Nejapa

The main attraction of Nejapa is the festival of "Las Bolas de Fuego" (Fire Balls). The tradition is more than 100 years old; and began after the eruption of the volcano El Playon in November 1658, which forced the town to move to its current location. During the eruption the volcano threw incandescent balls of fire (or bombs) into the air which then led to the celebration and tradition of the "bolas de fuego".

The bombs and lava flow from the volcano forced Spaniards and Indigenous people to leave their belongings and run to a safe area. They took the image of their patron saint "San Jerónimo" and named a new church in its honor, but as a punishment left the image facing the wall, since he had not protected them from the eruption of the volcano.

The celebration is held every August 31st. The balls are made of rags and tied up with wire and sunk into kerosene for a month. In 2004 heavy rain almost caused the celebration to be cancelled, but it just made it more colorful since even in the rain, young people were burning the balls and dancing.

Come and enjoy this one of a kind celebration, and taste some coffee and tamales prepared for the occasion. The celebration begins with a music festival and when the night falls, the balls of fire start burning.

Nejapa also holds another "attraction" a biological plant for the water treatment of sewage with its own filter. The plant treats the sewage of more than 60.000 inhabitants of the city that before went directly to the river.

© 2005 Tourism in El Salvador