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El Salvador - A Central American Country

(8,124 square miles) European and Native American descent), and 9% Spanish Volcano, last erupted in 2005. democracy in which the people's elected deputies (representatives), vote on legislation ² Economy ¹ **Currency-** U.S. dollar petroleum, chemicals. shrimp; beef. coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity. ||< Historical Legacies-
 * < Quick Fact s ¹
 * Capital** - San Salvador
 * Area-** 21,041 square kilometers
 * Language-** Spanish, Nahua
 * Ethnic Composition-** 90% Mestizo (mix
 * Population-** 7,066,403 (July 2008 est.) ²
 * Religion-** Roman Catholic, Evangelical ¹
 * Literacy Percent-** 80
 * Highest Point-** Santa Ana (Ilamatepec)
 * Government-** Republic "a representative
 * Industry:** food processing, beverages,
 * Agriculture** : coffee, sugar, corn, rice;
 * Exports:** offshore assembly exports,

Much like the rest of North and South America, El Salvador is marked by a rich history and culture that is defined by events in its history. Whether it is conquest, war, and a civil rights movement, these events created the template for modern-day El Salvador. In this section, we will share some of the events that shaped what El Salvador is today:

Originally, three indigenous Amerindian groups inhabited the area now known as El Salvador: The Pipils who had emigrated from Central Mexico lived in the western area, the east region was controlled by the Lenca people, and the northern zone was populated by the Mayan the Chortis. Each of these groups had their own language and set of cultural beliefs and lifestyle. However, in 1525, Spanish conquerors succeeded in taking control of the entire region and named it El Salvador.

In 1811, after nearly 300 years of Spanish rule, the Criollo (those of pure Spanish blood and lineage) began to make cries for independence, citing their frustrations with the overbearing control Spain had over the territory as the main reason. However, it was not until several movements and civil uprisings that El Salvador was able to fully become an independent republic in 1838.

However, despite its independence, El Salvador’s power was controlled by an elite few who took possession of the majority of fertile and valuable land and made up the country’s government. As a result, the indigenous people began to resist the ruling class, but it proved to be futile. In 1931, General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez came into power and oversaw the ruthless oppression of the resistance, which consequently created the civil uprising of 1932, in which Martinez ordered the execution of those who opposed him, resulting in the death of an estimated 30,000 Salvadoran natives and political opponents. Disguised as democracies, subsequent government administrations continued to rule in this sort of tyrannical manner. As a result, basic human rights were ignored and abused in the country.

It was not until 1979 that the El Salvadoran population, tired of the discrimination and government abuse, began to organize under the umbrella known as the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and engaged the government with civil war. From 1980-1992, the civilian guerrilla fought against the U.S. backed- government army, resulting the death of an approximated 75,000 people by the government sponsored death squad. However, after twelve years of war, a peace agreement effectively ended the war and subsequently legitimized FMLN into an official political party.

Post-war El Salvador was marked by a reform in human rights, the military would no longer engage in violation and abuse of civilians, it completely removed itself from political and economical affairs, and instead prioritized professionalism. Also, the disgraced security forces were replaced by a civilian police force and the Supreme Court was completely revamped. Still, there is much to be done in regards to human rights in El Salvador, but it is slowly moving towards a more fair union.

Currently, the National Republican Alliance (ARENA), a conservative political party that is lead by the President, Rodrigo Avila, and has been in power for the last twenty years, governs El Salvador. However, the now legitimized party FMLN may threaten ARENA’s control, with their candidate Mauricio Funes being immensely popular throughout the country. The election is to take place on March 15, 2009. || More of El Salvador Photos Family, Marriage, and Community ⁴

Extended families are highly valued in El Salvador and cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents are equally value and counted on from both sides of the family. While the domestic residence usually only includes the nuclear (parents and their children), the Family Code recognizes that extend family must support each other. Food, clothing, housing, health care, and education are all means which family helps each other out with. Parents are expected to support children, sibling may be asked to financial support one another or grandparents may ask for help from grandchild or the other way around.

Marriage can happen three ways in El Salvador: informal, civil and through the church. In poor areas, the decision is to get marriage is based on the couple. Informal marriages or common-law marriages are very common, and the couple will set up a house and have children without a civil or church service. Common-law marriages are recognized and men are to send child support to the mother if the couple separates.

The Catholic Church and Evangelical churches in El Salvador do not recognize divorce so many families wait till they have children to marrying. The couple must be 18 years old to marry unless the woman has already had a child or been divorced. Divorces can happen depending on what religion is practice or in civil case, but the couple must separate and have a cause for the Divorce.

A town are very close-knit like families. In the town that Salvadoran lives in may be a fair distance from any other town (especially in rural areas), but everyone in that town knows each other life story, their personality and who they just sold their litter of puppies too.

Gender Roles

Gender roles play a major factor in how individuals go through in their everyday life. Machismo is when traditional roles remain that men are the financial support for the family and a women looks after the house. As a child is raised they are expected to follow these roles.

During the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992), woman began stepping out of domestic sphere and becoming active in leadership roles in organization and Christian groups.⁴ Women also become combatants and political leadership, during this time, for the **FMNL** (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front or Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional in Spanish). FMNL's five branches have its own women section, allowing women to gain work outside the home, open up more loan opportunities, education, economic support for children and medical care.⁴

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has also been providing gender sensitization training to help bridge the gap between job inequaltiy.⁵ However, woman rights are nowhere equal to men.

Women are still majority place into "supportive roles", and even working women are exclusively responsible for the housework and raising the children.⁴ In 1999 evaluation report in El Salvador, about 21% of rural households are headed by women.⁵ These households have a high rate of poverty. Women tend to work in low paying jobs and women usual get paid 28% less than men's salary.⁴ However in most of these cases, these women took these roles as a single mother and not equal sharing responsibilities. Single mother household are a product of the Civil War and fathers leaving their families for Mexico or America in search of work. ⁵



Health and Wealth

2006 est Salavdoran fertility rate is 3.12 children/woman and their population grows 1.72%.² A Salvadoran's birth life expectancy is 72 yrs old for the whole population ( //male:// 68.45 years and //female:// 75.84 years).² In 2002, 35% of the population is under the age of 15 and 5% of the population is over the age of 65.⁶

With contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions, El Salvador has high risk for infectious diseases, such as food or water born diseases (ex. bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever), vector borne diseases (ex. dengue fever) and water contact diseases (ex. leptospirosis).². In the 2000, it was estimated that 89% Urban and 79% rural households and population had access to improved Sanitation. Access to an improved Water source was 91% in Urban areas and 64% in Rural regions.⁷

According to 2003 estimate, about 0.7% of the adults have HIV/AIDS or 29,000 people living with HIV/AIDS².

Medical services are distributed through an insurance program supported by workers and their employers, and by government subsidy programs. However Medical service are not equally receive between the rich and poor or the urban or rural populations. ⁸

Everyday customs and Communication ⁹ Greetings - **-** are with handshakes and family or close friends may give a little pat or a hug. < **Women greeting** **Women** >- When women first meet they can either give a verbal response or a handshake, if it is formal. Good friends will kiss each on the cheek or hug. < **Men greeting** **Woman** >- A verbal message in informal settings or in formal a handshake. A light hug or kiss on the cheek for family friends. Personal Space- - During conversations Salvadoran prefer to stand less than an arms' length. There also tends to be alot of touching in conversations on the hands, arm and shoulders, but this does not happen as much different different genders. Buses tend to be crammed and little to no personal space preserved. Eye Contact- is direct, but when it over done it can be seen as a threat. Time - is a loose concept and Salvadoran tend to be an hour late to things. Bu s run regularly, like about every half an hour (depending on the bus route) but it does not come at a set time. Gestures- To motion someone and b eckon them, Salvadorans use a nod of the head or waving their hand down. To shown how tall a child is one shows the height with facing out, when a palm is facing down it shows the height of an animals or plant. Gift Giving-¹⁰ Salvadorians give gifts for birthday, Christmas, as well as religious events. It is invited to an home a gift of flowers, wine, bake goods, or imported sweets should be given to the host. Rose are well received, but gift of lilies or marigolds are used for funerals. Scissors or knives are also poor gifts, because it symbolized the desire to sever the relationship. In El Salvador, gifts are also opened when they are received.

Language ed. The nation language in El Salvador is Spanish, although there are a few Native American the still speak indigenous language such as Lenca, Pipil, or Kekchi.

Extinct in Hondura. //Alternate names:// Nahuat, Nawat. //Dialects//: Not intelligible with Isthmus Nahuatl of Mexico. //Classification:// Uto-Aztecan, Southern Uto-Aztecan, Azetecan, General Aztec. Pipil **Kekchi-** //Alternate names:// Quecchí, Cacché. //Classification:// Mayan, Quichean-Mamean, Greater Quichean, Kekchi
 * Lenca-** Town of Chilango. //Classification:// Unclassified, nearly extinct
 * Pipil-** Municipio of Dolores, Ocotepeque Department, near the El Salvador border.

Education

In El Salvador the law mandates free elementary schooling up to the 9th grade. In order to earn bachillerato, a high school diploma. Unfortunately schooling is not enforced, especially in farming areas or in the poor city sections. Sadly the civil war that took place in the 1980s ruined many of the programs, making it even harder for people to attend school. Many school were closed including the national university which is the University of El Salvador. Currently there are 2,300 primary and secondary schools with about a total of 1.3 million students. This is a little more than half of the school-age children. Only a third finish the 9th grade. The literacy rate for people age 15 and over, was 81 percent, 84 percent for men and 78.9 percent for women.

Literacy

National or official language: Spanish. Literacy rate: 55% to 63%. Also includes Central Pokomam, Turkish (500), Chinese (1,300).

Blind population: 8,000. Deaf population: 150,000 to 348,804 (1998). Deaf institutions: 4. The number of languages listed for El Salvador is 6. Of those, 5 are living languages and 1 is extinct.

Leisure/Entertainment/ Popular Culture Salvadorans enjoy playing //Futbal//, known to Americans as soccer, during their spare time¹¹.

San Salvador's //Zona Rosa// is considered to be the hippest district with the hottest nightlife in the country--it has the priciest clubs, bars, and restaurants¹¹. In this area you can find theaters like //Teatro Nacional//- which present English films with Sapnish subtitles and concerts.

 Holidays

Many Salvadoran holidays are religious, towns and villages hold festivals to worship their saints, during the months Christian holidays are celebrated nationally ¹².The first major religious holiday of the year in this culture is Holy Week or //Semana Santa//, which is celebrated the week of Easter ¹². During Easter weekend, people celebrate by going to church, the beach, and carnivals¹².

May 3rd is the beginning of the rainy season and this is //Dia de la Cruz//, the festival that mixes Christianity with indigenous fertility rights¹². On this day people usually plant a cross in their backyards and decorate it with fruits and flowers, a sign of good luck and growing season¹².

August 1st through 6th is the feast of the Savior of the World or //la fiesta del Salvador del Mundo//, the country's patron saint¹³. San Salvador, the country's capitol celebrate with street fairs, soccer games, fireworks, and a //"baja"//, a procession honoring the saint¹²,¹³.

Salvadorans also celebrate All Souls' Day also known as //Día de los Difuntos// on November 2nd //,// a holiday where //almas// or the spirit of the dead come back for family reunions. Families set up alters to honor the memory of their deceased loved ones and to welcome their visiting souls, many also visit cemeteries where loved ones are buried to decorate their tombs with flowers, candles, and food. On this day the community gathers together with feasts, music, and honoring the dead⁵.

December 24th marks the most crucial time of the Christmas Season, Salvadorans decorate their homes with ornaments commemorating the birth of Christ or //nacimientos// ¹². On this day people decorate Christmas trees, feast, and celebrate until very late. On Christmas evening, children receive gifts from //El Niño,// baby Jesus.¹⁴

Many festivals occur frequently throughout the year for recreation or to honor a saint.

Non religious holidays include:
 * Labor Day or Diá de los Trabajo is on May 1st ¹².
 * Mother's Day or Diá de las Madres is on May 10th.¹²
 * Independence Day on September 15th commemorating their independence from Spain in 1821¹³.
 * Columbus Day or //Diá de la Raza// on October 15 which celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America¹³.
 * San Miguel Carnival--a week long carnival in San Miguel during the last week of November.¹³

<span style="color: #406d49; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 200%;"> Landmarks/ Tourist Attractions <span style="color: #406d49; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

San Salvador, El Salvador, the country's capital sits in a valley adjacent to a volcano called Quezaltepec ¹³. This old city has many attractions and the most visited one of all is Metropolitan Cathedral, the main church of the Roman Catholic in Sal Salvador and it also is the burial site of Oscar Romero, a bishop of the Roman Catholic who was assassinated 1980¹. This city is also known by tourist to be one of the best surfing areas in El Savador.

Along with Sal Salvador, other surfing hot spots include, La Libertad (close to Sal Salvador), El Sunzal, El Zonte, and the wild El Este (the East) making El Salvador the hottest surfing spot in Central America.

The capital is home to the oldest theater in Central America called the National Theater of San Salvador, or //Catedral Metropolitana del San Salvador// where plays and operas are held monthly¹³. Along with the theater is The Presidential Palace, has three separate buildings including the president's home¹. The city is also known for it's many different shopping areas with vendors selling food to furniture¹.
 * [[image:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2419/2357087792_56fb27f64c.jpg width="260" height="299"]] ||
 * Catedral Metropolitana del San Salvador (source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2419/2357087792_56fb27f64c.jpg) ||

Some of El Salvador's volcanoes include Volcán de Santa Ana, Volcán de San Vicente, and Volcán de San Miguel¹⁵ and are located in the nation's country side.
 * [[image:http://z.about.com/d/geology/1/0/P/A/izalco.jpg width="362" height="242"]] ||
 * Volcán de Santa Ana (source: http://z.about.com/d/geology/1/0/P/A/izalco.jpg) ||

It's natural lakes are Lago de Ilopango, Lago de Coatepeque, Lago de Güija (country's largest natural lake) ¹⁶.
 * [[image:http://usuarios.lycos.es/geomiguel/coatepe12.jpg width="389" height="271"]] ||
 * Lago de Coatepeque (source: http://usuarios.lycos.es/geomiguel/coatepe12.jpg) ||

It's rivers include: Rio Lempa, Rio Paz, Rio Grande de San Miguel, Rio Torola, Rio Goascorán and Rio Sumpul ¹⁶.


 * [[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/68022949_fb74fd6af1.jpg width="406" height="309"]] ||
 * Rio de Lempa (source:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/68022949_fb74fd6af1.jpg) ||

<span style="color: #406d49; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 200%;">Foods/Drinks

Salvadoran's daily diet consist of mainly beans, rice, //tortillas//, and //tamales// (a corn dumpling wrapped in plantain leaves) which are the epitome of bread and butter in United States ¹⁷.

This culture eats three meals per day, starting off with breakfast or //desayuno// could include egg with tomato sauce, fried plantains (green banana), fried beans with rice, cheese or cream, coffee, and //tortillas ¹⁷//.

//Arroz amarillo// (yellow rice), //pollo dorado// (roasted chicken), //carne asada// (roasted beef ), //pollo o carne encebollado// (meet stew) are among the common dished along with //mariscada//, a type of fish ¹⁷.

//Pupusas//, a popular fast food which basically is a tortilla stuffed with cheese, beans, meet, and other fillings. //Pupusas// are usually served with spicy shredded cabbage and hot sauce. Along with //Pupusas//, another fast food favorite street vendors sell most are pastelles--made of cornflour dough stuffed in meet, deep fried and crescent shaped⁹. They are common during weddings, social events, and funerals ¹⁷. Lunch or //Almuerzo// is the largest meal of the day and it typically includes soup, rice, bean, steak or chicken, salad, and a tropical fruits such as mangoes, watermelon, or //jocotes ¹⁷.//

Dinner or //la sena// is closely similar to el almuerzo, the only differentiation is that the meal is much smaller containing rice, beans, a meat dish, and fruit ¹⁷.

Salvadorans preferred drinks are hot chocolates and coffee ¹⁷.

Licuados or Refrescos (natural fruit drinks) are also popular in this culture and preferred alcoholic drinks are light beers (//Pilsner// and //Suprema//) and //Torito// and //Tic-Tac//, a brand of //aguadiente//-- liquor made from distilled sugar cane ¹⁷, ¹⁹.

Salvadoran dinning etiquette musts and mustn't:


 * It is rude to leave right after eating during a house social. Guests must wait an hour and converse with the host and other guests¹⁸.
 * The seat of honor is located in the front of the table like in American culture.
 * Unlike in the U.S., it is wrong to arrive on time in this culture¹⁸.
 * You must wait for the host to say //"Buen Provecho"// as a sign to begin eating which means "enjoy"¹⁸.
 * It is appropriate to leave some food on the plate after done eating¹⁸.
 * Conversations during meals are expected¹⁸.
 * Don't take a drink until a toast was made or it'll be considered disrespectful¹⁸.
 * In order to signalize you do not want your drink you must leave it one-quarter full¹⁸.
 * Social and business should not be under the same category unless asked to¹⁸.
 * If a business partner invites you out to dinner, accepting the offer is the best way to form a relationship with this person¹⁸.

Digital Divide

Salvadoran government has been trying to bridge the digital divide in this culture²². In fact there are three project the Salvadoran government has been working on in order to do²².

Projects to close the digital gap:
 * //Infocentros//- this is an institution has greatly contribute to the development of information and communication technology in order to help educate many Salvadoran²². Since it began in 2002, it has taught many on how to utilize the internet along with other computer functionality²². There are presently, 41 Infocentros institutions, which have opened the opportunity for many residents in El Salvador to have internet access in their homes.Because of this project many more small businesses have created websites, which have made people aware of the benefits of using the internet²².
 * //Operación Red//- a course that opened in 2004 and organized by the Ministry of Education, its goal is to teach the best high school students how to navigate the internet²². The course teaches students basic interent skills, creating a webpage, to animation²². Once students finish the course they must go to other students and teach them what they have learned in hopes of multiplying the amount of people who are learning this technology.
 * //Conéctate//-is the main project the Salvadoran government uses²². This project is to provide technological access to schools throughout the country in order to offer effective education²². Conétate has four major components-- //Grado digital//, a government certification on the usage of basic technologies; //Edunet//, a project that provides internet connectivity to public schools; //Mi Portal//, internet portal for Salvadoran students; and Computers for schools, equipping computers to public schools through donations²².

Media and communication style
 * Communications:²⁰ Telephones: ** main lines in use: 1.037 million (2006); mobile cellular: 3.852 million (2006). **Radio broadcast stations:** AM 52, FM 144, shortwave 0 (2005). **Television broadcast stations:** 5 (1997). **Internet hosts:** 12,519 (2007). **Internet users:** 637,100 (2005)

In El Salvador, nicknames are very common. These nicknames may seem obscene or rude to Americans, but it is very common place and not offensive at all. Aggressive and offensive language is normal and is not meant the same way as it would be taken in the US. In the past 10 years the communication has grown, El Salvadorans are more fluent in US popular culture, due to the use of cell phones, internet, and cable television. Mostly cell phones are a on pre-paid packages, internet is mostly found in internet cafes. On TV, they may have MTV,ESPN, and news channels.

<span style="color: #2f5032; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 19pt;">Discriminatory practices, negative attitudes, cultural biases, and stereotypes ²¹

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 120%;">A <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">lthough it is concealed from the outside world, El Salvador is a very racist country. As a whole the population who are indigenous and/or have a dark skin complexion are often discriminated against and treated as second-class citizens. This racism stem from the initial Spanish conquest, which created divisions between those of European descent and those who were Amerindian. The Spanish considered themselves to be superior to the Amerindian and casted themselves as more sophisticated. As a result, subsequent generation accepted this ideology and have embraced that idea that being a lighter color is correlated with some sort of exceptionalism.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> The 1932 massacres of the indigenous people is a strong testament of the bigotry that until this day continues to exist in El Salvador. Furthermore, there is strong hostiliy towards immigrants from neighboring countries and cases of discrimination against them are not uncommon.

¹ [|National Geographic.com] ² [|CIA.gov The World Factbook]
 * Citations ||  ||
 * __Quick Facts__

Historical Legacies

http://www.arena.com.sv/ ^ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2033.htm ^ http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/regions/americas/el-salvador ^ http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/el-salvador/page.do?id=1011148 ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2004/06/09/turning-blind-eye-0 ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2006/07/27/swept-under-rug http://www.mauriciofunespresidente.com/

__Family and Marriage__ ⁴ [|El Salvadoran Culture- everyculture.com]

Gender Roles ⁵ [|IFAD.org]

Health and Welfare ⁶ [|Regional Core Health Data System- Country Profile] ⁷ [|Population, Health, and Human Well-being- El Salvador] ⁸ [|El Salvador. By: Aliprandini, Michael, Our World: El Salvador, 2007]

__Language and Literacy__ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=SV http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557648_3/el_salvador.html http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/elsalvad.htm || Everyday Customs ⁹ [|Culture Crossing.net] ¹⁰ [|Kwinte Essential Cross Cultural Solutions]

__Leisure/Entertainment/Popular Culture__ ¹¹

__Holidays__ ¹² [|El Salvador Holidays] ¹³ [|Extensión en Español] ¹⁴ [|Holy Week]

__Landmarks/Attractions__ ¹⁵ [|Travel grove.com] ¹⁶ [|Popular Info- El Salvador]

__Foods__ ¹⁷ [|Salvadoran way of eating] ¹⁸ [|Etiquette and Customs in El Salvador] ¹⁹ [|El Salvador--Entertainment and Attraction]

__Media and communication style__ ²⁰ [|Info Please.com]

__Discriminatory pratices, negative attitudes, cultural biases, and stereotypes__ ²¹ [|Ecumenico.org]

__Digital Divide__ ²²[|Internet in El Salvador] ||