CONTRAST

      We have "Contrast" in art and music so I want to give a balanced picture of what "La Vida" (the Life) is for so many people here in El Salvador.  Daily life for the poor here in the Capital city, San Salvador means long hard physical labor in extreme heat and humidity.  The average city person who works and sells in the central market works from 3 or 4am. until 9 or 10pm. six or seven days per week.  They must get their fruits & vegetables, etc. to the market any way they can which includes carrying extreme weight on their heads or backs.  If they are lucky they have an old wheelbarrow or push cart.  Some carry huge baskets on buses for hours.

                                                                                Flower Lady

                                                                      Market Lady & I

                                                                 Beautiful Flower Lady

     I am amazed at their endurance and ability to survive hard times.  I want to contrast one picture of their hectic city life with the inherent Beauty and strength of the Salvadoran people.  For example, the elderly beautiful woman with a flower was carrying a huge load of flowers & plants on her head to sell at market.  It took my Spanish teacher, Lisandra & I to lift the load off her head so I could buy some flowers from her.

La Palma

La Palma

Fernando LLort  Mural design

Oscar, our teacher amigo, me & amigo Pedro from Holland

Traditional oven for baking bread  - Delicious!!!

Salvadoran "La Palma" amigo Juan, grandma, & Pedro

     La Palma is a picturesque art village in the northern mountain area of El Salvador very close to the Honduran border.  Some friends and I from the language school took a local bus on Saturday.  The trip took 4 hours one way by bus up into beautiful pine covered hills.  An artist named Fernando LLort moved there in the 1970s to avoid the war violence.  He taught the local people to paint, and let them use his designs.  He has moved back to San Salvador, the Capital, and continues to paint.  La Palma today is noted for fine folk style paintings of local animals, houses, people, and nature.  I recently went to see a new exhibit of Fernando LLort, and I am starting to meet the local Salvadoran artists, writers, and musicians who have so much beauty and hope to share.  They are amazing survivors, and their stories are worth hearing today.

"Surfs Up" Tunco Beach, El Salvador

Tunco Beach

     My Spanish Language friends & I took a local bus to one of the beautiful Pacific Coast beaches here in El Salvador. Its a 300km stretch of pristine tropical beaches with fantastic cliffs lined with palm trees.  There are no high rise hotels or Condos.  You can relax in a hammock or swim/surf in clean waters.  There are fishing villages where you can sit at an outdoor restaurant and enjoy fresh caught fish.  Tunco Beach is one of the most popular beaches for surfing.  Surfers from all over the world come here.  The atmosphere is friendly, and we stayed with a local Salvadoran couple who had a few rooms to rent.  We say here, "Todos es tranquilo!" (everything is tranquil!)

Life(VIDA) in El Salvador

Traditional Weaving

                             Panchimalcho, a peaceful small town rich in Indigenous Indian Culture

Santa Cruz de Roma 1725

                                                         

Traditional Dances

                                                                    

     Our Spanish Language Class took a wild bus ride to Panchimalcho near the Capital of San Salvador.  The buses only cost .20, and they are called "chicken buses" because they stop anywhere along the road and the locals get on the bus with their chickens & things.  The people here are very friendly and beautiful.  They love to laugh at us "gringos" in a nice fun way.  My Dutch friend, Peter (Pedro) doesn't speak much Spanish or English, and he is so tall he touches the ceiling of the buses which makes everyone laugh.  Yesterday, on the way home, Peter fell flat on the floor of the bus because they drive crazy fast, and you must hold on for dear life when they make a turn.  We all laugh because the bus rides are like the thrill rides at Disneyland.  Panchimalco also has the oldest Church still in use in El Salvador, founded in 1725.  There is a wonderful Cultural Museum here along with kids dancing old local dances, and a lady who demonstrates traditional weaving.