elsAlvAdor2cOstArIca: July 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Just a little of what makes El Salvador So !@#% Great!

Alright let me switch over to some English for some of my English Speaking peeps out there. Sorry yall its just that being in a Latin country makes me wanna speak Spanish, strange I know. Anyhow, just a few of the things I love about this place Pollo Campero, Its' painters, family, home cooked food and its amazing volcano lake crates! Sure there is a longer list but you will just have to ask me or check back when I post them photos-hehe!

Ancient volcanos turned lake in La Libertad!

Paintings from the MARTE Museum in San Salvador

Pollo Campero Yeeeeaaa!

Re-tracing family roots

Home cooked Salvadoran food!

En La Palma, Chalatenango

Despues de ver a Samuel y Camilo nos animamos de todos ir a La Palma con mis companeros de La Hacienda Colima. No estuvimos alli mucho tiempo pero creo que La Palma tiene un cafe muy esquesito!

Los tres cheros de La Palma

Sus Calles que alegre!

Su Arte de estilo propio

Sus animalitos tan amigables

Localisada serca de Honduras

El Primo Camilo y El Cartel de Callao

Vaya esto lo pongo por el primo Camilo que es un chero buena honda senores! Y me alegro de descubrir a sus homiez de la Colonia El Callao de Lima, Peru que me gustaron instantamente! Vaya Camilo sigo con lo tuyo Cipote!

Camilo y su Papa Samuel

Camilo Navaja

Camilo y El Cartel de Callao

Descubriendo las raises en Ciudad Arce, La Libertad

Ise el esfuerzo de ir a Ciudad Arce lugar en donde naci yo, mi Mama y mucha de mi familia. Gracias a Mauricio, Samuel y Camilo pude llegar a Ciudad Arce para conoser a la Familia. Al llegar tuve el placer de ser recibido por mi tio Samuel, Primo Camilo, Tia Locha, Primos Freddy, Milta y Jose. Como sorpresa conosi a mi Bis Tia Otilia quien nos cocino dos hollonas de sopa de frijol y sopa de gallina india. Estuve en Ciudad Arce tres dias y puedo decir que lo pase de maravilla. Tuve la oportunidad de conoser la tumba de mi Abuela Mama Nena a quien tanto extrano, que dios la tenga en sus brasos de eternidad.

Con Camilo y Samuel visitando a los viejos que descansan

La Sopa de Tia Otilia

La Gran Tia Otilia

Con Camilo, Milta, Locha y Samuel en un parque de agua naturales en La Libertad

Ciudad Arce, La Libertad El Salvador Senores!

Some Thoughts...

A pleasant conversation with Carlos from the Hacienda lead me to some conclusions about the documentary at hand as well as some realizations on being in El Salvador. We talked about family, work and American culture which influences the life in El Salvador in many ways. I explained to him that working in the US can be a bit daunting at times. The work ethic in the US can be overwhelming which affords to own lots of stuff. However, the accumulation of stuff is not everything. I explained that working towards more stuff has created an ego centric culture in the US, concerned with owning what your neighbors owns. He explained that in El Salvador with the use of the dollar people have caught on to this same compulsive consumption of stuff. He said people here don't make much money but they still seek out to own expensive cell phones, clothes and other luxury goods. I agreed with him in saying that in the US this same mentally is what drives the country in too much debt at times. We then talked about the problem of gangs in El Salvador. This topic lead me to acknoledge that what ES experiences is an importation of too much American culture to the point where identity of country has seemed to be blurred. I explained that in the US this same culture of violence and bling bling has been specifically created in urban centers where the line between rich and poor drastically live close to each other. I added that this phenomenom is the outcome of poverty and injustice in American Urban centers where poor latino and black neighborhoods are kept the way they are as a means for Capitalism to exist. Now present in ES the gang phenomenom has exploded thanks to the countries massive poverty and injustice. In spite of these problems I concluded by saying that what ES needs to work on is on accepting this influx of culture but celebrating what makes it different from others. In otherwords, acknowledge not only it's American side but indegenous simmilarities. I explained to him that in the US the bling bling culture is owned by minorities as a form of social activism in a world where oppressive capitalist ideals overflow or choke all other ways of living. Indeed American culture has been consumed to a certain degree of no return in ES, unfortunatedly.

Proto-Azteca Ciudad de Cihuatan

Tuve la oportunidad de visitar la bella ciudad de Cihuatan en Cuscatlan. Fui con el grupo de artistas con quien e estado trabajando en La Hacienda Colima. La ciudad de Cihuatan me parecio muy grande comparada a ciudades como Chichen Itza. No muy bien puesta como Chichen Itza, Cihuatan tambien tenia una gran pared que detenia a los invadientes.

El grupo arriba de El Templo Mayor

Asiendo el mate de pelotero en la plaza de pelotas

Enfrente de el templo a la diosa de el planeta Venus

Dios de Cihuatan parecido a un Jaguar

La Ciudad de Cihuatan en el Presente

Ninos y Reporteros de Cusca/Chalate

Ah bueno ya me llego el tiempo te decirle adios a mi patria. He tenido un tiempo maravilloso y me pongo un poco triste de salir tan rapido...
Algunas foticas pa la alma!