Puerto Cortés is a city in the Cortés department of
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
.
It is on the
Caribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the American landmass, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest...
coast, north of
San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea...
and east of
OmoaOmoa is a town and a municipality in the Department of Cortés of the Central American country of Honduras. Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km. west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast.- Geography :...
, at 15.85° N, 87.94° W. It has a natural bay.
It is Honduras's main sea port and it is considered the most important seaport in
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
.
http://www.azcentral.com/lavoz/spanish/latin-america/articles/latin-america_190549.html As of 2003, Puerto Cortés has a population of some 81,000.
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
founded the town of La Natividad in 1524, roughly where Puerto Cortés is today, and populated it with about 20 Spaniards who had been previously been living in
NitoThe Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists is the largest union in engineering in Norway with approximately 60,000 members. NITO has 21 regional branches covering the country and over 2,000 local clubs and shop stewards. Most of the working members are affiliated to a local club...
and
NacoNaco may refer to:* Naco , a pejorative slang term in Mexican Spanish* NaCo., a Mexican clothing company, the name of which is based on the previous slang term* Naco, Arizona, United States, a small town in southeastern Arizona...
.
Puerto Cortés is a city in the Cortés department of
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
.
Geography
It is on the
Caribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the American landmass, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest...
coast, north of
San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea...
and east of
OmoaOmoa is a town and a municipality in the Department of Cortés of the Central American country of Honduras. Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km. west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast.- Geography :...
, at 15.85° N, 87.94° W. It has a natural bay.
It is Honduras's main sea port and it is considered the most important seaport in
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
.
http://www.azcentral.com/lavoz/spanish/latin-america/articles/latin-america_190549.html As of 2003, Puerto Cortés has a population of some 81,000.
History
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
founded the town of La Natividad in 1524, roughly where Puerto Cortés is today, and populated it with about 20 Spaniards who had been previously been living in
NitoThe Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists is the largest union in engineering in Norway with approximately 60,000 members. NITO has 21 regional branches covering the country and over 2,000 local clubs and shop stewards. Most of the working members are affiliated to a local club...
and
NacoNaco may refer to:* Naco , a pejorative slang term in Mexican Spanish* NaCo., a Mexican clothing company, the name of which is based on the previous slang term* Naco, Arizona, United States, a small town in southeastern Arizona...
. By 1533, a local native leader, called Çiçumba (or Çoçumba, or Socremba, or Joamba...we don't really know since the Spanish recorded so many variants of his name) had destroyed the town, reportedly taking a woman from Sevilla, Spain captive. After Çiçumba's defeat in 1536 by
Pedro de AlvaradoPedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. Known for his skill as a soldier, Alvarado's cruelty to native populations is represented in various sources, including the Lienzo de Quauhquechollan, wherein his conquest is depicted...
, a new town, Puerto de Caballos was founded on the southern shore of the body of water known as the Laguna de Alvarado. Because it was vulnerable to pirates until the building of the Spanish fort at Omoa in the 18th century, it had few permanent residents in the 16th and 17th centuries. People preferred to come out to the coast from San Pedro when a ship came into port. The name Puerto de Caballos (Port of horses) is because when
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
arrived on Honduras' coast from
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and started unloading horses and cargo from the ships, several horses were drowned. In 1869 Puerto Caballos changed its name to Puerto Cortés in honour of
Hernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
.
The city
Puerto Cortés is home of a Soccer team known as
Club Deportivo PlatenseClub Deportivo Platense is a Honduran football club, located in Puerto Cortés, Cortés. The club was founded on 4 July, 1960.-History:According to the records available, the following people attended Club Platense: René Paíz, Roger Riera, Roberto Mejía, Roosevelt Garbut, Manuel Flores, Héctor...
, which in 1966 was the first Honduran National Football Soccer Champion. In 2001 the team won its second national soccer championship.
In the month of August, Puerto Cortés celebrates its local or patronal festivities during two weeks. The last day (a Saturday) is known as
Noche Veneciana (Venice's night). August 15th is a local holiday in honour of
Virgen de la Asunción (Puerto Cortés local patroness or saint).
In September 2001, the Bridge
La Laguna (The lagoon) was rebuilt and inaugurated, the old bridge (a 50 years old structure) was badly damaged in 1998 by
Hurricane MitchHurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season...
and was demolished. A concrete wall that surrounds and protects a portion of the coastline in the bay area, was built close to the north end of Bridge La Laguna, this wall is known as
El Malecón, the Spanish word for 'jetty' or 'pier'.
The first four-lane highway in Honduras was inaugurated in 1996, connecting Puerto Cortés and the city of
San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea...
.
The seaport
In 1966 the Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras National Port Authority)
http://www.enp.hnwas created. A Free Trade Zone was created in 1976.
Among all worldwide seaports that export containers with goods with destination to U.S.A., Puerto Cortés is the 36th in terms of volume.
Because of its proximity to U.S. seaports in the Gulf of Mexico and on the East Cost and its outstanding seaport infrastructure, Puerto Cortes was included in the U.S.
Container Security InitiativeThe Container Security Initiative was launched in 2002 by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection , an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. Its purpose was to increase security for container cargo shipped to the United States...
(CSI), the first such port in Central America. In
December-Portal:Current events:...
2005 the U.S. government signed an agreement with Honduras's government and opened a U.S. Customs Office in Puerto Cortés
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/cargo_security/csi/ports_in_csi.xml. Under this agreement, all containers exported from Puerto Cortés that are destined for any U.S. seaport are checked by U.S. Customs officials in Honduras.
On December 7, 2006 the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Energy (
DOE*A doe is a female deer, goat, or leporid.Doe may also refer to:In music:* Do, The first syllable used in Solfège, a system of note learning* D.O.E., an American rapper* Do , a Dutch singer...
) announced the first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative, an unprecedented effort to build upon existing port security measures by enhancing the US federal government’s ability to scan containers for nuclear and radiological materials overseas and to better assess the risk of inbound containers. The initial phase of Secure Freight involves the deployment of a combination of existing technology and proven nuclear detection devices to six foreign ports: Port Qasim in Pakistan;
Puerto Cortes in
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
; Southampton in the United Kingdom; Port Salalah in Oman; Port of Singapore; and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in Korea. Beginning in early 2007, containers from these ports will be scanned for radiation and information risk factors before they are allowed to depart for the United States.
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1165520867989.shtm
On
March 2007March 2007 is the third month of the year. It began on a Thursday, and ended 31 days later on a Saturday.-International holidays:* March 1 - St Davids Day United Kingdom* March 4 - Purim * March 10 - Arba'een...
, under the Megaport initiative, 3 RPMs (Radiation Portal Monitors) were already installed in Puerto Cortés by
U.S. DOEThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
in order to inspect all containers with destination to USA, checking for possible dangerous radioactive threats. On April 2, 2007 the RPMs became operative
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1176319613900.shtm.
Notable people and natives of Puerto Cortes
- Edgar Alvarez
Edgard Anthony Álvarez Reyes is a Honduran footballer. He currently plays for Bari. He can play anywhere on the right flank....
- Famous football player, now playing in Italy.
- Felipe Rodríguez Plata (deceased)- Former Director of Honduras Customs Administration.
- Guillermo Peña Zelaya (deceased)- MD
Maryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
, former Congressman (1986-1990), former Mayor of Puerto Cortes.
- Guillermo Ramón Miranda Talbot - former Puerto Cortes Port Superintendent and former Assistant of the General Manager of Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras National Port Authority).
- Guillermo Rene Soriano - Doctor in Theology
The term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
, PreacherPreacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies.Some believe a preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined. Preaching is not limited to religious views,...
and Supervisor of Missionaries in the U.S.A.
- Julio César "Rambo" De Leon
Julio César de Leon is a Honduran Football player, currently playing for Torino, on loan from Parma in the Italian Serie A after being transferred from Genoa. He is known for being a free-kick specialist.-Career:...
- Famous football player, now playing in ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
.
- Luis Cosenza Jiménez - Former Congressman and Ministry of the Presidency (Jan. 2002-Jun. 2005) and former representative of Central America
Managua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
in the Inter-American Development BankThe Inter-American Development Bank is an international organization established and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1959 to support Latin American and Caribbean economic and social development and regional integration by lending mainly to governments and...
(Jul. 2005-Jun. 2006).
- Mario Alberto Prieto Rodríguez - Former General Manager of Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras National Port Authority) and Current President of Liga Nacional de Futbol (Honduras Professional Football Association).
- Mario Enrique Prieto Alvarado - Former Congressman and Secretary of Honduras National Congress (1982-1985), former member of Honduras 1980-81 National Assembly which approved the 1982 Honduras Constitution. Father of Mario Alberto Prieto Rodríguez.
- Mario Sierra - Businessman and President of Club Deportivo Platense
Club Deportivo Platense is a Honduran football club, located in Puerto Cortés, Cortés. The club was founded on 4 July, 1960.-History:According to the records available, the following people attended Club Platense: René Paíz, Roger Riera, Roberto Mejía, Roosevelt Garbut, Manuel Flores, Héctor...
and current member of the Board of Directors of Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras National Port Authority).
- Roberto Valenzuela Simons - Former Mayor of Puerto Cortes, former General Manager of Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras National Port Authority), he went into exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened by prison or death upon return...
to Mexico during military governments.
- Rodrigo Wong Arévalo - Journalist, Anchor of TV News Program: "Abriendo Brecha" and News Magazines: "Hablemos Claro", "As Deportiva","Cromos","Hablemos Claro Financiera"and"Come to Honduras".Also the CEO of "Television Educativa Nacional, TEN Canal 10."
- Selim Canahuati - Former President of Liga Nacional de Futbol (Honduras Professional Football Association), former member of the Board of Directors of Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras National Port Authority).
- Vilma Cecilia Morales Montalván - Former President of Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
Supreme Court of Justice (Jan. 2002-Jan. 2009).
- William Chong Wong - Former Director of Internal Revenue Service (1990-92), Subsecretary of Treasury (1993), Subsecretary of Finance and Budget (Feb. 2002-Sep. 2004), Secretary of Finance (Oct. 2004-Jan 2006).
- Juan Ramon Rivera Zelaya - Pastor at Central Baptist Church (Iglesia Bautista Central) in Tegucigalpa since 1989.
Elected Mayors of Puerto Cortes
In 1982 a new constitution was approved, before that year mayors were designated "by finger" by
TegucigalpaTegucigalpa is the capital city of Honduras and is also the country's largest city. Tegucigalpa is also the capital of Honduras's Francisco Morazán department.-Etymology of the name:...
top government officials.
- 1982-1983: Roy Reyes Orellana (Partido Liberal)
- 1984-1985: Mario Sabillón (Partido Liberal)
- 1986-1990: Romulo Montoya (Partido Liberal)
- 1990-1991: Rolando Méndez (Partido Nacional). He resigned and fled out of the country because of corruption scandals.
- 1992: Rolando Orellana Cruz (Partido Nacional). He was fired together with the entire Municipal Top Corporation because a Judge found them guilty of approving an illegal fee applied to all cars entering Puerto Cortes during an Easter holiday.
- 1992-1993: Alvaro Zacarías Mena (Partido Nacional).
- 1994-1997: Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana
Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana Politician from Honduras, former Mayor of the City of Puerto Cortes and former Minister of the Government of President Manuel Zelaya. Born April 30, 1966 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.-Background:...
(Partido Liberal)
- 1998-2001: Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana
Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana Politician from Honduras, former Mayor of the City of Puerto Cortes and former Minister of the Government of President Manuel Zelaya. Born April 30, 1966 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.-Background:...
(Partido Liberal) (Reelected)
- 2002-2005: Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana
Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana Politician from Honduras, former Mayor of the City of Puerto Cortes and former Minister of the Government of President Manuel Zelaya. Born April 30, 1966 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.-Background:...
(Partido Liberal) )Reelected)
- 2006-present: Alan Ramos (Partido Liberal)
Facts
- There was an only-girls elementary school named República de Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in honour of that country. In june 29, 2005 when Vicente FoxVicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected President of Mexico in the...
President of MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
visited Puerto Cortés and knew about the existence of this school, he donated a computerized display board with all the software, accessories and training to be used in this school. A donation from the Mexican Presidency http://www.geocities.com/vicentefox_en_puertocortes. At about the same time, the school also went co-ed.
- There is an elementary school named República de Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
in honour of that country.
- There is an elementary school named Saint Martin de Porres in honour of this Saint
Saints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
from PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
.
- There is a public high school named Franklin Delano Roosevelt in honour of this U.S. President.
- There is a private Catholic high school named Sacred Heart of Jesus (Sagrado Corazón de Jesús).
- There is a high school academy named Saint John Bosco
Saint John Bosco , born Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco, also called Don Bosco, was an Italian Catholic priest and educator, who put into practice the dogma of his religion, employing teaching methods based on love rather than punishment...
(San Juan Bosco) in honour of this SaintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
.
- There is a bilingual school (elementary school, junior high and high school) named Saint John the Baptist in honour of this Prophet
In religion, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by, or has encountered, the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other humans...
.
- There is a beach known as La Coca Cola (coke) in honour of the world famous drink. La Embotelladora La Coca Cola were situated on this beach therefore it was named Las playas de la Coca Cola once employed many workers whose meals depended of this job.
- In the decade of 1930s a small whale
Whale is the common name for marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale is sometimes used to refer to all cetaceans, but in more common English usage it generally excludes the members of the Delphinoidea superfamily, such as dolphins and porpoises...
was captured in the bay of Puerto Cortés, this was a very rare situation, since whales are not normally found in the Caribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the American landmass, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest...
.
- In 1963 the USS Hornet
Eight ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Hornet, after the stinging insect., was a ten-gun sloop commissioned in 1775, and served in the American Revolutionary War, was also a ten-gun sloop and took part in the First Barbary War, was a brig-rigged sloop of war launched on 28 July...
aircraft carrier arrived to Puerto Cortés.
- There is football stadium known as Estadio Excelsior
Estadio Excelsior is a multi-purpose stadium in Puerto Cortés, Honduras. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Platense. The stadium holds 10,000 people. This stadium was rebuilt during Marlon Lara administration as Mayor of Puerto Cortés-External links:*...
(the home of Club Deportivo Platense). In 1965 an Argentine professional football club Chacarita JuniorsClub Atlético Chacarita Juniors are an Argentine professional football club from Villa Maipú, San Martín in the Buenos Aires Province currently playing in the Primera División having just achieved promotion....
(then in Argentine first division) played here defeating PlatenseClub Deportivo Platense is a Honduran football club, located in Puerto Cortés, Cortés. The club was founded on 4 July, 1960.-History:According to the records available, the following people attended Club Platense: René Paíz, Roger Riera, Roberto Mejía, Roosevelt Garbut, Manuel Flores, Héctor...
(2-1).
- Since 1986, the Municipality of Puerto Cortes receives four percent (4%) of all revenues(income) received by Honduras Custom office in Puerto Cortes and four percent (4%) of all revenues received by Empresa Nacional Portuaria (Honduras Port Authority) in the Seaport. This fee is known as El Cuatro por Ciento (The Four Percent). The same percentage (4%) is also received by four other municipalities where Empresa Nacional Portuaria operates (La Ceiba
La Ceiba is a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean Sea forming part of the south eastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras...
, Trujillo, RoatanRoatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja , is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands. The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan...
and San Lorenzo), this percentage is applied to all revenues received by the Honduras Custom Office and Seaport in the respective city.
Medical Services
- Puerto Cortes offers a variety in medical healthcare services, including public and private clinics and hospitals, also clinical laboratories and pharmacies.
Private Hospitals
- Centro Medico Litoral Atlántico
- Policlinica Porteña
- CEMECO
- CEDEM
- Centro Medico Handal
- Hospital IHSS
- Hospital y Clinica SITRAENP
Clinical Laboratories
Pharmacies
- Farmacia Espíritu Santo
- Farmacia Vaver
- Farmacia Siman
- Farmacia Puerto Cortes
- Farmacia Santa Lucia
- Farmacia Central
External links