First Student-Led Research Forum
In April 2025, students involved in the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project organized the first Student-Led Research Forum at Western University. The event created a collaborative space for undergraduate and graduate students to present research connected to the project’s core themes, including historical memory, environmental justice, community archives, and participatory research methodologies. Presentations highlighted ongoing work on archival digitization, diaspora memory, environmental histories of the Salvadoran Civil War, and community-based approaches to documenting memory and resistance.
The forum brought together students, faculty members, and community collaborators, encouraging dialogue between emerging scholars and experienced researchers. Through panel discussions and presentations, students shared insights from their research while reflecting on the ethical and methodological challenges of working with community archives and histories of violence. The event also served as an opportunity to strengthen mentorship networks within the project and to highlight the important role of student researchers in advancing collaborative and community-engaged scholarship.
The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador research initiative is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Western University, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.
“El taconazo,” a song of the Salvadoran Civil War
This performance of the song “El taconazo,” by Norberto “Don Tito” Amaya, was presented by the Kubatana Vocal Ensemble of the University of Connecticut during its concert “UNBROKEN: Music, Resistance, Torture.” Held on April 25, 2025, the concert was the result of a semester of student research by members of the ensemble exploring the dichotomy between music as resistance and music as torture in contemporary song.
“El taconazo,” a song from the Salvadoran Civil War, was introduced to the class by music history professor Emily Abrams Ansari (Western University), following research on Don Tito’s music conducted as part of the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project.
The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador research initiative is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Western University, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.
Conducting Fieldwork: Las Vueltas, November–December 2024
In November and December 2024, the Las Vueltas Research Team carried out a series of in-depth interviews in the Las Vueltas Department. The team includes community organizers Heidi Calderón, Nelson Rodríguez, Marvin Alas, and Juan Carlos; Salvadoran-Canadian artist Jessica Larios; Nicaraguan-Canadian research assistant Sabrina Del Bello Guatemala; and assistant professor of Anthropology Beatriz Juárez-Rodríguez (Carleton University). These conversations explored the historical formation of the community, everyday social and cultural life before the Civil War, the dynamics of the resettlement process, and the social and political organization that emerged during reconstruction.
This fieldwork period also marked the beginning of an exciting artistic collaboration. Local artist Nelson Rodríguez and Salvadoran-Canadian artist Jessica Larios began co-creating the visual narrative for an upcoming community-based comic that tells the story of the resettlement of Las Vueltas and highlights the central role played by Padre Bernardo. The community-based comic book aims to bring community memory to life through a powerful and accessible visual medium.
The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador research initiative is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Western University, Carleton University, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.
Evelia Macal and Harold Fallon meet with Pope Francis in Rome
Within the framework of the UNISERVITATE 2024 Solidarity Service and Learning Award, won by KU Leuven in collaboration with José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA) for “Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador” architecture class, Evelia Macal and Harold Fallon had an audience with Pope Francis in Rome on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
Macal presented the pope with an embroidery of the Sumpul River Massacre made by survivor Rosa Rivera, who is part of Mujeres Vueltenses Bordando Historia [Las Vueltas Women’s Embroidery Collective] (also a Surviving Memory initiative). Harold Fallon presented the pope with a dedicated copy of the community book Memorias del Sumpul [Memories of the Sumpul], published in 2019 by Asociación Sumpul [Sumpul Association] in collaboration with Dorotea Mölders. The book includes the history of the Sumpul River Massacre, testimonies of survivors, and information about the preliminary design of the memorial, completed in 2024 in collaboration with AgwA architects, KU Leuven, Asociación Sumpul, and Western University. The memorial was funded, in part, by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), LiUNA OPDC, LiUNA Local 183, the Loretto Sisters of Toronto, and the Arthur Fallon Memorial Fund.
The dedication in the book reads: "To His Holiness, Pope Francis, on behalf of Asociación Sumpul, the organized communities of the region, and the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project, with the hope that solidarity actions and prayers will bring justice and lasting dignity, especially in this context of denialism and growing authoritarianism that overwhelms so many people in the world. Rome, November 8, 2024."
Pope Francis was moved by the symbolic value of these gifts and listened with interest to the explanations about the struggles of the Chalatenango communities, in particular, the request for prayer for the end of the state of exception in El Salvador.
Photos: copyright Vatican Media.
Sumpul River Massacre Memorial Exhibition Opens at Centro Arte
It all begins with an idea.
Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador’s traveling exhibition "The 14th of May: Memorial for the Sumpul River Massacre" opened on Saturday October 19 at Centro Arte para la Paz. The exhibition commemorates the victims of the 1980 massacre. It presents architectural drawings, scale models, paintings, ceramics, embroidery, linoleum engravings, research works, documentation and video testimonies, that contextualize the vision of the memorial and integrate artistic and pedagogical projects. We invite you to visit the exhibition, which will remain open until 30 January 2025.
This collective effort is co-financed by the Research Council in Social Sciences and Humanities of Canada (SSHRC), the United Nations Development Program El Salvador (UNDP), KU Leuven and UCLouvain Universities (Belgium), Western University (Canada), the Belgian office of architecture AgwA and the Centre Culture of Spain in El Salvador. Count on the contributions of the University of El Salvador, the Museum of Word and Image and the Sumpul Association.
The activity was attended by members of the communities of Chalatenango, the Sumpul Association, the Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador, the University of El Salvador, the Museum of the Word and Image among other institutions; as well as representatives of the CAP and some leaders of the communities of Suchitoto.
Help Fund the El Higueral Massacre Memorial
It all begins with an idea.
Please consider making a donation to help fund the construction a collaborative memorial to commemorate the El Higueral Massacre. KU Leuven has organized this crowdfunding initiative to support the project. As part of the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador initiative, the memorial was co-designed by Harold Fallon (KU Leuven/AgwA), Evelia Macal, Thomas Montulet (AgwA), and the community of El Higueral. Even small contributions are a huge help! Donate here:
https://donate.kuleuven.cloud/crowdfunding/kuleuven/project/elhigueral?&lang=en_EN
40 Years Since the Gualsinga River Massacre
It all begins with an idea.
On August 28, people from across El Salvador gathered in solidarity with survivors to commemorate the 50 victims of the Gualsinga Massacre. A representative from the Colectivo de Memoria Histórica de Chalatenango [Chalatenango Historical Memory Collective said, “We are here, people from different communities from different parts of the country, to commemorate our fallen sisters and brothers, to accompany and offer our solidarity to the families of the victims and survivors of this massacre, to raise our voices, condemn these atrocious crimes, demand truth, justice and moral and material reparation. Today, 40 years after the Gualsinga Massacre, we are here to say: NEVER AGAIN TO WAR AND YES TO PEACE, TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION!”
New Community Mural in San José Las Flores
It all begins with an idea.
A new mural was unveiled this week in San José Las Flores to honor the boys, girls, and other missing people who were stolen and disappeared during the Salvadoran Civil War, as well as the mothers, fathers, and families who lost their loved ones. The project is a part of collaboration between Matiz Art Collective, the Historical Memory Committee of San José Las Flores, and Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador.
Las Vueltas Research Team: Online Collaborative Planning and Training – Winter 2023
The Las Vueltas Research Team, as part of the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador initiative, brings together a diverse group of community leaders, artists, and scholars. The team includes community organizers Heidi Calderón, Nelson Rodríguez, Marvin Alas, and Juan Carlos; Salvadoran-Canadian artist Jessica Larios; Nicaraguan-Canadian research assistant Sabrina Del Bello Guatemala; and assistant professor of Anthropology Beatriz Juárez-Rodríguez (Carleton University). Together, they combine local knowledge, artistic vision, and academic expertise to document and strengthen the community’s historical memory.
During the winter of 2023, the Las Vueltas research team met online several times throughout January, February, and March to establish the community research committee, define its goals, and co-develop the themes for the community history book. These early sessions also laid the foundation for a shared research agenda grounded in participatory methods.
On March 1, 2023, we held a capacity-building workshop titled “Reconstruyendo juntxs nuestra memoria histórica: Taller de investigación participativa.” During this workshop, participants approved the four central themes of the book, received training on interview techniques and data systematization, and collaboratively crafted the interview questions that would guide the next phase of fieldwork.
The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador research initiative is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Western University, Carleton University, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.