 These efforts established many towns such as San José Acatempa in 1525 and Esquipulas in 1560.Spanish efforts were firmly resisted by the indigenous people known as the Pipil and their Mayan speaking neighbors.Despite Alvarado's initial success in the Battle of Acajutla, the indigenous people of Cuzcatlán, who according to tradition were led by a warlord called Atlacatl, defeated the Spaniards and their auxiliaries, and forced them to withdraw to Guatemala.