Tegucigalpa in Books and Music

American author William Sydney Porter (1862–1910)—history knows him better by his pen name, O. Henry, of "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Ransom of Red Chief" short-story fame—hid out in a Tegucigalpa hotel from July 1896 to January 1897, a fugitive from embezzlement charges in Texas. It was here that he penned his book Cabbages and Kings, describing late-19th century Honduras at the height of its banana trade with the United States. The book is best known today for popularizing the term banana republic, which Porter used to describe a backwater country controlled by the interests of multinational corporations. The ill health of his dying wife, Athol, necessitated the author's return to Texas. Following her death, Porter was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. He served a three-year sentence but denied the charges to his final days.

The late rock musician Warren Zevon never confirmed it, but the lyrics "Now I'm hiding in Honduras; I'm a desperate man" from his song "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" are assumed by many to be a reference to Porter's self-exile in Tegucigalpa.