EL SALVADOR: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Ok, I’m back. Well, I would’ve been right on schedule had I known my doctor was going to cancel my surgery in lieu of getting my thyroid back to normal.  Sheesh, this is getting to be too much drama for me. I think what I need is some food from El Salvador.

El Salvador is the smallest country in the Central American isthmus on the Pacific Ocean side. In fact, it’s the only country in Central America that doesn’t touch the Atlantic (just like how Belize is the only one that doesn’t touch the Pacific).  It’s surrounded by Guatemala and Honduras.  El Salvador is plagued with frequent and disastrous earthquakes, along with having over twenty volcanoes, some of which are still active – such wonderful gifts from being on the Ring of Fire. It also has over 300 rivers, the most important of which is the Rio Lempa. They have a definite rainy and dry season, even though they call their rainy season winter, which is actually from May to October.  (I wish it just rained during winter here.)  Hurricanes are also a threat to the country, as well as other extreme weather like El Niño, La Niña and droughts. El Salvador is also a country with a rich biodiversity because of its tropical climate. They’re known for being home to several species of sea turtles.

The capital city is San Salvador.  It’s not only the largest city with about 2.4 million people in the metro area, but it’s also vital as the government, culture, educational, and economic center. It’s been the host of several international and pan-American sports competitions.  In almost every sense, San Salvador is a modern city and tourist attraction with museums, parks, shopping, excellent restaurants, and cultural arts.

The original inhabitants were the Pipil people, who spoke Nahuatl. It’s also believed that the Mayans may have also been in the area as well, since El Salvador lies on the edge of their civilization.  El Salvador wasn’t able to escape the same smallpox epidemic that his other areas of the Caribbean, Central, and South America when the Spaniards made their entrance.  The Spanish practically lost their minds over the gold found in Mexico and Guatemala, but when they got to the Pipil lands, they were sorely dismayed at the lack of gold. However, the area had great soil from the volcanic lands. So, they kept it anyway. There were many battles fought between the Pipils and the Spanish, ones in which the Pipil didn’t fare so well. Finally, Salvadorans banded together and declared their independence from Spain.  Soon after that, they joined Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to create the Federal Republic of Central America. It only lasted 20 years until it dissolved, and El Salvador became it’s own independent country until it joined the Greater Republic of Central America, along with Honduras and Nicaragua. It dissolved after two years, and El Salvador once again became it’s own independent country. The country turned its focus on coffee production as its main means of economic growth.  The 20^th century brought along a string of political uprisings and coup d’états.  There have been many economic reforms in the 1990s and other social reforms aimed at bettering the state of the union.  Crime remains a prevalent problem throughout the country. 

The economy in this country has had its ups and downs.  In fact, like Ecuador, El Salvador adapted the US Dollar as its currency to stabilize their economy.  Natural disasters have always had a negative impact on their economy as they struggle to rebuild.  El Salvador has often been considered a mono-export country, meaning one that pretty much relies on one product.  It used to be indigo but later switched to coffee. Inflation is fairly steady although still one of the lowest in the region.  And even at that, it still has the third largest economy in Central America.  They are seeing growth, and like other Central American and Caribbean countries, ecotourism is one contribution.  Remittances from abroad – when people move to another country for employment and send part of the money home – are another contribution, as well as free-trade agreements.

Look at the size of those baskets -- this has GOT to be back-breaking work.

The vast majority of Salvadorans identify themselves as Christians – Roman Catholics as the primary denomination, followed by Protestantism.  The next most common belief is non-belief: this includes people who are atheist, agnostic, or people who believe in some sort of god but doesn’t have a religion.  There are other religions represented in El Salvador but with much smaller followings.

Spanish is the most widely-spoken language in El Salvador.  Other indigenous languages that are spoken by a small population are Q’eqchi’ (a language spoken by indigenous people from Guetemalan and Belizian who were living in El Salvador), Nawat, and Maya, although these speakers also speak Spanish as well.  Common foreign languages that are learned in school are French, Dutch, German, and English.  And since WWII, there are also small Japanese and Taiwanese communities as well. 

There are a few famous people of Salvadoran descent.  Christy Turlington, model for Calvin Klein, Maybelline, and Versace is half-Salvadoran.  Writer and artist Consuelo de Saint Exupéry is from El Salvador; she married French writer Antoine de Saint Exupéry, author of one of my favorite books, The Little Prince.  And unfortunately, the street gang MS-13 that is based in Los Angeles, San Francisco and many other cities across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America is made up of ex-pat Salvadorans. But on the other hand, it’s one of the few countries that is experiencing reforestation of its tropical rain forests.  It does host one UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a place called Joya de Ceren.  The entire site was covered in ashes after a volcanic explosion and has been called the “Pompeii of the Americas.”  It makes you wonder perhaps how many other things that have been buries under volcanic ash that we haven’t discovered yet.

Up next: holidays and celebrations

COLOMBIA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

A little over a decade ago now, I read a story about a motorcyclist who wanted to drive from the United States to the tip of South America and back. In order to keep track of where he was, his family followed him through his credit card transactions. When he got through Panama and was driving through Colombia – his entry into the South American continent – he was kidnapped by Colombian rebels and forced to hike through the jungles in the rain carrying his gear with assault rifles at his back. After five terrifying weeks, they finally let him go, keeping the bike of course.  The embassy helped him get his passport and certain papers back, and his friends rallied together to send him a new bike. When asked if he was going to return back to the US, he replied (and I’m paraphrasing), “Hell, no. I’ve come this far, and I’m not letting those jerks ruin my trip.” Wow. Of course he’s an ex-Hell’s Angel. (Can you tell?)

Colombia is the only country in South America that touches both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It borders Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. Geologically, the land varies from beautiful beaches to Andean mountain views. Since Colombia lies on the famed Ring of Fire, it’s the home of active volcanoes and also frequent earthquakes as well. Columbia is one of the most ecological diverse countries in the world. Part of the Amazon rainforest extends itself into Colombia as well as being part of the drainage points for both the Amazon River and Orinoco River. (Every time I read about the Orinoco River, I think of that Enya song, “Orinoco Flow.”)

Colombia has some of the oldest artifacts and antiquities found in the whole world. The largest indigenous populations were mainly the Muisca (which is how I mistype the word “music/musica” all the time), Quimbaya, and the Tairona. The Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa was the first European to actually explore the area and see the Pacific Ocean from South America. While it was known by several names throughout its history, Colombia was essentially named after Christopher Columbus. Colombia (as part of the colonial name of New Granada) declared its independence from Spain in 1810 but wasn’t fully recognized until nine years later. The famous Simón Bolívar (and namesake of the country of Bolivia) became the first president of Colombia at this time. Colombian history from this point forward is marked by several periods of civil unrest and political fighting between rebel forces/vigilante groups and government forces. Of course, it hasn’t always been this way: there were periods of peace, too.

I love the windswept hair forward. A man ahead of his time. 

Colombia is ethnically diverse, with roughly a little less than 40% of its population coming from European roots, 10% from Africa, and the rest coming from indigenous peoples. And when you have such a diverse population, you also have large numbers of mixed and mestizo populations as well to consider. The national language is Spanish, spoken by over 99% of the country, but there are also 65 indigenous languages and two creoles that are also spoken. You’ll also find English spoken on the islands of San Andrés and Providencia Island. Like most Latin American countries, Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion, but they also have followers of all of the major religions found as well.

The capital city is Bogotá, a city of about 7.6 million people (a little less than Chicago’s urban area).  Nicknamed “The Athens of South America,” this world-class city boasts many prominent universities, museums, libraries, restaurants, theatres, sports arenas, and historic architecture. Bogotá was named a World Book Capital in 2007, the second in the Americas (after Montreal, Canada). The city (and country) has really made a push towards decreasing violent crime and crime in general in hopes that this results in increased tourism, which has already started to rise.

There are some pretty famous things and people that have come from Colombia: Juan Pablo Montoya (race car driver), John Leguizamo (actor), Shakira (musician), and many other musicians, scientists, and writers who have impacted our world. Colombia shares its wonderful coffee with the rest of the world (remember Juan Valdez?). I’m pretty sure I have a special place in my heart for all of the coffee-producing countries. I just know I’m pretty sure the meal is going to be incredible, just like my Colombian playlist on Spotify. And my husband is going to teach me how to grill. (Again.) So this should be interesting all around.

Up next: holidays and celebrations