Esquipulas

Esquipulas is a town in the Guatemalan department of Chiquimula. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The town is famous for the Basilica of Esquipulas which houses the Shrine of the Black Christ. Every year, thousands of pilgrims from Guatemala, the United States, Europe and other Central American countries flock to pay homage to the dark wooden image of the crucified Christ, the most revered Catholic shrine in the region. Esquipulas was also the site of the initial meetings which led to the Esquipulas Peace Agreement, with which a measure of peace finally returned Central America started. Although the 1987 treaty was signed in Guatemala City, it bears the name Esquipulas. The city of Esquipulas was founded by the Spaniards between 1560 and 1570 with the name of Santiago de Esquipulas.