🗣️Speaking Salvadorian Vernacular + 📰 El Salvador News
The pains of speaking Salvadorianly + El Salvador News
Buen día,
Ever since I shared that TikTok where I explain the differences between Salvadorian, Salvadoran and El Salvadoran, I’ve been thinking a lot about language and how our geographic location in diaspora affects how we speak and experience Salvadoran identity. I was born in Los Angeles and raised in the sprawling LA-metropolitan area, where the largest number of Salvadorans outside of El Salvador reside, but are still vastly outnumbered by the historically large Mexican-American population. Now I live in Washington, DC, where there’s less Salvadorans numerically, but per capita we’re the biggest Latinx group AND also the largest immigrant group in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area.
So growing up in Southern California, I more often then not code-switched into a neutral (read: more Mexican) version of Spanish to be understood by neighbors and my community. Now in DC, my Salvadorian accent is ✨healing✨ because it’s just the most common form of Spanish spoken here and I hear it everyday wherever I go — because Salvadorans are everywhere. It feels like the closest to El Salvador of any place in the U.S. I’ve lived or been to.
Here are some musings on the subject: (Also since Elon is a baby, I can no longer embed Tweets here - I’ll be sharing screenshots, but you can follow the convo here)
Poet and cachimbona Yesika Salgado even chimed in to share her experience as an LA Salvadoran who doesn’t speak Salvadorianly enough for some people:
Anyways, as a West Coast Salvadoran, I think we should all get to know our DC-area familia if ever given the chance.
Also, if you want to read more about my linguistic Salvadoran thoughts, check out this article on Vos vs Tú that I did a few years back.
Watch me speak at Dartmouth College - Tonight!
I’ll be speaking tonight to Central Americans United Student Association (CAUSA) Dartmouth College. Tonight Wednesday at 6PM ET/ 3PM PT.
The zoom link is: https://dartmouth.zoom.us/j/5922304007
🗞️Boletín - El Salvador News April 12, 2023
Combining my news section this week — trying to see if one post per week works better for y’all. Let me know.
NBC News: ICE arrests a retired Salvadoran military officer accused of involvement in El Mozote massacre
El Mozote was the deadliest massacre in modern Latin American history. It’s been over 40 years since it happened and there has been no justice. Roberto Antonio Garay Saravia is the first person to ever be arrested over this massacre.
NPR: What Bukele's pride in El Salvador's pet hospital says about the controversial leader
This 4-minute NPR interview talks about how President Bukele built a state-of-the-art pet hospital for the rich, while poor Salvadorans struggle in the post-COVID economy.New York Times: El Salvador Decimated Its Ruthless Gangs. But at What Cost?
While Bukele’s one year state of exception rages on, many people report feeling safer. However, this safety comes at the price of the suspension of the country’s human rights. And for some mothers that means not seeing their sons for over a year, no trial and likely experiencing knowing their child is experiencing torture inside the prison.
🗞️ Other Central American News
AP: US, Panama and Colombia aim to stop Darien Gap migration
Stricter border enforcement is coming to the Darien Gap that connects North and South America. It’s important to note that not only is the Darien Gap incredibly dangerous, it is also often a route taken by West African migrants, particularly those from Cameroon. A few years ago, I did a video about that and you can watch here.
Saludos,
Daniel