World City Photo Essay Assignment

Tegucigalpa, HondurasNatural & Built Landscapes:

La Tigra National Park is a towering peak of over 7,000 feet above sea level that is a
cloud forest generator and a major source of fresh water to the city. Many trails
make this park that goes through beautiful landscapes, waterfalls, lush vegetation,
wildlife conservation areas, and its mild climate. In this park there are many
activities in connection with the beautiful nature of Honduras.
Art:

The National Art Gallery is a 350-year old building that houses collections of
different forms of art spanning 7,000 years of work by Honduran artists, from
Paleolithic times to today.

Culture & Heritage:

The most important church and most visited area in Tegucigalpa, and therefore in
Honduras, is the shrine of Our Lady of Suyapa, the national Patron of Honduras.
Construction of the basilica began in 1954 and is famous for its large stained-glass
windows.
Health:

In Honduras, public health care is financed and managed by the central government
in the capital Tegucigalpa. However, the centrally run system is inefficient, lacks
medicine, needs supplies, and closes frequently when the hospital workers are on
strike.

Innovative Architecture:

The Casa Presidencial is built in Moorish style designed and decorated like a real
palace and stands proud in the capital and city center of Tegucigalpa. It is the most
unusual building in the city. This building once served as the official residence and
office of the ruling president of the country and the palace is still the face of
Honduras.
Close Community:

Parque Central is the main square of Tegucigalpa and around Honduras. Its always
full of people as its the main meeting point and famous landmark of the city. It
serves as an entrance door to the historic past of Honduras because it feels like
traveling back to the time of Spanish occupation while being encompassed by the
antiquity of the structures and the colonial architectural designs.

Environment:

There is still damage from Hurricane Mitch in 1998 that the residents and outside
help continue to clean up. It has caused more than $5 billion in damage, where
much of the countrys infrastructure and crops were completely destroyed.
Hard Working:

Due to poverty and violence, some 15 percent of Honduran kids are pushed to work,
about 500,000 of the youth population, hold jobs. Children can be seen around
Tegucigalpa picking through garbage for anything of value, filling bags of sand to
sell, unloading trucks in the central market, peddling gum and cigarettes to make a
living.

Infrastructure:

After three decades of waiting, the people of the La Villanueva shantytown in

Tegucigalpa have new staircases, making it easier to get up and down the hill
providing an evacuation route in the case of climate-related calamities.
Education:

Honduras education and schooling is greatly improving thanks to donations and

volunteer efforts throughout the country. As in most third-world countries, Honduras
simply does not have the financial resources to provide public schools, or
transportation to such schools, throughout many rural areas.