End of Day One

End of Day One

Author’s note: In these entries I will write a lot about my impressions of El Salvador. I will do my best to make sure I get my facts straight, but I acknowledge that mine is but one, narrow opinion based on limited information from my brief visit. I apologize for errors, and mischaracterizations. I am an expert in my own experiences, but in no way an expert on El Salvador. I beg your indulgence.

It’s 7:46pm local time, Sunday August 6, as I sit in the lobby of Casa de Izel in Santa Tecla, having just returned from dinner with Rex, Lily, Maria, Alan and Anne at a lovely restaurant a block away. The hotel is small, charming and lovely, featuring a roof deck with gorgeous views of the city and the nearby volcano (dormant for many years). Victor is on duty this weekend and has taken good care of us.

Lily, Maria and I landed at the San Salvador airport at 11:30am local time on a flight from Miami. We were met by Don Israel, who held a ConTextos / Bread Loaf sign, sporting a smile. He drove us into town (we got to meet his young son, Josue), about a 45-minute ride. The weather near the airport (located at the coast) was steamy and hot, but it cooled considerably as we climbed elevation into town. Santa Tecla today was perhaps 78-80 degrees and mildly humid. Lots of clouds and fog and it looked like it might rain for a bit but held off in the end. We checked into Casa de Izel, and went for a walk around Plaza del Carmen, a park a block away ringed by merchants of all kinds, and a farmer’s market selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Kids kicked a soccer ball, old men sat on park benches, families frolicked on a Sunday afternoon. We passed many churches and schools in a short period. We bought bottled water at the local pharmacy, discovered a small gift shop that sells handmade goods (must return to buy souvenirs later), and had lunch at Cafeteria TIN, where I enjoyed the Plato Tipico Pollo and a Fresca. Alan arrived about 2:30, flying in from New York City, and about 5 we ran into Rex, who arrived yesterday. Finally, the gang is complete.

I reflected at dinner at the multi-cultural table we had – Alan, a Chilean guy from Jersey; Lily, a Puerto Rican from Lawrence; Rex, a Navajo from Arizona; Maria, a Dominican from New York City; and Anne, a Peace Corps veteran originally from Minnesota. Plus a bald white Irish guy from North Andover (me). I feel blessed to be among this company. There is considerable expertise at the table – Alan is a brilliant music teacher, Lily a charismatic youth leader, Rex, the former Vice President of the Navajo Nation, a wonderful poet, activist and leader, Maria, an elementary school special needs teacher. I can learn a lot from this crowd.

Tomorrow, Monday, the work begins in earnest. We will meet the rest of our team  - the ConTextos staff, several other teachers, and two representatives from Starfish in Guatemala, at 6am at the ConTextos offices. We will board a bus for the one-hour ride to the Ingeniero Guillermo Borja Nathan School in Apopa, our home for the next two days. It serves some 1,000 students grades K-12 in two shifts – 7am-12noon, then 12noon-5pm. Students attend one shift or the other; some teachers teach one shift, a few teach both. School has been on holiday, so it’s their first day back. The day will open with an assembly featuring announcements, the pledge of allegiance, the national anthem, etc., followed by classes. Then our team will split up into our five working teams of three apiece. I am on a team with my friend (and ABL alum 2015) Carlos Recinos, plus a teacher from the Berfalia School. The three of us will spend the day observing classes and discussing.

El Salvador’s problems with gangs is well-documented. The US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, visited last week to talk about the MS-13 gang and its influence in the US. It is definitely true that there is a severe gang problem here, analogous to Mafia interests in the US in the 1920s and 1930s. I have heard many horrible stories of people’s lives destroyed by gangs. But it’s also true that El Salvador is a gorgeous place with lovely people. My experiences have been completely wonderful. Some think that Session’s trip to El Salvador was overblown – as much about justifying a crackdown on immigration in the US as anything else. I am not sure. I just know it’s complicated. And I don’t trust Sessions.

Over dinner I asked Alan about drumming in El Salvador (he is a drum maestro). He told me about the research he did into indigenous and folk music in El Salvador. Anne and he educated me. In the 1930s there was a government crackdown on the rights on indigenous peoples under the guise of suppressing communism. A massive slaughter and terror campaign murdered and tortured indigenous peoples, and those who survived suppressed their culture. Partly as a result, the local language, Nawat, was endangered. Today, perhaps 200 people in the whole country speak it as an L-1. Some more speak it as a second language, and there is a movement to reclaim it, but it’s on life support. Other cultural practices – dress, music – were suppressed to the point of near elimination. Cultural influences form nearby Guatemala and Honduras have blended with Salvadoran in some cases, or displaced. And the effects of US cultural hegemony have been intense. In sum, Alan was unable to find indigenous Salvadoran music to build off. I know he will work his magic anyway.

El Salvador seems a fragile ecosystem in many ways – environmentally, culturally, economically. The U.S. dollar is the currency here. The restaurant we had dinner at – by no means American-themed – played Karma Chameleon by Culture Club and Kenny Roger’s The Gambler. However, we ate corn tortillas and the very best arroz con abichuela (rice and beans) I have ever had, cooked Salvadoran style. Tomorrow we will eat at the Pupusa Factory, to enjoy the best of Salvadoran cuisine. Anne told us about the author Jorge Galan, who writes in a magical realist style reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. That which is unique about El Salvador is special – will it survive the double onslaught of gang pressure and US cultural hegemony?

The walls of Casa de Izel are decorated with a wonderful assortment of art, including photographs, paintings, and mixed media pieces. There is a particular piece that had caught the eye of several of us. It’s a painting, deep rust in color, with a circle of sorts, criss-crossed by barbed wire. Words at the top read, “Zona Controlada.”  Maria and I think the piece is a statement about safety – that this is a place that is controlled, where you are protected. We take away a reassuring message. Alan isn’t so sure. He astutely points out that barbed wire usually is not a good sign. Perhaps there is deeper symbolism there. Mostly, I like the colors.