tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20477051322477976932024-02-19T04:16:45.933-08:00El Salvador, 2011Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-10583955596348467062011-09-27T10:27:00.000-07:002011-09-27T10:40:48.102-07:00San Salvador Zoo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsu-pfGF6vuO19oN-xFzkH83rNGPBXxh44zLRoHQM29T99d7jaKpWMWyZcobvE6eRRSOjLrt_CDTUHim_-rjB0KQXKNUWffGkaqlUgn016pSjepOi4IasEMkCwuk1yU14RT6fKkoihrrR/s1600/EL+SAL2011+10+sep-012C.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsu-pfGF6vuO19oN-xFzkH83rNGPBXxh44zLRoHQM29T99d7jaKpWMWyZcobvE6eRRSOjLrt_CDTUHim_-rjB0KQXKNUWffGkaqlUgn016pSjepOi4IasEMkCwuk1yU14RT6fKkoihrrR/s400/EL+SAL2011+10+sep-012C.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657093200103373362" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">My schedule in San Salvador was sort of tight, and I didn’t feel I had time to get out into the country, as I would have liked. But on my free days I wanted to find some peace, and also to find some birds, so I explored some of the city parks. One place I enjoyed a lot was the zoo—the Parque Zoológico. One Saturday I went there and just absorbed the peace and green of the place. While it’s not big, like the Jardín Botánico it offers some tranquility and a place to recharge one’s batteries. Not surprisingly, it’s very popular with families, and also with couples looking for a couple of hours to be on their own. </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">They have an extensive collection of monkeys. While some of the cages were old-fashioned and small in my view, there are several monkey islands that I liked a lot. They gave sufficient space and habitat for the monkeys to express their social behavior.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">They also have a nice collection of birds—the large bird enclosures are spaced among thickets of trees and shrubs. And of course, the caged birds—and their food—attract some other birds as well.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The afternoon I spent there was particularly enjoyable because I had a question about a bird I had seen among the trees of the lagoon where some of the monkeys are (for the birders in the group, the bird in question is <i>Melanerpes aurifrons</i><span style="font-style:normal">—Golden-fronted Woodpecker. I fully expected to see this bird, but then saw a couple that had red crowns and napes like our </span><i>M. carolinus</i><span style="font-style: normal">—Red-bellied Woodpecker. Really, it would have been hard to separate these birds from Red-bellies). When I asked some of the grounds crew for help, they directed me to the administration building. The result was a lengthy and enjoyable discussion with Tomás Alberto Chávez, a personable and engaging biologist who turned out to be the director of the zoo, and Ana Vásquez, who’s in charge of the birds. Later I had a lengthy discussion with Esmeralda Martínez, who works with reptiles in the zoo but is very knowledgeable about birds. A really enjoyable afternoon.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">(By the way, my question about the woodpeckers was resolved when I returned to my room an read in a Peterson guide that the narrow-banded sub-species of <span style="font-style: italic;">M. aurifrons</span> looks like <span style="font-style: italic;">M. carolinus.</span>)<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t do much serious photography at the zoo—though I think one could. Here are a few images:</p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzG7koBvUdXzexYJJ9GLe7UrL-nuOmEDMIznCcGpd0tKykHdb5gbdaB3xWkiixt1dW9WBzJSX3NjIadaT76Md5VFzeZmse8ZhH4JnvMOTSxQbQcHrTbS6G7wb-sZzF5JAGBm3yCq5EcUWK/s1600/EL+SAL2011+17+sep-020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzG7koBvUdXzexYJJ9GLe7UrL-nuOmEDMIznCcGpd0tKykHdb5gbdaB3xWkiixt1dW9WBzJSX3NjIadaT76Md5VFzeZmse8ZhH4JnvMOTSxQbQcHrTbS6G7wb-sZzF5JAGBm3yCq5EcUWK/s400/EL+SAL2011+17+sep-020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657094077027854402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5flis7sqCW7aXme2XLtRo73U90YPhlIH0xDm-fL161JiEZSWA73cFKeApRZQ1HGvw7E9U7vJ2rM2M0x6_1UOl5iONZ9UfjWzCr0apxs6OoNbGFDaKasoro8WHasouEpXmJyOnmeWpnyz/s1600/EL+SAL2011+17+sep-009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5flis7sqCW7aXme2XLtRo73U90YPhlIH0xDm-fL161JiEZSWA73cFKeApRZQ1HGvw7E9U7vJ2rM2M0x6_1UOl5iONZ9UfjWzCr0apxs6OoNbGFDaKasoro8WHasouEpXmJyOnmeWpnyz/s400/EL+SAL2011+17+sep-009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657094075345719458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZUYr6nmJz7p6l5As-PjuFgdlBdK9HiuetyYcwIsG0GrlclpuLTInwNKsksQcQRSvtgzxszGP_kNnBx9AsyMCKrzistUkVwb3RKF-06x8GJ9TLHnLP3vz2vj_E8CkQYhIvN3WMYzN_SA1/s1600/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-103B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZUYr6nmJz7p6l5As-PjuFgdlBdK9HiuetyYcwIsG0GrlclpuLTInwNKsksQcQRSvtgzxszGP_kNnBx9AsyMCKrzistUkVwb3RKF-06x8GJ9TLHnLP3vz2vj_E8CkQYhIvN3WMYzN_SA1/s400/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-103B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657094071851158706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuvXv153Ie2aSj8lxzwDKI8eJZMMkxsi1eocHKwXjqxtNY1KOnqBSk7wSL4oCGZ1uHdT3qWe1PMKpiJYCAn2-_ri4bvl7fMkPpW4QyG6jTQLMmuYmEwM_GwKaM-OioxqsF1bJFB-CTDLr/s1600/EL+SAL2011+17+sep-032.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuvXv153Ie2aSj8lxzwDKI8eJZMMkxsi1eocHKwXjqxtNY1KOnqBSk7wSL4oCGZ1uHdT3qWe1PMKpiJYCAn2-_ri4bvl7fMkPpW4QyG6jTQLMmuYmEwM_GwKaM-OioxqsF1bJFB-CTDLr/s400/EL+SAL2011+17+sep-032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657094082123514322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeHLP5gPPESsQpmcHz4QPMTR_iVQSwo0q7WrPoiYoUvwMpnvKk0stfGUXHehUA5BWyV-Y3nwS34nbNyjQ7in35kMhyifduy5ZJ7CoCPcvcDA3M5Vzw5DDDktREIHXVQIVzf4k0Pno1G5C/s1600/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-095.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeHLP5gPPESsQpmcHz4QPMTR_iVQSwo0q7WrPoiYoUvwMpnvKk0stfGUXHehUA5BWyV-Y3nwS34nbNyjQ7in35kMhyifduy5ZJ7CoCPcvcDA3M5Vzw5DDDktREIHXVQIVzf4k0Pno1G5C/s400/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-095.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657093773395370306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObGSELP4nAD1KPDeoAcdltPFiLOg42f2SC7ttPpot6-Jr5oeVNZ-f4mvjfoXe4kfEqURNTr_7vpTE6qAyAO6H9kz8vC-QQqxZ3Pc1DcXlyhkc3ZckTxwXKdzgtjPQYVi2sjcM_Ihg7173/s1600/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-093.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-lZ1eCMc6BxbqfIyP00pSLckQ3vXQoR8mnX0ZPf2wUkK2wHdUe9vtq_XoKeFH1Ph7hZrbfsVKCQFGyaE5HnTrHae_ouxHhCOXR0iHDsUJvFQgb8oUboSRcSkGQkc3Ybb04qcXcD-DrJ_4/s400/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657093216019921554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipGRAk4v0cK3L2RrvN2xj1OOPgWRZd48RdkhOw0W_QpGeadJ9h_Bo4jNZYHrmTj1nMMJjqhaqsDU3o9diGNxaI07W07o6xaGLaMYYSojSzBGV893JHUQNv5gufu513cmVSswq2VFOWqM7/s1600/EL+SAL2011+10+sep-033.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipGRAk4v0cK3L2RrvN2xj1OOPgWRZd48RdkhOw0W_QpGeadJ9h_Bo4jNZYHrmTj1nMMJjqhaqsDU3o9diGNxaI07W07o6xaGLaMYYSojSzBGV893JHUQNv5gufu513cmVSswq2VFOWqM7/s400/EL+SAL2011+10+sep-033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657093212069871010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWA7Z3VZfZTohZB9Zi_2Yza89nq3VgN85qF_fLe5-tm7d3LN_0JXAmXCTfk5LdLwWHccqueU60fD4NpUstw2CNPHbCOBBIG9jDYZ26-8y8oJrudjMejLoCixC3_wyGh3joe_GS_bWYQf9j/s1600/EL+SAL2011+10+sep-017B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWA7Z3VZfZTohZB9Zi_2Yza89nq3VgN85qF_fLe5-tm7d3LN_0JXAmXCTfk5LdLwWHccqueU60fD4NpUstw2CNPHbCOBBIG9jDYZ26-8y8oJrudjMejLoCixC3_wyGh3joe_GS_bWYQf9j/s400/EL+SAL2011+10+sep-017B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657093207779287490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf2Hh-SvngHgRBJJUaPeV8v-A-zHy7-9477QtzwDvJqJSQalNuKhYCvrvkuJ_p48_nownvKOLgltMmJw5Jqhbq18Fns2NOOhvHRv1xPPTwDU1Bhr6Zk1EL2qj7aLVDscdLWhpQiQAbWt_/s1600/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-048.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf2Hh-SvngHgRBJJUaPeV8v-A-zHy7-9477QtzwDvJqJSQalNuKhYCvrvkuJ_p48_nownvKOLgltMmJw5Jqhbq18Fns2NOOhvHRv1xPPTwDU1Bhr6Zk1EL2qj7aLVDscdLWhpQiQAbWt_/s400/EL+SAL2011+11+sep-048.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657093247112767362" border="0" /></a>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-30270410254632335432011-09-27T08:56:00.000-07:002011-09-27T09:05:03.986-07:00Buses<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcTJbUwqM9ILnubb5SjpuRnMwByZTk737yLGK6t66KeDNTRinnp1NQsZwz4k3VaaWd8Q51NOPOxXg0PIhP5bWEfRYrb7283KGx-2bPFq7cPtkoVZK6SO2nCvzCf00hO_inwcvw1ho348B/s1600/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcTJbUwqM9ILnubb5SjpuRnMwByZTk737yLGK6t66KeDNTRinnp1NQsZwz4k3VaaWd8Q51NOPOxXg0PIhP5bWEfRYrb7283KGx-2bPFq7cPtkoVZK6SO2nCvzCf00hO_inwcvw1ho348B/s400/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657070807768054562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">One thing that has not changed very much in San Salvador since our last visit is traveling by bus. I was on at least two or three buses every day during this visit (which sadly has ended, though I’ll try to make a few more entries in this blog). As I mentioned earlier, the buses are inexpensive (.20 for the full-size buses, .25 for the minibuses on the same routes). The minibuses are faster, though also more crowded, and the older ones on some of the routes are truly a very tight squeeze. </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">There are lots of routes, and lots of buses on most of the routes. Not as many as in Bogotá, but still, for a Clevelander, it’s terrific to be in a city where you can get to pretty much wherever you want to go on buses. The vehicles are less modern, less clean, and in worse physical condition than the ones in Cleveland, but they are much cheaper and most important, they are available; the system is a functional public transport provider.<br /></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">There’s a lot more attention paid to stopping at designated bus stops than in Bogotá. A couple of years ago, I was in Bogotá when the authorities tried to bring order to chaos of buses stopping where ever passengers wanted to get on or off on the Séptima, one of the main avenues, but that was a total flop. Here, the police will fine buses that pick you up or drop you off at corners or traffic lights instead of at bus stops, and there are even signs in some of the buses declaring that they will only use designated stops. But they don’t overdo it. More than once a driver or assistant said to me “Get on quickly” when I stopped them where I happened to be…<br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">During rush hours, the buses become really crowded, though the people face them with a combination of fatalism and good humor. Like in Bogotá, they are friendly, even social places. In both cities, I’ve noticed that if you ask the driver to tell you when the bus will reach some point, in fact several other passengers will also help you figure out where you area. Here, people who are seated take the packages or bags of people who are standing.</p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">But those rush-hour crowds in San Salvador are impressive—sometimes as the driver and/or assistant urge people to move further back, or further into the bus, you realize that it’s simply impossible—there’s a great plug of humanity that blocks any attempts to get by, until someone gets off…</p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Here are a few pictures of buses. But of course, pictures can’t capture the sounds—the horns and air horns, the squealing breaks, the roars from inadequate exhaust systems, and of course, the assistants or cobradores calling out destinations and telling the drivers to wait or to move on…</p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzD65UpAurXzTSlIantMBc_HDj1dMbXda6YyHNDMrYBGHBmhpLsKlQvYAc70GtOER4uABbyfQvkSDQfVK1ZVvvddPlQIdNXM5ObPV3IrRzlgxwb17891L6L5tQTeTiJErp70jD_BXY7Mh/s1600/EL+SAL2011+16+sep-001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzD65UpAurXzTSlIantMBc_HDj1dMbXda6YyHNDMrYBGHBmhpLsKlQvYAc70GtOER4uABbyfQvkSDQfVK1ZVvvddPlQIdNXM5ObPV3IrRzlgxwb17891L6L5tQTeTiJErp70jD_BXY7Mh/s400/EL+SAL2011+16+sep-001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657069971273219746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNBukPOWNGelmx1bg91Wmj6yc3vDzCsziv6EsdZmmzzElqBKmMudOEGDJiMLreOyV0az0LEBhY8quArZ-2OjerrxeHc0RKNlTURda9UyW756DSc_74U6OQC-PyNVN_ITo4AZCz-_z6-d1/s1600/EL+SAL2011+16+sep-010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNBukPOWNGelmx1bg91Wmj6yc3vDzCsziv6EsdZmmzzElqBKmMudOEGDJiMLreOyV0az0LEBhY8quArZ-2OjerrxeHc0RKNlTURda9UyW756DSc_74U6OQC-PyNVN_ITo4AZCz-_z6-d1/s400/EL+SAL2011+16+sep-010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657069974212768066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb-KZA2zSnuXg4y3XBv9SP37gKIKLjrZ3_WimyQf4vNPJqnELJealR6yabKRnT1APMVbqIp-bwVkOWdCNnjbG481YBT11GxcBq0fl5wSNqGkUUnfxpE24TPmbUmbv074VC1IPeaLHBvvD/s1600/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb-KZA2zSnuXg4y3XBv9SP37gKIKLjrZ3_WimyQf4vNPJqnELJealR6yabKRnT1APMVbqIp-bwVkOWdCNnjbG481YBT11GxcBq0fl5wSNqGkUUnfxpE24TPmbUmbv074VC1IPeaLHBvvD/s400/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657069744910642482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HjQZjye8JwG9ASfo2Sc6_swhtbQqZY9FoT13VqQ6jgb6eXmKzQDA3Ma-nzmKrT60fi0VV3mmfSCffCH8R__aRExfDkHU_Dh9xuUvvct1yIe53uPo1CWLxAqcLGEaM9JSIu9sxHuqmd7k/s1600/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HjQZjye8JwG9ASfo2Sc6_swhtbQqZY9FoT13VqQ6jgb6eXmKzQDA3Ma-nzmKrT60fi0VV3mmfSCffCH8R__aRExfDkHU_Dh9xuUvvct1yIe53uPo1CWLxAqcLGEaM9JSIu9sxHuqmd7k/s400/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657069738196448578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwY1xMHcuaXu2yuhqAcVL-m2F01mvXKtJgR6NPhoYBkoe1D8z9ODv6bJEFpCypkumrEc5Mkk-ThuhMy1vMCDwhAaLK2zTlG7fMXVc0mev2LJkn7cVpQnodS1d1KJbDr0ZibRyDlhf4bA2/s1600/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwY1xMHcuaXu2yuhqAcVL-m2F01mvXKtJgR6NPhoYBkoe1D8z9ODv6bJEFpCypkumrEc5Mkk-ThuhMy1vMCDwhAaLK2zTlG7fMXVc0mev2LJkn7cVpQnodS1d1KJbDr0ZibRyDlhf4bA2/s400/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657069735227824114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKjeIbFfdpC0UXbJ65lwoZIynQs6OiME-fGTfDrYRi0M8fPktsSE4zwr-h4RBrp7EfwIzlnl2amgtF_eBmqyYsnQC7JrUpbI6uRLSosZhSU69Vv16IwfNhbjoB2KR7ioNQqWd77pTRR4I/s1600/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKjeIbFfdpC0UXbJ65lwoZIynQs6OiME-fGTfDrYRi0M8fPktsSE4zwr-h4RBrp7EfwIzlnl2amgtF_eBmqyYsnQC7JrUpbI6uRLSosZhSU69Vv16IwfNhbjoB2KR7ioNQqWd77pTRR4I/s400/EL+SAL2011+06+sep-008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657069729450102162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiyMsVDa2fan3kV9YOiXep93iIatFzWko9ssvbD08BUpsNGhraKA8UjaxLpxYfmKz-PY21FC0nTUh7W9UVHU3Nn9yqR7G10Zhx_LDyT1P8IQ43-xfM6HbBk5n3Kulc-R9tx15ZCiJEqcE/s1600/EL+SAL2011+16+sep-001.jpg"><br /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-64006044392077702332011-09-16T08:05:00.000-07:002011-09-16T08:38:47.162-07:00Returning to the University of El Salvador<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">When Beth and I were last here, from August of 1994 through January of 1995, we had Fulbright fellowships to teach in the Journalism department of the National University. And even before then, the UES had been an important place for us during the years, a place where we had attended meetings, participated in discussions and marches, and like many people found the place one of our important centers. The university was in terrible shape—two earthquakes and three occupations and sackings by the army had left the library empty, in the classrooms windows were broken, doors were absent or didn’t close, many of the chairs were broken. There were no resources in our department—the photo lab was a janitor’s closet. The video students had to go on a field trip to visit a TV station in order to see an actual camera.</span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Despite this, there was a lively atmosphere in the place. People pursued courses as well as they could. The political scene was intense, perhaps more intense than the academic scene on the campus.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Last week I gave a talk at the UES on the politics of photographic representation, in an auditorium where we had been numerous times in the past—it felt like a homecoming. But time pressure prevented me from taking more than a quick look around. Then this week, accompanied by a new acquaintance here who volunteered to be a sort of guide, I spent a few hours getting a good look around, and visiting the building where we used to work.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Back in 2003, the UES was the center for Central American youth games, and that was an incentive to do a lot of repairs, remodeling and construction, all of which is still going on.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The great surprise came when I visited our own building—Journalism—to find it there, but remodeled. Classrooms, studios, labs that were simply in ruins have been replaced with modern rooms, equipment and furniture.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The Central Library was another pleasant surprise. The construction of this building was finished when we were teaching there in ’94, but the building was an empty shell—no books, no journals, little furniture. Now it’s full of material (largely donated) and students.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">But I had one additional bit of good luck—I visited in the wrap-up of the quadrennial two-week long electoral campaign, when various organizations and associations were working for their candidates for the top administrators of the UES. In the actual voting, students, professors and non-teaching professionals each get 1/3 of the votes.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">One thing that has changed is that the many student organizations (three are legally recognized—the other thirty–plus are technically not legal) are not strongly connected to the major political parties, although as my friend pointed out, they accept money from them, in a fairly cynical way,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But they do continue to fill the walls with murals and slogans, and to plaster them with posters and leaflets. More nostalgia for me….And some images for you...</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhYnzgHAgmxIL5e2K_IYMd61MuEoiLDaU_087LhGNbLo16Hs3KrgXv9Evx1a8p4oj0wchMOAUymsJUbgKk2LuAexHN4ksi13GOdWi8DlrAiZLdLUqkKWtwQwLdsk0buoAb3iWa4rWlBJo/s1600/EL+SAL2011+14+sep-009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhYnzgHAgmxIL5e2K_IYMd61MuEoiLDaU_087LhGNbLo16Hs3KrgXv9Evx1a8p4oj0wchMOAUymsJUbgKk2LuAexHN4ksi13GOdWi8DlrAiZLdLUqkKWtwQwLdsk0buoAb3iWa4rWlBJo/s400/EL+SAL2011+14+sep-009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652981627478073330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62jYg1cOBKa7cxl-ZS92AYvBtEpbd8BH2RIeX7ffK-Ul7M2X2GJ7LhKnd7ykFFVeVIL8x8TxJZxrDQd_g2Ot6WXvVuSKnSUcs2CeImtx76yt-0bTemnHYa1vPGhl07iWfinWJj62i4SoV/s1600/EL+SAL2011+14+sep-005.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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I put “festival” in quotes because I have an idea of what a festival is that is somewhat different from this. In my view, a festival involves a range of activities, lots of participants. A photo festival involves several exhibits, panels, talks, workshops, etc. I’m not saying my idea is more correct, just that what I found when I got here wasn’t what I expected. </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Basically, the festival has three activities. First: the competition that resulted in a publication of the one hundred “best” photojournalism images of 2010, as well as an exhibit of twenty representative images and a launch of all this in the Photo Café, the center run by the organization sponsoring all the activity. I was the “curator” or “jury” for this competition. I put this in quotation marks, because to my surprise the organization resisted quite a few of my choices. Fortunately, what they wanted instead was acceptable to me, and in only one case of the final hundred photographs did I have to insist on something. My list of twenty images to print for exhibit in the Photo Café was accepted without comment, but at the opening I noticed that at least one of the images was one that was not on my list, and which I don’t think is very strong. Still, we ended up being friends, reserving our disagreements.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The second activity is the workshop. This is a two-week long activity for professional photographers only. It started last night, Monday. It has to be conducted at night, since the participants are all working photographers and aren’t free during the day. The first session seemed quite good—we’re trying to define the projects of each of the participants. The goal of the organizers, which is a terrific one and fits my interests very closely, is to help these photographers see beyond the limits that working photojournalism tends to impose, to be able to think more broadly, and to have a more scoail. Political view of what they’re doing. I’m working a lot on getting them to think about WHY they are talking pictures, and what kind of work would satisfy their own broader goals.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Finally, this Friday I will be giving a major talk at the Universidad de El Salvador on the politics of visual communications. Should be interesting….</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">And then later on, probably in November, some of my work from Colombia will be exhibited at the Photo Café, but that’s not really part of the festival.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The group that’s sponsoring all this is a small foundation, an interdisciplinary group that’s trying to promote a more socially engaged, political vision of the possibilities of photography. Not surprisingly, this puts them in conflict with the organizations that have more resources and more powerful contacts. There’s an annual photography festival here in September, sponsored in part, and certainly given a big impulse, by the cultural structure of the Spanish embassy. There are similar festivals in other countries. It turns out that they are not interested in incorporating documentary photography. That sounds familiar—are they taking a lead from the US photo art world?</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The Photo Café is a house that’s been converted into a combined coffee house and exhibit space, with a little auditorium where we’re conducting the workshop—and workshops are a major theme for them; they sponsor three or four a year—which serves both as a gathering place and as a source of some income to support their work.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">I’m happy to be working with the group; one of my next steps will be to digitize some of my files from our work here in the 80s and 90s, to contribute to the historical archive they are creating.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">So far, no pictures of those activities—I’ve had a few promises, but we know about those…</p>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-70785523006632939602011-09-06T09:59:00.000-07:002011-09-06T10:00:42.714-07:00Violence<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It’s not unusual when I’m talking to someone, especially another foreigner, and the optic of my working here as a photographer during the war emerges, that they ask, “Wasn’t that frightening?” Salvadorans know the answer—much less frightening than the period after the war. And it seems that twenty years later some of the violent aftershocks are still very much part of life here.</span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">During the war, although obviously there were no guarantees, and the violence of the conflict or of government repression might reach wherever you were, in general one knew the rules of the game. You could in general terms decide what level of danger you could accept.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Once the war ended, that changed dramatically. The incidence of random criminal violence soared in every city, town and village in the country. I remember that in January of 1995 there was a headline in the papers about the rate of homicide in the previous year. Another Northamerican friend said, “Well at least it’s not as bad as New York City.” So we did the calculation, and the murder rate for the entire country of El Salvador was eleven times the rate in NYC!</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">This morning’s headline in La Prensa Gráfica was “Ocho asesinatos en cuatro ataques” (Eight murders in four attacks). And they provided these official statistics: to date this year there have been 2,929 homicides in the country; every day there are 12 violent deaths.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">To put some perspective on this, in NYC last year (2010) there were 536 homicides, or fewer than 2 per day. Incidentally, this represented a substantial increase over 2009. El Salvador has a population of a little over 6 million. NYC has a population of nearly 8.2 million.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">This is a terribly sad part of the social scene in this country, and in the region. One of the participants in the workshops I’m leading is in the middle of a project in which he is making portraits of people who have survived being shot, in order to show the extremely wide social range of the victims.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">We have all heard about the recent terrible levels of violence in Mexico, largely the result of the activities of narco-trafficking gangs. Here, much of the blame—but far from all of it—it laid on the gangs, the famous “maras” or other gangs. There was an article in one of the papers this week about a plan in San Miguel department, in the east, to put young guys who are “at risk” of becoming gang members into the army to “straighten them out.” Sounds familiar…But a judge in a court for young offenders opposed the plan. She says it’s impossible to identify which young people are “at risk,” since the issue is kept in secrecy, and she fears the result is that gang members will get military training that will end up raising their violent effectiveness.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">And of course, in the media there is no discussion of the ultimate roots of much of the violence in public policies, especially policies of successive US governments. For example, in a broad swatch of territory from Peru to Mexico, US drug policies have in the long run encouraged the development of the gangs and cartels and the violence—and certainly they have been entirely ineffective in stopping the flow of drugs into the US, though they have produced changes in the places where the drugs originate…</p>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-8355269770088120842011-09-06T09:57:00.000-07:002011-09-06T09:59:02.405-07:00Commerce—old and new chains<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As I move around town, it’s hard not to notice the high level of commerce, retail shopping and other economic activity. Some places were landmarks when we were last here, and still are—the big Toyota dealer where the Alameda Juan Pablo II crosses Héroes.</span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">One change is in the old shopping center, MetroCentro. We used to go there to get things we needed, and sometimes to have lunch in the old food court. And to make phone calls; there was a bank of public phones, some of them even reliable. To get to the Photo Café, I have to change buses ands pickl up the 30B here, so yesterday I walked around a little inside. What a disappointment! The comfortable seediness is gone. It’s been rebuilt, everything is fancy and irritatingly modern in design. Gross!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But the many chain restaurants that have replaced the old ones made me think about the signs—and shops—I’ve been passing. For people who like me haven’t been here for a while, I started compiling a list of familiar and new (to me) chains. Here’s the direct installment:</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Familiar chains:</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Super Selectos (supermarkets)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Mister Donut—but there seem to be a lot more of them, and now some have a Mister Cakes next to them</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-El Curacao (department store)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Optica Franklin—still with that cartoon of Benjamin Franklin wearing his specs</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-La Dispansa de Don Juan</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Pollo Campero (fried chicken, natch)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Pops (an ice-cream parlor chain of good memory—have to try it again)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Pizza Hut. Well, they’ve been here for a long time, but now their presence is incredible. To use a technical marketing term, they are fucking everywhere! Sometimes within a couple of blocks, and a worker in the hotel told me he knows of a place where there are two across the street from each other. I passed on on the bus, and there ust have been thirty delivery motorcycles in their lot!</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Newer chains and stores:</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-KFC. I think they were always here, but they too seem to have a lot of stores now</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Biggest (hamburgers) I think they were also here, but now they’re more common, and have just introduced pupusas “Ya hay pupusas en Biggest.” Asceroso!</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Subway</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Quizno’s</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Office Depot. At least one very big store on Héroes</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Tony Roma’s</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Burger King. Quite a few</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Payless Shoes</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Wendy’s</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">and banks:</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-Scotiabank. Hard to believe, but in some areas they seem to have a branch every other block.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">-HSBC</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">One nice thing about where I am is that even in the “Plaza Futura” “food court” all the restaurants seem to be local—or if they’re chains, they’re local chains…</p>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-72814861753797045792011-09-05T08:08:00.000-07:002011-09-05T09:13:02.792-07:00Something odd in the newspapers<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In the notes I prepared for the opening of the exhibit and the launching of the catalog of the international competition I judged, I mentioned that one of the advantages for photographers in the new technologies is that, while they are hurting newspapers in some important ways, they allow for the publication of more images. The New York Times or other important papers may run one or two photographs with a story in the print edition, but have a “slide show of a dozen or twenty images in the on-line edition.</span>
<br /><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">But here it seems to be the opposite. The two papers that have run stories about the event so far—El Diario de Hoy and El Mundo—have both run rather short stories with just one picture each in the on-line editions, (<a href="http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6482&idArt=6143197">www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6482&idArt=6143197</a> and <a href="http://www.elmundo.com.sv/espectaculos/16488-la-fotografia-arte-de-expresar-realidades.html">www.elmundo.com.sv/espectaculos/16488-la-fotografia-arte-de-expresar-realidades.html</a>, respectively) while in the print editions they have run several images each.</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I don't mean to criticize, but it seems to me they're missing one of the advantages of having an on-line edition.</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">After writing that, I decided to investigate a little more and found that each of the papers puts a reproduction of the print edition on line. That's useful. You can see the better versions of the notes at:</span>
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<br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);" href="http://www.elmundo.com.sv/edicion-digital/book/1.html?page=28-29"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">www.elmundo.com.sv/edicion-digital/book/1.html?page=28-29</span></a>
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">and for El Diario de Hoy:</span>
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<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/epaper/index.asp?f=20110901&sin=NOWEBCACHE"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/epaper/index.asp?f=20110901&sin=NOWEBCACHE</span></a>
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Although in this case, you only go to the first page, and have to advance to pages 55-56 to see the note</span>.
<br />
<br />So that is a useful thing to so, but still I feel they are missing out on one of the real advantages that on-line journalism offers—certainly it's a loss for the photographers.
<br /></p>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-26519953653741080352011-09-04T20:46:00.000-07:002011-09-04T20:55:40.137-07:00Jardín Botánico La Laguna<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I knew I couldn’t spend the day in front of the computer, so I decided to visit the Jardín Botánico La Laguna, in Antiguo Cuscatlán, right next to San Salvador.</span> </a><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">This is a place that Beth and I enjoyed a lot when we worked here. The botanical garden, of which a small but well-planted part is open to the public. It’s a refuge of green, of tranquility, filled with plants, insects, birds and sometimes even animals. There’s a little irony in this because, although I’ve always liked Antiguo Custcatlan—at least passing through on the bus—it always seemed so well-maintained and community-oriented, at least in appearance—the garden is in an industrial area—big cement plants, grain plants, industrial nursery. You have to walk through that area to get to the entrance, but once inside you’re in a different world. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">When we were here for six months as Fulbright scholars, we even bought plants from their big nursery for our little back yard.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">When Beth and I were here, though we certainly loved seeing birds, we weren’t the more serious bird watchers we were to become. Today, I went to the garden in large part to see if I could find some interesting birds.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">I got there by filling my pocket with “coras” and taking two buses in each direction—the buses haven’t changed much in these years, though the minis have. On many, of not all routes, there are both “regular” buses—a lot of them old school buses, or buses of that style—and mini buses that run the same route. They are not from the same company, but are in competition with each other, and they show it. They race to pass each other to get to waiting passengers first.. These days, the mini buses are a lot more comfortable than they used to be, though still very crowded. It’s clear that they’re much more controlled than they used to be, and have to pick up passengers at bus stops. What a concept! They tried to enforce that a couple of years ago in Bogotá, but gave up…</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">What is different is the music the drivers play—now I hear a lot of reggaeton (a sort of hip-hop strongly influenced by reggae, or perhaps vice versa), and I’m not sure it even existed 16 years ago. Or if it did, we didn’t hear it much.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">When I first got to the park, I felt a little frustrated—I could hear a lot of birds, but they were well hidden in the thick foliage. And they were new birds to me; I didn’t know the songs—except for House Wren and Great Kiskadee. But in the end I got some help from a few birds called Rufous-naped Wrens. A small group—maybe four or five— were making a terrific racket, making what were clearly alarm calls and acting very agitated. Their behavior started to attract other species of birds. Later, they did the same thing. So I did get to see a few birds—though a fellow I talked to there told me I should come back some day just before they close in the afternoon to see more—maybe.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Anyway, here are some pictures from the garden—I hope you like them.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEE5To2_rVqOJKYOwF147q1HfkfhJNgfqq1ALJXPDttNgAHZfAD8dgOa_s0n2J9sbguployOCY8oCWk5q5ePytxMEspWsZLELbEX0N3gt7N1oxk4prhF2N09rktYUDb_PdOnfJ-YJ84zse/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-013.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEE5To2_rVqOJKYOwF147q1HfkfhJNgfqq1ALJXPDttNgAHZfAD8dgOa_s0n2J9sbguployOCY8oCWk5q5ePytxMEspWsZLELbEX0N3gt7N1oxk4prhF2N09rktYUDb_PdOnfJ-YJ84zse/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648717767311105922" border="0" />
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUV554zJl61QnzAP4TzsHl1mDtgo9sywWoWq3pABMCLX4UTAWvbLxvliYgruqQuwDh0_mnQOOH7mEoRcvGb3dbpO3QCxiPMg8TIFCo7txCPnULDXgLruZsN7TFKjdZOFrh1wkMSDdPTVBo/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-034.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUV554zJl61QnzAP4TzsHl1mDtgo9sywWoWq3pABMCLX4UTAWvbLxvliYgruqQuwDh0_mnQOOH7mEoRcvGb3dbpO3QCxiPMg8TIFCo7txCPnULDXgLruZsN7TFKjdZOFrh1wkMSDdPTVBo/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-034.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648718580221708898" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimENp6VQwziSx-J75W4Rc9Q9GlEKFiN0J9uUbTTznIcsWtNOzud5YJqgETHS7byx4JvSo4WjUS60sMQyZJN9nR3kz6fcr5fsRJlZcYfuWXEy9kNhKg-S0mGU-Kfyzb5ZDfRghnTLJ6pn3Y/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-053.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimENp6VQwziSx-J75W4Rc9Q9GlEKFiN0J9uUbTTznIcsWtNOzud5YJqgETHS7byx4JvSo4WjUS60sMQyZJN9nR3kz6fcr5fsRJlZcYfuWXEy9kNhKg-S0mGU-Kfyzb5ZDfRghnTLJ6pn3Y/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-053.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648717909442025474" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohhcK0wg6-_5v3gt9T_WjMEjSq4yAfdEbJCTzNcVKmEQOtHzUsqX-90QIHTeIkXjK2Wk-2xTnk9QZ0EtQ24vDKlZYlp6PgYgC-hqJmU5MgfhUg5-k2jv-Hl-bn2rwelofoJSCdrLn1O1N/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohhcK0wg6-_5v3gt9T_WjMEjSq4yAfdEbJCTzNcVKmEQOtHzUsqX-90QIHTeIkXjK2Wk-2xTnk9QZ0EtQ24vDKlZYlp6PgYgC-hqJmU5MgfhUg5-k2jv-Hl-bn2rwelofoJSCdrLn1O1N/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-039.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648718002235597122" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCrzcMe7SynpKcjrA_1Ru2ag1GfeDIXKzPitX0ml6Qz11VQcTwCOnVnTnaBNyMiWSx3oe3hNLeiZkcIkkNZAK0xBEqJ7Zt5lPFDCbbNbx4zzWveSaL1wBxAhuI1S7Zayvu5ijRDHmdOkO/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-029.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCrzcMe7SynpKcjrA_1Ru2ag1GfeDIXKzPitX0ml6Qz11VQcTwCOnVnTnaBNyMiWSx3oe3hNLeiZkcIkkNZAK0xBEqJ7Zt5lPFDCbbNbx4zzWveSaL1wBxAhuI1S7Zayvu5ijRDHmdOkO/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648718487061988562" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAFv9bU3V0dlxPRL_SDF8_zLlF2NsQUlRDlKN5O_VM1qeNLkJWyufh_YkTbB_f9vHtWXMyODR_NKg_7B7SYdrXljzc9g-KbbQBkGF8a7X3I3xD2FLLYwegbWpSKEVl9BmOK0BtUFoG5me/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-100.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAFv9bU3V0dlxPRL_SDF8_zLlF2NsQUlRDlKN5O_VM1qeNLkJWyufh_YkTbB_f9vHtWXMyODR_NKg_7B7SYdrXljzc9g-KbbQBkGF8a7X3I3xD2FLLYwegbWpSKEVl9BmOK0BtUFoG5me/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-100.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648718336388377298" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZcZP1UikXLDX651vGeYdiCkIyFJ-x11wA_4emUL_85t64w24REIBR7cSA3JdjHolEHlWzAxiSNplniHn27N0HE_fF0F7nr-W9DwS0Fi2n5hodk7Bjh31fSwAGXV8jBFucbBZ_UaSX6a3/s1600/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-070.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZcZP1UikXLDX651vGeYdiCkIyFJ-x11wA_4emUL_85t64w24REIBR7cSA3JdjHolEHlWzAxiSNplniHn27N0HE_fF0F7nr-W9DwS0Fi2n5hodk7Bjh31fSwAGXV8jBFucbBZ_UaSX6a3/s400/EL+SAL2011+4+sep-070.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648718190714846082" border="0" /></a>
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<br />Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-39587008772258853402011-09-03T17:40:00.000-07:002011-09-11T17:47:00.065-07:00I get downtown--and my ear improves<style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style>This afternoon I wandered around the historic center of San Salvador. I started by looking at a map and feeling disoriented, and ended up by walking around and taking a couple of buses and remembering where things were.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Downtown hasn’t really changed that much. I had heard of successive governments trying to get street vendors off the streets, but if anything there are a lot more of them than there used to be. One difference is that some of them used to sell pirated music cassettes. Now there are huge numbers of them selling pirated CDs and movie DVDs. Also, lost of cell phones, account recharges (air time) and parts and accessories.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">If anything, the buildings down there seem even seedier than they used to be, with the exception of the cathedral, which has been restored and looks great. The streets, as always, are alive, bursting with people.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Also, my Salvadoran Spanish—or my ear—is getting better. The woman down the block may have said “un corter,” but most of the vendors hawking their wares downtown said “cora.” I seven saw a sign that something cost just “1 cora (25 centavos de dólar).” Lots of things are sold in coras. DVDs of movies tend to be priced at “dos coras”—or 50 cents).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Which leads to something else—some things are really cheap here. Not gasoline, over $4 a gallon, but bus rides are .20 or .25 and restaurant food (at least as long as I stick to the places I like and stay away from the hotel restaurant) ranges from cheap to very reasonable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, here are some images of downtown…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6sRmaV2e-Icyipq2icwIBHw_TA-s-aZpuM6t0etGmkrhiVsA7kM8Ja6mFvFv8Fl2fgHR0HgdD10J2VfxvrOnfmj-5W3zw_jhKFVpNOVIhuCqzprWZYAsHWH5FWpXnGNZXU9ZR0TdzZAt/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-120.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6sRmaV2e-Icyipq2icwIBHw_TA-s-aZpuM6t0etGmkrhiVsA7kM8Ja6mFvFv8Fl2fgHR0HgdD10J2VfxvrOnfmj-5W3zw_jhKFVpNOVIhuCqzprWZYAsHWH5FWpXnGNZXU9ZR0TdzZAt/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-120.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300744264921186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1R_VkTeuTkLHROd9pk6cz2v6O-HqwESf7rizWyCZWKpSjPLg2Shc_ZOvSVteO6Sn1yIQFQLu-d7i1FZ8xdXqpTWmuKSnleDS2lHNRG05AeYTXuKM9qNXUFOnvTtQ4YyqfmUrbsNHxaqK/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-117.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1R_VkTeuTkLHROd9pk6cz2v6O-HqwESf7rizWyCZWKpSjPLg2Shc_ZOvSVteO6Sn1yIQFQLu-d7i1FZ8xdXqpTWmuKSnleDS2lHNRG05AeYTXuKM9qNXUFOnvTtQ4YyqfmUrbsNHxaqK/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-117.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300639691747538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wvhDAtHptP7swj4AEPxLgkIq4GLxFaqKI9WAyisR49oIEPQqj8N_CaK9BSc4E_IbZIEviOJL0IcVN35wfkTiRkpM_1XU4nBfSVUkftqm89LBxTONrvs2HaH9TEWaU9m3M5JuN2TNjOYj/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-108B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wvhDAtHptP7swj4AEPxLgkIq4GLxFaqKI9WAyisR49oIEPQqj8N_CaK9BSc4E_IbZIEviOJL0IcVN35wfkTiRkpM_1XU4nBfSVUkftqm89LBxTONrvs2HaH9TEWaU9m3M5JuN2TNjOYj/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-108B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300512065466962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wxYBbMCuV-X7Dn3MSRSbRoFuZz3X9X8ANDFTQ624Mot3CSrr-dED3uQLh-1g4LInLIlfAmtUgI9dkImC85Vf_-aMhW-KSY7IG4fBphw-fatn3OgjyvUyTso_KOAP4Q3Ydf3Phpb2kNxg/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-076B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wxYBbMCuV-X7Dn3MSRSbRoFuZz3X9X8ANDFTQ624Mot3CSrr-dED3uQLh-1g4LInLIlfAmtUgI9dkImC85Vf_-aMhW-KSY7IG4fBphw-fatn3OgjyvUyTso_KOAP4Q3Ydf3Phpb2kNxg/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-076B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300390839361762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1CsyOKHLFo9-f-OIBeKtNYACzVeg7Y-rC9YB_MCOx1Wz0LHJjwMgvicgeS7_QttGxZtYiXvrbjJ3RUKfobRsCP4gbaAtxIs0vfInQoLpab9NfXdvk_OJ7fYVmcZNBCOkyJFKfkYAYgj_/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-065B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1CsyOKHLFo9-f-OIBeKtNYACzVeg7Y-rC9YB_MCOx1Wz0LHJjwMgvicgeS7_QttGxZtYiXvrbjJ3RUKfobRsCP4gbaAtxIs0vfInQoLpab9NfXdvk_OJ7fYVmcZNBCOkyJFKfkYAYgj_/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-065B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300289120419522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7amJM2CXKz1TEtdcFHVBOWzDBrA8_PISYCCITqlfr0v5sEUBZj2w0Fn94FUoGQwycyuSisIxoK3kBKQRy4gJy5kVMwLUcD-Fw7lXR9E8Y2gJ9XXruM9vtZRpWqwhdTSLOGyShFrE1HtK8/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-061B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7amJM2CXKz1TEtdcFHVBOWzDBrA8_PISYCCITqlfr0v5sEUBZj2w0Fn94FUoGQwycyuSisIxoK3kBKQRy4gJy5kVMwLUcD-Fw7lXR9E8Y2gJ9XXruM9vtZRpWqwhdTSLOGyShFrE1HtK8/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-061B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300106032035458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xRz6cZzqZ5um7BQ8caH8xI5blWgSjz3TTSlQyBDO_D7O33hg9CsvEjwxLPLhbz8OiFEdRNo6ZffaCojIwz7cK3semBWclpWjIn1wr3JZhl4Gyo4LhV3Vn1hXHRWdR3oesBJd6viK_L2U/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-057B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xRz6cZzqZ5um7BQ8caH8xI5blWgSjz3TTSlQyBDO_D7O33hg9CsvEjwxLPLhbz8OiFEdRNo6ZffaCojIwz7cK3semBWclpWjIn1wr3JZhl4Gyo4LhV3Vn1hXHRWdR3oesBJd6viK_L2U/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-057B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648300009255821426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRW0K-gheyOADHtIzxEeq6stldyaezpaG2ZdW9V1VWZephVj_gM8MpK0P_tQELM6tBGeqj6pKLcGOTCXwlM1MSYEBNhH492BEOyWiF_7-Zqva0xmF_Nq4tu-Fq3Xd9G0fvbbW1OalfT7oR/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-054.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJPS2SIjYFhO7LlJmv7HRIhIB-ZENFrBBh1jFOtkbFa3dZwo73nLM49Jakgx71p4f-4XI0wZd6y2wnL0TKnCLpeudWvlSM5mkdYmcd0IRRlIjf9Am2W7z5lMqFhWjZ0BWD3M67g4aB2K9/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648298754105949586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mGYXyArPw6PRiQP9-gLttpDjZG5lhDfuGrAfWeiMeWrAf2uZ4E_Vs4yjDyjQzgaWj9sIGXWy6yjbiiVIdeM1P6uikbgqutv_taEFp8aJSfuygaEnjHNosvP4cM7JRReWPFDoMili8e0T/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-012B.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mGYXyArPw6PRiQP9-gLttpDjZG5lhDfuGrAfWeiMeWrAf2uZ4E_Vs4yjDyjQzgaWj9sIGXWy6yjbiiVIdeM1P6uikbgqutv_taEFp8aJSfuygaEnjHNosvP4cM7JRReWPFDoMili8e0T/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-012B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648298646932813266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUi_PU-gBvgmBYUKzyBLMG7VA595jRRbNcLEJQSAl9ke340WMQBUfRMjkyaAc5lRY-SNvGDoHrRI_FU3HgaT3xovi2Z8igF3cMdEzKJ3YjFdwL05x_ml2uXiaDQ_LHrlbdnTkYOEiA1R-/s1600/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUi_PU-gBvgmBYUKzyBLMG7VA595jRRbNcLEJQSAl9ke340WMQBUfRMjkyaAc5lRY-SNvGDoHrRI_FU3HgaT3xovi2Z8igF3cMdEzKJ3YjFdwL05x_ml2uXiaDQ_LHrlbdnTkYOEiA1R-/s400/EL+SAL2011+3+sep-011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648298527592570354" border="0" /></a>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-57911090644817111262011-09-03T09:48:00.000-07:002011-09-03T10:36:12.441-07:00A few more notes--exhibit opening and language and food<style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:0 2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Saturday morning, September 3</span>
<br /></span><p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span> <span style="font-size:100%;">So, the last few days I have been settling in a little more. I've been in contact with a few folks from our days here in the past, but so far haven't seen any of them—except last night, during the opening of the Fotoperiodismo 2011 exhibit and presentation of the catalog.
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<br />This was in the Photo Café, a house that was converted into a coffee shop/exhibit space in the Colonia Robles, not far from the Universidad de El Salvador. A few of us made presentations, and as we did, I noticed a woman in the room who seemed familiar, though I couldn't really place her. At the end of the presentation she came over and gave me a big hug and greeting--it turned out she was a student of ours, from 1994, and filled with praise for our teaching--it went beyond that, as she said I was her best professor. That was nice to hear.
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<br />Someone else came over and said, "I have to give you a little commentary. When the mistress of ceremonies said who you were, and that you were the curator of the show and you were going to make some comments, I thought it was a joke. What would a gringo have to tell us about our photography? But when you spoke I changed my mind. I'm happy to have been contradicted." That was really a nice thing to hear, as it is true that we do have to be modest about our ability to contribute when we're deep into another culture (a major theme of mine, but that's for another time).</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />More about language--this time something new to me: I bought a slide of watermelon from a woman selling on the street near the hotel.</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />"¿Cuánto vale?" (what does it cost?)</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />"Un corter." Hmm--what's this? She picked up the confusion on my face, and explained: "Oh, that's twenty-five cents [of a dollar, remember]. We call that a corter." Get it? A quarter, in case you don't...
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<br />That is a change, my sense, which I confirmed with some folks at the event last night is that in the past, anything that's in 25 units would be a peseta--25 centavos, 23 pesos, once in Mexico 25,000 pesos....</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />At the risk of seeming even more obsessed with food than I really am, I have to make some comments. I'm staying, as I mentioned earlier, in a pretty fancy hotel—I haven't stayed in a place like this for a long time, and even then it was for a conference, not as my residence, essentially, for about three weeks. One thing that's a little hard for me to relate to is the hotel restaurant—"international cuisine—I've had a couple of looks at their menus, but aside from a breakfast meeting there the first day, I haven't eaten there—too expensive, and for me a lot less attractive than the alternatives...</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />When my Colombia blog was active (and I still hope to revive it, to fill up my copious free time), I created the character of "the lumpen gourmet." I'm bringing that character back today.</span> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span>People<span style="font-family:Calibri;">
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<br />People who have spent time here will remember eating meals at these <i>comida a la vista </i><span style="font-style:normal">places. Especially compared with the food in Colombian cities, and especially inexpensive “popular” foods, i.e. street food, San Salvador presents a nice variety (Here it would be tough, but far from impossible to eat a varied and strictly vegetarian diet in the street). So there first day I went out for lunch and found just what I was looking for two blocks from the hotel—a modest place, with people lined up to choose their food, eating at little rustic tables...I had a modest piece of chicken breast. I have no idea how it was prepared, but I think it was grilled and then a sort of vegetable sauce put over it—with broccoli! I dare anyone to find that in an equivalent place in Bogotá. And a serving of potatoes, cut up and sort of stewed, also with some vegetables. A glass of an </span><i>ensalada</i><span style="font-style:normal">—mixed fruit drink—and a small but piping hot tortilla. I could have had two, but I thought that was good enough, and also passed on the rice. My bill: $2.00 Coming back to the hotel, to work, and to wait for the phone calls that don’t seem to be coming, I looked at the menu at the hotel. They have an international lunch buffet for $24.00. A la carte, I probably would have spent $20.00. I would have had more food, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much.</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’ve eaten in a few places now—one right across from the hotel—and I’ve been able to eat nicely prepared (stewed, steamed) vegetables in a nice variety: carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, <i>quisquil</i><span style="font-style:normal"> (what is Mexican restaurants in called “chayote”—I don’t know the English name). </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">OK, enough about food—this afternoon, I plan to take a bus into the center of the city and see what things look like, if here have been a lot of changes…</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:100%;" >
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<br /></span>Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-81697678220232165582011-09-01T09:12:00.000-07:002011-09-01T09:22:00.656-07:00Wednesday, August 31<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkg5aqA3DjbXuRVXuSvrlhP6_tZ_KZrBdAAa0PMWa7IyBHVRs7YG6T22o01wjnd3K1l5sMb2y9dyfidj0VWKLUnD5v-eo3Y69p2FIWIRwOAd-iyrCeTh_Zf8mEbA1gfpxJygXVFZ4xOzI4/s1600/EL+SAL2011-31+aug-01+sept-005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkg5aqA3DjbXuRVXuSvrlhP6_tZ_KZrBdAAa0PMWa7IyBHVRs7YG6T22o01wjnd3K1l5sMb2y9dyfidj0VWKLUnD5v-eo3Y69p2FIWIRwOAd-iyrCeTh_Zf8mEbA1gfpxJygXVFZ4xOzI4/s320/EL+SAL2011-31+aug-01+sept-005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647426827044674498" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">Language again—here if someone says something and you want to respond that you agree, that what they said was correct, you don’t say “exacto,” or similar words, but “cabal.” Any Spanish speaker, from any country, would understand that—but Salvadorans say it…</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">More things that have not changed:</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The <span style="font-style: italic;">volcán</span> still dominates the landscape, and as I remembered, at least these three days has started clouding over in the morning, to be quite covered by afternoon. No surprise. It’s interesting to remember that twenty years ago, FMLN guerrillas controlled areas of the <span style="font-style: italic;">volcán</span>….</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">There are still guys with big guns in front of stores, guarding them—a tire store, and interestingly, a lot of the restaurants. But when I went to the bank (Citibank, natch) to cash a check, I went to a sidewalk walk-up teller, and there was no guard in sight—perhaps if I had entered the building….
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">And <span style="font-style: italic;">trancones</span> (traffic jams). If anything, there are a lot more cars on the streets here (my understanding is that this is because they allowed used cards to be imported). It seems like a major problem. And starting today a lot of buses aren't going to be running, because the government is insisting that bus drivers have a special license, and perhaps half of them don't have it yet, because of the cost and because of bureaucratic obstacles they've encountered in getting the license.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And lunch—<span style="font-style: italic;">comida a la vista</span>. I had nearly forgotten about that—cafeteria-style food—you pick out the dishes you want from various hotplates—this was a small, family place, so there wasn’t much variety, but eating lunch there was also very nostalgic (if too salty).</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">After lunch, sitting in my room, I heard parrot squawks on the grounds—I could see from my room that there’s a big cage, and went down to give it a look. Two Scarlet Macaws, which with great luck you might also see in Colombia, are in the cage. Nice to see them, though the cage, while it’s plenty big, takes away some of the pleasure. I was also positively identifying some White-winged Doves on the ground, when another bird flew into the cage. A Torogoz! (Turquoise-browed Mot-mot, the national bird of El Salvador)</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Now I know for sure I'm in El Salvador.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">This morning, after a breakfast work meeting, I was interviewed by <span style="font-style: italic;">El Diario de Hoy</span> about the festival. A photographer came along, took a lot of pictures, and showed me some of them--they looked great! I asked him to send me some, and he said he would--tomorrow I'll look for the article, and hope that I do get some of his pictures...
<br /></p> Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047705132247797693.post-88213184652187824612011-09-01T08:59:00.000-07:002011-09-03T09:48:12.877-07:00Ariving in San Salvador--August 30<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">This afternoon, I finally returned to San Salvador.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I came from Bogotá, via Panamá. The arrival in Panamá was a little nerve-wracking; our plan arrived on time, early in fact, but then spent nearly an hour waiting to get to a gate. The thing is that the great majority of people arriving on flights to Panamá are transferring to other flights—and now that Copa, which is building into a major airline, has arranged schedules in the airport so there are three periods in the day when flights arrive and leave very quickly, lots of us on the plane were getting nervous about making our connections—people started tapping on parts of the plane that would make noise, paging the flight attendants, <i>chiflando</i><span style="font-style: normal"> (whistling)…and the flight attendants just ignored everyone. Anyway, what could they do? It was the airline passenger equivalent of drivers </span><i>pitando en un trancón</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (blowing their horns in a traffic jam).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style:normal">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In fact, boarding was well under way when I got to my gate, but everything worked out.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The airport is the same as it was—with those funny features that incoming and outgoing international passengers cross paths, and that duty-free shops are open to arriving passengers as well. But the immigration and customs lines have been reorganized and are more ágil.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Edgar met me at the airport, and we had a nice reunion—very friendly, and we talked all the way into town about their project and a little bit about my work. A good start to this stay.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Then he took me to the hotel. If I have this right, the US embassy gave them money for my room, and they’re trying to get some more out of those folks. The hotel is what used to be the historic Sheraton of so much fame in the war days. Now it’s the Crowne Point Plaza. I said to Edgar that I wouldn’t stay in a place like this in the States, and he said, “No, I didn’t think so, but they (the people paying the bills) put people here, I think it’s mostly for security concerns.” There’s a lot of English spoken here, so that hasn’t changed in 16 years…</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And another thing that hasn’t changed, and that really made me happy, was the <i>zanatazo</i><span style="font-style:normal">-the racket of the Great-tailed Grackles as they come in to roost around sunset. I saw one fledgling begging food from a parent (mother). And a terrific afternoon </span><i>aguacero</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (rainstorm).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style:normal">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">But the ride in from the airport showed a lot of changes—I have to admit that after 16 years, I was a little disoriented, and even have a little trouble with the map of the city—but I remember what the main drags looked like, and they weren’t filled with big stores and other commercial buildings. And the map is filled with shopping centers. The Torre de las Américas, a tall all-glass-walled building, which always seemed ridiculous to us when a strong wind would blow windows out, or when the guerrillas used it for target practice, is now the Citibank building.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And then there’s the hotel—it’s still a lot like what I remember the Sheraton was like, down to the cheesy paintings hanging in a sort of anteroom off the lobby. But…next to building, and connected to it by a walkway, is the World Trade Center (yes, named in English), a huge glass building. And you walk around the ground floor of that building to get to Plaza Futura—which is like a big, modern, affluent food court—it’s about 15 restaurants—mostly small places, but real restaurants and somewhat fancy, as well as a nice-looking bookstore, drugstore, etc. The restaurants have an international character—Spanish, Mexican, Middle Eastern, US, a salad place, etc. A “buttons” in the hotel told me there’s a restaurant that serves <i>comida típica</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, too, but I didn’t find it.
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: normal;">What I did, in the end, was what I wanted to do all along—my first night in San Salvador, after all. Following the “buttons”’ directions, I found a little family place on the street where I had my pupusas, lots of curtido, and a nice cold Pilsener. For the congescenti, I have to tell you the label has changed, but they still have at least one ace on it—the ace of hearts. Delicious, and homey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While I was there a taxista pulled up to get some pupusas to go, and I saw two bicycles being pushed up the hill with those enormous flat baskets that, if memory serves, they deliver bread in.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style:normal">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">So here’s a change—one we had heard about, but hadn’t actually experienced. When I asked how much I owed, the señora did some calculating, with the aid of her young adolescent daughter (that hasn’t changed), and told me it was “dos veinte.” Two-twenty. That is, two dollars and twenty cents—it was some time ago that El Salvador adopted the US dollar as their currency. Probably less than a fifth, or maybe a tenth, of what I would have paid in the Plaza Futura, and much more fun!</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And then there’s the language—<i>guanaco</i><span style="font-style:normal">, the Salvadoran slang word for “Salvadoran”. In the car, Edgar punctuated important or expressive phrases, or agreeing with something, with “va”—something I sometimes find myself doing in Colombia, but it’s not part of the language there. And when you want to let someone go by, you say, “pase,” not “siga.” Trivia, but they are very nostalgic for me.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow at 7:30 AM we have a breakfast meeting to get started in the work—no sense getting ahead of the game, right?</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, Edgar and I have had one short political discussion, expressing the strong sense of <i>decepción</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (disappointment) that has become such a dominant part of our political experience—in Funes in El Salvador and in Obama in the US…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style:normal">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And a little about a dominant theme here—the power and terrible effects of the <i>pandillas</i><span style="font-style:normal"> (gangs) and narco-trafficking. One thing is clear—they represent not only an awful threat for the people who live here, but also a brake on economic development. In fact, Edgar raised the topic in response to my mentioning the number of shopping centers, which apparently are negatively affected by the gangs…</span></p> Steve Caganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768579085170898265noreply@blogger.com0