Walking With El Salvador

On September 15, 2021, El Salvador celebrated the 200th anniversary of Central America's independence from Spain. The day brought fireworks in the early morning and small celebrations in town squares. Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, parades and pomp and pageantry were scaled back. School children did not march through the streets carrying flags or twirling batons to the accompaniment of marching bands.  In defiance of pandemic protocols, large groups of protestors did march in defense of water protection, defense of women's rights and in opposition to Bitcoin (recently made an official currency in El Salvador), but that is another story. Celebration on September 15, 2021 in Tonacatepeque Photo credit:  Radio Comunitaria Tonaca This story about a fiesta with little ones began on September 1st, when the teacher and the parents of the church preschool in Los Héroes got together and decided to plan a small bicentennial celebration.  They wanted to honor the annual t...

They dance. They have friends. They stay up late doing homework. They text. They work when they can. They go to high school nearby. They do spoken word. They live with their parents. They ride the bus for 3 hours to study at a university. They are active in their churches. They are artists. They care for babies. They have babies. They stay up late doing homework. They play the drums. They play cell phone games. They play soccer games. They have friends. They have friends who have died. They have friends who have been killed. They love their community. They come home before dark. They are afraid of their community. There are rules in their community. They are organized. They are organizing in the community. They have gifts. They have talents. They have goals. They have dreams. They love their community. They want to live in their community. They want to live. The rainy season had not quite taken hold, but the afternoon skies were gray and threatening. ...

It was a warm Sunday afternoon.  We parked in the lot behind the art museum (MARTE).  A couple of girls walked by carrying replicas of overstuffed chairs and pink ballet shoes.  We walked to the front of the Presidential Theater alongside a girl with a large, foam teacup costume and a couple of mothers fussing with big, green feathery things.  We wondered if these were cast members or if children were dressing in costume to watch the performance of Bella y La Bestia (Beauty and the Beast) . So, yes, as it turns out we were lining up in front of the theater right alongside the cast members, with their costumes half-in-hand and with their make-up sparkling.  This performance of Beauty and the Beast was a production of the Macholah School of Dance - two shows on one date to benefit a shelter for persons with cancer who live far outside of the capital city of San Salvador and need treatments in city hospitals.  (Visit www.cpses.org to learn more about Alb...