The Pipil tribe originally called El Salvador "Cuzcatlan" which in Nahuatl language means: “the land of precious things”.
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Sunday, August 30, 2009
Childhood Home
My Grandparent's garden
Growing up at my Grandparents garden, there were so many precious things to be found!! Their garden was like a little forest, crowded with trees of Guava, mango, lemon, orange, avocado and maranon (cashew), etc.
Growing up at my Grandparents garden, there were so many precious things to be found!! Their garden was like a little forest, crowded with trees of Guava, mango, lemon, orange, avocado and maranon (cashew), etc.
This is how my Grandparent’s garden looks now. Most of the trees are now gone, however the soil continues to be fertile. The decaying vegetation, the warm and humid conditions prompts new vines, trees and plants to emerge.
El Guayavo/ The Guava Tree
My dear guava tree! The tree I grew up with, was chopped shortly after I left El Salvador. He was my best friend as a child.
I was surprised to find out that a new guava tree had grown in the garden. When I asked if somebody had planted that tree, they told me no. They said the guava tree found its home there on its own.
Then I realized, the guava tree and I are one of the same, none of us were intentionally seeded or planted, and yet, we managed to grow and found our home in the same garden...maybe the reason why we were always so close.
I was surprised to find out that a new guava tree had grown in the garden. When I asked if somebody had planted that tree, they told me no. They said the guava tree found its home there on its own.
Then I realized, the guava tree and I are one of the same, none of us were intentionally seeded or planted, and yet, we managed to grow and found our home in the same garden...maybe the reason why we were always so close.
This is how I spent most of my childhood…up in a guava tree!
My guava tree was truly a friend, he saw me laugh, cry, sing and play.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The House
When I was 7, I was forced to abandon the garden and move to this house. Here is where I would spend the rest of my life in El Salvador...
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer."
Albert Camus
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer."
Albert Camus
My Ancestors, the Mayans!
Joyas de Ceren/ Jewel of Ceren
Joya de Ceren is a preserved Mayan village in El Salvador. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name means simply "Jewel of Ceren," and it is one of the more popular tourist attractions in El Salvador.
Joya de Ceren is a preserved Mayan village in El Salvador. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name means simply "Jewel of Ceren," and it is one of the more popular tourist attractions in El Salvador.
"Joya de Ceren was a Mayan village that was populated before European contact with the Americas. It was a relatively small farming village, located on the outer edges of the Mayan civilization. It was first settled sometime in the 9th or 10th century BCE, and remained settled for more than a millennium. Around the middle of the 3rd century it was abandoned when the Ilopango volcano erupted, but by the early-5th century it had been repopulated and once more flourished." http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-joya-de-ceren.htm
San Andres
Mayan ruins of San Andres in the valley of Zapotitán.
"San Andrés is a pre-Hispanic site of El Salvador, whose occupation began around the year 900 BC as an agricultural town in the valley of Zapotitán in the department of La Libertad. This early establishment was vacated by the year 250 because of the enormous eruption of the caldera of Lago Ilopango, and was occupied again in the 5th Century, along with many other sites in the valley of Zapotitán. Between 600 and 900 AD, San Andrés was the capital of a Mayan lordship with supremacy over the other establishments of Vale de Zapotitán."
The Volcanoes
Quezaltepec Volcano
San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador, also known as “the valley of hammocks” due to its constant seismic activity. The city of San Salvador rests on the skirts of the Quezaltepec volcano.
San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador, also known as “the valley of hammocks” due to its constant seismic activity. The city of San Salvador rests on the skirts of the Quezaltepec volcano.
The Crater
"The San Salvador Volcano (also known as Quetzaltepec) is a complex volcano situated northwest to the city of San Salvador. The crater has been nearly filled with a relatively newer edifice, the Boquerón volcano. The city of San Salvador is adjacent to the volcano and the western section of the city actually lies among its slopes. Because of this close proximity, any geological activity of the volcano, whether eruptive or not, has the potential to result in catastrophic destruction and death to the city. Despite this, the volcano is iconic of the city, and several TV and radio antennas are situated on the El Picacho peaks and the crater of Boqueron. El Picacho, the prominent peak is the highest elevation (1,960 meters altitude)"
Izalco Volcano
"Izalco is a parasitic stratovolcano of the Santa Ana Volcano, which is located in western El Salvador. It is situated on the southern flank of the Santa Ana volcano. Izalco erupted almost continuously from 1770 (when it formed) to 1958 earning it the nickname of "Lighthouse of the Pacific", and experienced a flank eruption in 1966. During an eruption in 1926, the village of Matazano was buried and 56 people were killed. The formation of the volcano actually occupied highly arable land on the southern slope of the Santa Ana volcano which was used for the production of coffee, cacao and sugar cane."
The Landscape
Enjoy some pictures of the landscape of El Salvador! 
Quezaltepec / El Boqueron Volcano
Sushitlan Lake
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