Holy Week in El Salvador

So its Holy Week again here in El Salvador, a time known for tamales pisques, ripe mangoes, torrejas, alfombras, cicadas and immense heat.  Since Holy Week this year fell later than normal and it rained a few times in February and March, the cicadas are almost all gone, but pretty much everything else on that list is all over the place.

In El Salvador, most people get at least two or three days, if not the whole week off of work.  In the NGO world, we get the whole week off work.  Many Salvadorans use this time to go to the beach and visit family.  Since everyone is flocking to the beach, especially these last few days, that is the one place we have not gone.  However, I think we have taken advantage of our vacation in other ways. Here is how.

1) Bajo Lempa.  We headed out to the Lower Lempa region of the country on Saturday and stayed until Monday.  This visit was characterized more than anything by an excessive amount of heat and mangoes.  Though the highlight of the visit for me was a trip to the Lempa River.  My dad asked me if the river was clean and I responded: "Is the Ohio River clean? No. Do we still swim in it? Yes." Though since it hasn't rained much yet, at least the river looked pretty clean.  Trying not to think about water contamination, this was an awesome experience.  Alejandro laughed hysterically as he splashed around the water wearing nothing but a big hat.  As we left we realized that thanks to river currents and the hydro-electric dam upstream, the water had risen and it had swept away Alejandro's new sandals.  Still didn't ruin the experience though.  Check out these pictures of Cesar in the mango tree, Alejandro eating a mango with our friend Vilma and of Cesar and Alejandro in the river.

Cesar getting the mangoes out of the tree

eating the mango

Alejandro and Cesar in the Lempa River

2) San Salvador volcano. This was a favorite activity of mine when I was pregnant because the volcano is elevated enough that you escape the suffocating heat of April. Its also close enough that you can go for a few hours, have some coffee and come back down. Alejandro and I went with our friends Guiselle and Amelia.  I keep saying, the only thing cuter than one baby is two babies! Check out the two of them checking out this fountain. (I swear Alejandro was trying to say "agua" while we were looking at it. Guiselle agreed, but he has not said it since, so maybe not.)

Amelia and Alejandro

3) Doing nothing at home. Another popular activity that Salvadorans partake in during Holy Week.  This has been kind of nice. Except for the volcano visit, this has been our lives since Monday afternoon.  It has given me the chance to make pepper dip from the 40 sweet peppers I brought back from the Bajo Lempa. I also experimented with tomatillos and made soup. Mostly its been nice to spend time with Cesar and Alejandro and not have a billion other things to do.

4) Go to Tepecoyo.  We are heading out this afternoon. This part of our trip we will experience the torrejas, tamales pisques and alfombra part of Holy Week, in addition to spending time with Cesar's family.  Torrejas are kind of like Salvadoran french toast and everyone eats them during Holy Week. I don't know why.  Tamales pisques are bean filled tamales. I DO know why people eat them this week. Apparently you are not supposed to kill animals during Holy Week so the tamales are filled with beans instead of chicken.  Alfombras are giant sand murals that are made on Good Friday in the streets of various towns in the Western part of El Salvador.  Often they depict part of the stations of the cross.  In Tepecoyo all the different neighborhoods and streets make them. They spend all day working on them using colored sand and lots of volunteers.  At night when the stations of the cross procession passes through the town, they walk over the alfombras completely destroying them. Since we haven't gone yet, I don't have a picture. But I am adding one of the alfombra we worked on in 2008.

So that is my Holy Week. Very different from Easter in the States where we paint eggs and eat chocolate bunnies.  Both very interesting ways to end Lent and commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection. If you want to read an amazing reflection on Holy Week and El Salvador, I invite you to read these reflections written last year in the mark of Romero week.

Happy Easter!

Living by the Wisdom of Blind Melon

Inspired by my brother and my life these days. Thanks to Leigha for the antecdote.

My friend once told me that she was dating a guy whose favorite band ever was Blind Melon. We laughed. What did Blind Melon ever do besides "No Rain?" Wasn't that a one hit wonder? Spoken true like two girls who were only ten when Shannon Hoon overdosed on drugs. And while "No Rain" was probably the theme song of my freshman year at college and still holds a special place in my heart, it wasn't until a certain Salvadoran who spent his youth obsessed with the rock music scene of the early 90's introduced me to the wonderousness of groups like Pearl Jam and of course, Blind Melon, that I realized how wrong I was about them being a one hit wonder.

Sometimes at work I go through song playlist on youtube to spice up my day. Those playlist have include Les Miserables, Glee and about a year ago, Blind Melon. I hadn't listed to them for a while, but the other day at a street festival with friends, the song "Change" came on and Cesar and I looked at each other and smiled. I think some songs jump back in your life for a reason. You usually know that by the fact that the song brings you to tears when you hear it.

I think I heard "Change" for a reason.

November 25th, 2010

November 25th, 2010, Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women in El Salvador is approved. As the country with the number one rate of femicides in the world, its about time something changes.  Hopefully this law will actually be enacted.  

Here is why...

On October 21st, on the Las Quebradas finca, in the municipality of Talnique, La Libertad, the bodies of Clarisa Ortiz Valle,14 years old; Julia Araceli Hernández Torres, 14 years old;  María Vicenta Ávalos Pérez, 15 years old and Georgina Lisseth Álvarez Cruz, 18 years old, were found stangled and maimed at the hands of supposed friends of theirs.

In the past ten years in El Salvador, violence against women has increased by 197%, making it the number one place for femicides in the world, with 129.46 assassinations per one million women.

Jesuit Martyr's Vigil

"No hay amor cristiano sin lucha de justicia" 
"There is no Christian love without a fight for justice"
-Ignacio Ellacuria S.J., killed Nov. 16th 1989

Yesterday was the UCA Vigil for the six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter who were killed at the UCA, 21 years ago.  The Nicaragua VM's came up for the event and we stayed until after 12.  Ali's first vigil!  This is part of the theme quote of the year.  Here are my pictures.

A Mother's Heart

I wrote this after spending the day working with a team who was interviewing women who participated in the Civil War here in El Salvador.

I think every mother
has the same heart.
In that the thing that we love the most
And the thing that we most fear losing
Are the same.

Something in our biology
That makes us ache for our children if we haven't seen them enough
That puts our attention on something else first, before ourselves
Is he hungry? Is she safe? Will they always feel my love?

And it is that heart
That breaks
For other mothers
And their loss.

My heart, my mother heart,
breaks with the pain of the Salvadoran mother.

Pumpkin Pumpkin

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Big and Fat

Turn into a Jack-o-Lantern just like THAT! 

I have memories of my little sister in pre-school sitting at the dinner table singing that song for us that she had learned at the kids at her school got all hyped up for Halloween.  I realize Halloween was two weeks ago, but I know its still fall in the States and pumpkins go with the fall.  I want to share how we celebrated Halloween in our house.

Victims of Hurricane Ida: Presente!

A year ago today, Hurricane Ida hit El Salvador and killed over 200 people while destroying thousands of homes due to poor housing construction and environmental degradation.  Today, a beautiful day in El Salvador, we remember those who died and those whose lives were affected for ever.  To quote my friend Beth, "I believe that people shouldn't die when it rains."  Read about her organization, CEIBA, which was founded after last years disaster.