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SAN VICENTE was founded in 1635 by fifty local Spanish families in accordance with the 1600 Law of the Indies, which prohibited the Spanish from living among the indigenous people. Gathering under the shade of a tempisque tree near Rio Alcahuapa on December 26, 1635, the families formally inaugurated San Vicente de Lorenzana, in honour of the Spanish martyr San Vicente Abad. Until the 1980s, the biggest threat to the stability of San Vicente came on February 16, 1833, when the forces of Anastasio Aquino, leader of the Nonualco indigenous uprising, arrived in the city. "Inebriated with alcohol and success", they removed the crown from the statue of San Jose in the Iglesia El Pilar and crowned Aquino "Emperor of the Nonualcos". The rebels then returned to Santiago Nonualco, some 30km away; here, Aquino was captured by government forces on April 23 and later sent back to San Vicente and hanged. Today, San Vicente is a calm, low-slung city, in a rich agricultural area producing sugar cane, cotton and coffee. It was attacked several times by guerrillas during the 1980s - an obvious military presence remains, with a huge barracks near the centre - and was also very badly hit by one of the earthquakes in 2001, during which the Iglesia El Pilar and the Torre Kiosko were badly damaged. The central Parque Canas acts as a focus for the city, dominated by the Torre Kiosko , an eye-catching open-work clocktower, which you can climb for great views of the cathedral and Parque. On the eastern edge of the Parque is the rather bare city cathedral; walk down its side, along C Daniel Diaz, and you come to the original tempisque tree, under which the city was founded, and which was declared a historic monument in 1984. Two blocks south of the Parque on Av Mirondo Sur is the Iglesia El Pilar (or Iglesia Nuestra Senora del Pilar, to give it its full name); the statue of San Jose - complete with crown - remains in the church. The church has a beautiful carved wooden altar, and a plaque by the entrance honours Jose Simeon Canas, the man who abolished slavery in El Salvador. The military barracks takes up an entire block between Iglesia El Pilar and the Parque; a walk west up the side of the barracks brings you to the extensive market , stretching over several streets. Hammock vendors can be found on most street corners - the hammocks are made in the surrounding villages and add a notable splash of colour to the town.
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