War Stories

As you probably know, El Salvador went through an awful civil war that lasted from 1975 to the early1990s. Previewing videos about the country prior to our trip, I discovered that we were going to be in one of the regions that was most affected by the hostilities, and I learned about a man from the minute town of Cinquera, whose name is Don Rafa, who is considered a hero by the local populace and who had fought with the rebels since the age of 15.

I inquired about this man with the owner of our hotel, who is also a tour guide, and he said that, not only does he know him, but he could arrange for us to meet with him, and learn directly from him all about those times. Diane and I discussed this possibility and we both agreed that it would be interesting indeed. So, at 9 o'clock this morning, we set out to the town of Cinquera, and were welcomed into the clothing store owned by Don Rafa, where, in a room at the back of the store, he entertained us for nearly two hours, detailing his life during the war. It was an amazingly touching visit, and no tour through a museum could have been more gripping.

He explained that until the end of the war, poor farmers in the country were basically enslaved by rich landowners who demanded they work 9 hour days, 6 days a week, for a mere 25 cents a day. The landowners were backed by the government and the local Catholic Church, and the destitute farmers had no way to improve their lot, as education, nor other opportunities were being made available to them. Don Rafa was sent by his parents, at the age of 15, to work in the capital, and once there, he was advised to attend school, as well.

While in school, students were often victims of prosecution by loyalist soldiers who thought of them as fomenting a revolution, thus he happened to be among a group of students, when soldiers attacked, and he managed to escape, quite frightened, and managed to get back to his family in Cinquera. However, by this time the farmers in the little town also were beginning to experience harassment by government troops, and ultimately, the latter massacred hundreds of men, women and children there. Understandably, Rafa was recruited into the newly formed guerilla force and was smuggled through Nicaragua, then sent to Cuba (his details of this journey kept us mesmerized), to learn guerilla fighting techniques. After 11 months he returned home and began training new recruits. He basically recounted for us all the key elements of his life as a guerilla fighter, until the peace accord was signed in the early 90s.

There was so much power in his story. So many things were revealed that to us Americans are unknown. These people had been suppressed for so long, and thanks to their armed struggle, new opportunities are now beginning to open up for them. Education has now been made available universally, and illiteracy has been wiped out. Don Rafa himself has been able to open up his modest clothing store.

We left his "tienda" feeling that we had just met a legend. We wanted to visit the local war museum, but due to the scarcity of tourists, due to the pandemic, it was closed. Everywhere in town though, reminders of the war are on display, downed helicopters, unexploded air bombs, monuments with hundreds of names of innocent civilians murdered in cold blood.

After the visit, Rene', our guide, and his trainee assistant, Jessica, led us through a hike in the nearby Cinquera Nature Reserve, where we took in a small waterfall .

We eventually made it back to Suchitoto where Diane and I enjoyed a very yummy lunch at the nearby El Tejado restaurant, sitting on a veranda with a wonderful view of the lake. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the refreshing pool on the property and the company of several parrots.

Meet Corita. She is a local doggie that took to me and followed me back into our hotel property and lied with me while I took a relaxing rest on the hammock outside our room.

I left Diane to catch up with the reading of her book, while I drove to another nearby waterfall, called El Tercio. On my way out, Rene' was working on an etching. He is quite talented and personable. The hike to the waterfall was quite steep and demanding, but ultimately well worth it. From there you could also enjoy a closer view of the lake.

For dinner we had been wanting to try the local dish "Pupusa", which is essentially two tortillas filled with ingredients of your choice. Once again, Diane opted for shrimp, while mine was made with pork, beans and cheese. We really enjoyed them, and will certainly eat them again before we leave. Perhaps more than once.

Before retiring, we enjoyed people watching on the colorful main square. While looking at the church, I realized that some of the cupolas had inverted kitchen dishes on them as decorations. We were told that they were offered by local families who wanted a piece of them to become a symbolic part of the church. Can you notice them in the picture?

Thanks for visiting Suchitoto with us. Tomorrow we'll take you to a whole different scene.