Business & Economy

Santa Lucía’s flower festival returns after covid-induced hiatus

Tegucigalpa, May 28 (EFE).- The picturesque municipality of Santa Lucía near the Hondurasian capital, Tegucigalpa, is a major tourist draw due to the many attractions it offers, including the flowers grown by its inhabitants.

Located 9 km (6 miles) from Tegucigalpa, Santa Lucía’s famed flower festival resumed on May 20 in the La Laguna plaza after a gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which began to spread in Honduras in March 2020.

The festival is scheduled to end on Sunday with the sale of flowers in the historic center of the town and a cultural evening replete with folk dances and live music in the Old Municipal Council, from where Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, is partially visible.

Santa Lucía has two festivals a year, the first in January in honor of the Black Christ and the second, the flower festival, Paulo Rivas told EFE.

Rivas has a beautiful garden, carefully tended to by him, his wife, Dulce, and their daughter Mariela.

There are some 35 varieties of anthuriums in his garden.

Rivas showed EFE anthurium flowers in varying shades of yellow, orange, white, dark (chocolate) brown, purple, red, pink and green.

A deep red variety, also known as “pigtail anthurium” due the shape of its spadix, was particularly striking.

Many local and foreign tourists flock to Saint Lucia for its pleasant climate, the flowers adorning the gardens of the houses there and the areas where they are grown.

The myriad varieties of flowers in Santa Lucía also attract many species of birds, including the hummingbird.

Among the highlights of the Santa Lucía flower festival is a “Venetian night” in an artificial lagoon at the La Laguna square, the sale of flowers, string music and Zumba classes.

A reforestation day in the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park, one of the main sources of water for Tegucigalpa and neighboring cities, is another of the activities.

The festival also features cultural nights, artistic clubs, an ecological concert, a tour of the flower-producing areas, a parade of floats adorned with flowers, a carnival and a light show.

Santa Lucía has a colonial style architecture with white houses, iron balconies and cobbled streets.

Each house, no matter how small, has a garden.

Roses, geraniums, carnations, lilies, anthuriums, various cacti species, daisies, chrysanthemums, orchids and many others adorn Santa Lucia, where tourists can also enjoy cafes, bars, restaurants, food stalls, sweets and fruits. EFE

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