Reading about El Salvador

Tim's El Salvador Blog 

This is a good time to pick up something to familiarize yourself a little about El Salvador.  I am going to start reading Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez.  The story starts in 1932, a pivotal time in Salvadoran history.  I'm reading this book because it is recommended on Tim's Blog and it covers a time period that I don't know much about.

In this post, I am sharing a great blog on everything Salvadoran with you - Tim's Blog.  I strongly suggest, as part of your preparation for this year's trip that you start reading his posts whenever they come out.  He covers a wide range of topics including current affairs, politics, lifestyle and Salvadoran history.  He introduces his readers to new blogs about El Salvador on a regular basis.

Tim also has a great collection of books and resources for those interested in El Salvador.  It is a list that grows as he receives new recommendations from his readers.  You can find this valuable post right here.

What preparation will you be doing?  Does anything appeal from Tim's list?

Happy reading!

a small selection from Tim's book list

Related articles

• Long journey ends at home for man drifting at sea

Day by Day in El Salvador: Day Four - The Romero Tour

Day Four: Beginning of the Romero Tour

First stop

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior (Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador) is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador and the seat of the Archbishop of San Salvador. The church was twice visited by Pope John Paul II who said that the cathedral was "intimately allied with the joys and hopes of the Salvadoran people."^[1] During his visits in 1983 and 1996, the Pope knelt and prayed before the Tomb of Archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated in 1980, whose tomb here is a major pilgrim draw. President Barack Obama visited the Cathedral and the tomb during his March 2011 trip to Latin America.

How does this fit into the tour?

From BBC On This Day

1979: El Salvador cathedral bloodbath

At least 18 demonstrators have been killed and many wounded after police opened fire on anti-government protesters outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador.

The protest in the Central American country was organised by the left-wing group known as the Popular Revolutionary Bloc.

People started screaming and running to the church but many were hit before they could get there Ken Hawkins, eyewitness

Witnesses said the steps of the cathedral were littered with bodies. Freelance photographer Ken Hawkins told the Los Angeles Times there had been no warning from government forces before the shooting started.

"There was a continual burst of very heavy fire for about two and a half to three minutes," he said. "People started screaming and running to the church but many were hit before they could get there."

The Romero Tour is another new activity for us.  You can see a description of the entire tour here.  
We have visited most of these sites on previous tours - it is really good to visit all these locations at the beginning of our trip.  The sites connected to Oscar Romero set the context for the entire trip. Archbishop Romero is a national symbol for the people of El Salvador.  He is an inspiration to the social justice movement in El Salvador and to people around the world.  No trip to El Salvador would be complete without at least a day focusing on Romero.

Below are a series of images associated with Archbishop Romero including the chapel where he died and his tomb, located in the basement of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

What do you think of this day?  Do you know much about the archbishop? What are your expectations for the day?

Related articles

• Murdered Salvadorean Archbishop Romero remembered
• Canonization for Oscar Romero?
• March 24 - Oscar Romero
• Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero: El Salvador's Revolutionary of Peace
• Viewpoint: Pope Francis, Make This Man a Saint

From Tim's Blog - a great video to be watching at this cold and dreary time of year!

Romero by Romero 2

Here is part 2 of the trailer.

I will try to find out where to get the entire video

Romero By Romero 1

This is a trailer to a documentary on Oscar Romero - Part 1

This was posted on Tim's Blog

Paul

Stories of War and Hope

Stories of War and Hope  From Tim's Blog

Worth a visit is the website El Salvador: Stories of War and Hope. The website has collected oral testimonies of participants in the events of El Salvador's civil war. The words of these participants put a human face on that tumultuous period for an English speaking audience.

One Story

Defending Our Town - Miguel




Miguel (not his real name) grew up in a town terrorized by death squads. When he was merely six years old, he was forced to witness the death of his own first grade teacher. Historically, this event coincides with the repression against teacher's strikes (1969 and 1971) organized by the ANDES-21, or National Association of Salvadoran Educators.


By the time he was twelve, Miguel and other children in the town decided to create a defense group, armed with slingshots, to try to put a stop to the nightly kidnappings and murders. The group of approximately 50 adolescents slowly became a small guerrilla as they confronted the army with stolen weapons. They eventually joined the FMLN when the war exploded, and Miguel was among the survivors who “liberated” his town from the armed forces to incorporate it into guerrilla-controlled territory.



 http://www.memoriaypaz.net/repression1.php?testi_id1=58

The National Public Radio website has a photo slideshow of work by photographer Juan Carlos. His work shows a gritty side of the struggle in daily life for many in El Salvador.

This was posted on Tim's Blog
Tim's Blog is a wonderful place to pick up information on El Salvador