Ilobasco

Ilobasco
Municipality
Country	El Salvador
Department	Cabañas Department
Government
• Alcalde	José María Dimas Castellanos Hernández
Area
• Total	96.41 sq mi (249.69 km2)
Elevation	2,460 ft (750 m)
Population  (2007)
• Total	61,510
• Density	640/sq mi (246/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6

Ilobasco is a municipality in the Cabañas department of El Salvador. It is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of the capital, San Salvador.

This town is known country wide (and internationally) for its clay (other materials also used) craftsmanship or pottery.

The clay is extracted and prepared locally. The clay work includes the "miniatures", which are small representations of daily scenes as lived by Salvadorans, no bigger than 2 inches tall. The Town is also home for second division soccer team El Roble.

One version of the miniatures are the "surprises", which are basically a scene covered with another piece of clay shaped and painted in the form of a fruit, an egg, a house or other things. The cover can be removed and then the scene can be seen.

Toponimia

The actual origin and meaning of its name is unknown, most of the proposed names are nahuatl, such as: Xilohuako (Place of Dry Young-Corn), Xilotlaxko (Place of Young-Corn Tortilla), Xilotazoko (Place of Young-Corn Clay). A document found on December of 1859 affirms that the name is native and it means "Golden Thread" but origin of this word is unknown.

Sports

The local football club is El Roble, formerly known as A.F.I. They currently play in the Salvadoran Second Division.

External links

• Ilobasco Web Site by: Miranda
• Pictures from the city of Ilobasco
• Google Satellite View of Ilobasco
• Ilobasco Ceramic Capital of the World by: Miranda
• El Salvador News