"Presidential
House" or Casa Presidencial in the Spanish
Language, is the official residence of the president
of El Salvador. It is situated in Avenida Cuscatlán
facing the Beethoven fountains near the National
Zoo in San Salvador.
An official
residence of El Salvador
The
initiation 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, made a decree which would authorize the
acquisition 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
place 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 the death of President Araujo, Don Carlos Meléndez
succeeded him. 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 September 1913
he set the first stone on the "Quinta Natalia"
property for construction.
This
house is, in great part, the work of the engineer
Luis Fleury, whose design combines the elegant Classic
and Art Nouveau styles. Its completion was delayed
several years 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 not until
1924 did it start to function officially as the Formal
School for Boys.
Quite a lot
of presidents posing in front of Casa Presidencial
including U.S. president George W. Bush (fourth from
left) and former El Salvador president Francisco Flores
(immediate right of Bush)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 difficulties 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 neighbourhood, close to the
"El Zapote" barracks.
The
time period between the 50' and 60's was of great
economic growth, because of the raising prices of
coffee internationally. 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
present government house is surrounded 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.
The
Night view of the rear of Casa PresidencialEvery 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 acquisition
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 Lieutenant
Colonel José María Lemus. The remodeling
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.
At
the present time in Casa Presidencial, apart for the
residence of the president several offices are situated
there, including the offices of the vice president,
the Presidential Commission for Public Inversion,
the Private Secretary,the Secretariat for Legislative
and Judicial Affairs, the Secretariat of Communications,
and the Technical Secretariat.
