martínez took over the presidency, who installed briefly his official residence in the “El Zapote” barracks; and because of the political, economic, and social dificulies that the country was going through at the time, and because of security issues of the executive and his family President martinez decided to move the offices of the presidential house to the building that occupied the Normal School for Boys in the San Jacinto neighborhood, close to the “El Zapote” barracks.

The period between the 50' and 60's was of great economic growth, because of the raising prices of cofee internationaly. Some call this time the “golden age of El Salvador”; this abundance was showed in the splendor and fame that receptions and parties the Presidencial house showed.

The current government house is sorrounded by four beautiful parks. these are named after people of national and international importance, these are: Juan José Cañas , Salvadoran composer and author of the lyrics of the National Anthem; Felipe Soto, famous national composer; Venustiano Carranza, politician of Mexico and president of that country from 1917 to 1920; and Miguel de Cervantes, one of the Best writers Spain has seen, worldly known as the creator of Don Quixote.

Every president that has governed from this mansion has tried to give it a personal touch, such as remodeling the building, changing the carpets or the wallpaper, or the adquisition an art object to add to the collection. Some adornments and elements of the current rooms belonged to the former presidential houses. Among these can be mentioned the Victorian era mirrors that adorn the Hall of Honor. Also, the collection of paintings that decorate the main halls which were painted between 1957 and 1959 by the Chilean artist Luis Vergara Ahumada, with the historical guidance of professor Jorge Lardé y Larín, during the administration of Liutenant Colonel José María Lemus. The remodelation works completed during the administration of Dr. Armando Calderón Sol, were coordinated by the private secretary of the presidency , Ángel Benjamín Cestoni and supervised by the interior designer María Eugenia Perla.

Nowadays in Casa Presidencial, apart for the residence of the president several offices are situated there, including the offices of the vice president, the Presidential Comission for Public Inversion, the Private Secretary,the Secretary for Legislative and Judicial Affairs, the Secretary of Communications, and the Technical Secretary.

External link

http://casapres.gob.sv Official website of the presidency of El Salvador.