the red essay

1 C R O P M A R K S

B O O K L E T P R I N T I N G

B L E E D M A R K SF O L D M A R K S

THE RED ESSAY

2C R O P M A R K S


B L E E D M A R K S

INTRODUCTION

ARCHIVE NO.1 (TESTIMONIO)

AESTHETICIZING VIOLENCE: THE SECOND LIFE OF

THE SALVADORAN CIVIL WAR AS A VISUAL ARCHIVE

PANTEON PIRATEADO

NOTES ON AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY

PG 6-9

PG 10-43

PG 44-47

PG 48-57

PG 59-60

3 C R O P M A R K S



CONTENTS

4C R O P M A R K S


B L E E D M A R K S

5 C R O P M A R K S



Para mi gente Salvadoreña.

In struggle and solidarity.

6C R O P M A R K S


B L E E D M A R K S

7 C R O P M A R K S



7The title of this book comes from a late-night and slightly

intoxicated conversation I had with my step-father about his

involvement in the Salvadoran Civil War. What was peculiar about

this conversation was not only that he was part of the revolutionary

army the Farabundo Martí Liberation Front[or FMLN]; But also

that he had developed such a remarkably sophisticated anti-

imperialist critique, specifically towards the United States. I am

appropriating the color Red as it is understood in the context of

the Communist visual lexicon1. The term Essay I use more broadly:

primarily I am referring to my families history in the Salvadoran

Civil War entrusted to me. More wholistically, The Red Essay

refers to my attempt in politicizing my familial history, in

order to weaponize it against the post-colonial, neoliberal, and

inherently white-supremacist art industrial complex.

This book is divided into three parts: Archive NO.1,

Aesthetisizing Violence: The Second Life of the Salvadoran

Civil War as a Visual Archive, and Notes on Auto-Ethnography.

Testimonios is a record of my family’s involvement in the

Civial War that erupted from 1980 and lasted until 1992. While

the following essay grapples witht he political and economic

implications of images that are categorized with the Salvadoran

People, and also places Panteon Pirateado into context with

my current thought processes. I conclude with analyzing the

moment where an artist makes a work that speaks to one of their

identities i.e. when an artist takes on their their gender,

sexual, or racial identity [or any number/combination of these

identities].

More than anything this book also exists as a primary document

the I will continue to build on and define as I develop a practice

that incorporates research, graphic design, and artist production.

And finally there are many people and organizations I would

like to thank. Firstly to my Proffessors Noa Kaplan and Karina

8C R O P M A R K S


B L E E D M A R K S

8Alvarado, whose stimulating conversations and academic support

have allowed me to move forward with my research. I would also

like to show gratittude to the intersdiciplinary Cross Campus

Scholarship commitee, who believed in me and in this work that I

believe and know to be crucial. And to my Salvi family who allowed

me access to memories that paints them to recall. And finally

to anybody who is listening to me, may my screamns into the void

reach out to you.

9 C R O P M A R K S



9Fig. 1

1. (Fig. 1) Flags depicted from top to bottom: Soviet Russia, Peoples Republic of China, Farabundo Marti

Liberation Front

1 0C R O P M A R K S


B L E E D M A R K S

ARCHIVE NO.1TESTIMONIOS

1 1 C R O P M A R K S



11The Salvadoran Civil War was a

conflict that spanned a little

over a decade (from 1980-

1992), it ravaged El Salvador,

a country with a long history of

Government sponsored repression

and violence. As a response

to the political and economic

injustices enacted by the state,

many campesinos2 organized

themselves politically adhering

to the political ideologies

of communism. They formed a

coalition called the Farabundo

Marti Liberation Front, only to

face even more violence on behalf

of the state.

Seeing this as a threat,

the United States used the

encroachment of communism as

justification to intervene in

El Salvador’s domestic affairs.

Providing millitary and financial

aid to the Salvadoran Government,

forming the Fuerzas Armadas

Legalmente Constituidas.

The American Government proceeded

to control El Salvador’s economic

development, specifically

overseeing the export of its

cash-crop: coffee. At the end of

the conflict nearly 75,000 people

died and El Salvador was left

in ruins and in a position of

further dependency to the United

States.

Many people saw and experienced

different dimensions of the war.

The work I am doing here is to

record my families involvement

in the war. It has been in my

experience, that there is a

culture of silence surrounding

the war. Especially amongst

those in the Diaspora. A silence

that parallel amongst American

Culture. And of course it would,

when faced with the possibility

of accountability for its actions

America would simply deny and

turn the other way. As much as

this is a personal project, it is

also a political one. May America

take a good long stare at the

damaged it has caused to so many.

I have always had a distant and

cloudy understanding of the Civil

War. And to that extent, I never

knew how closely related the

war was to me. So in excavating

and discovering this part of my

history I found it crucial to

really unpack my family’s pain

and record their testimonies.

Furthermore, I set out to make

meaning out of their suffering

for myself as a first generation

2. Spanish term for farmworker. People who usually identify as campesino usually have a strong sense of

indigenous identity.



B L E E D M A R K S

12Salvadoran American and for a

world that only sees us as vitims

to an endless cycle of death.

What is enclosed in this bound

set of pages is detailed account

of my mother’s, father’s, step-

mother’s, and step-father’s

involvement in the conflict, and

by extension an implication of

the United States’ involvement

and its war crimes in El

Salvador. Additionally it is

important to note the after

effects of this war, and how

it was instrumental shaping

the lives and consciousness of

countless Salvadorans, both in El

Salvador and it’s Diaspora.

Apart from archival purposes,

these stories and reflections

are the beginings of a larger

investigation into what it

means to be Salvadorean. Since

the moment of colonization the

Salvadoran people have been

defined by a constant stream of

violence. And the initial impetus

for a mass global diaspora came

in the form of the Civil War that

erupted. It is the very reason

me and my siblings are here. In

essence it is the beggining of us

and who we will be as a displaced

community.

Because violence seems to be

at the core of my identity, I

found it imperative to dive into

it headfirst. It’s not that

im uninterested in starting to

understand my identity outside of

the framework of being the son

of refugees, but my aim is to

understant it.

The work I am doing here is both

historical and epistemological in

nature.

Upon initial analysis I

determined that affiliations during

war time where usually dictated

by who your familial alliances.

For example on my mother’s

side, her Father was part of

the countries millitary during

a war with Honduras, thus most

everybody in her family orbited

the Fuerzas Armadas. My father

was a campesino not affiliated with

any camp, and my Stepfather and

his family aligned themselves

with the revolutionary army. Thus

the people interviewed fall along

one of the following categories:

Fuerzas Armadas, FMLN, or

neutral.

The main frustration I had in




13assembling this book was the

lack of photographic documents

and the frustrations that come

from translating. There are

some words that have no direct

English translation, but I will

define them to the best of my

ability. Ultimately this project

will exist to be iterations as I

investigate more into my family’s

history.

The proceeding chapter includes

interviews with Ana Patricia

Garcia,

Carlos Andres Campos, Ana Raquel

Rivas, Victor Manuel Lopez,

Cecilia Garcia, Zoila Elias,

Rafael Garcia, Amparo Garcia,

Lydia Garcia, and Esperanza

Monterossa. Everybody Except

for Esperanza Monterossa is the

mother of an acquaintance. And is

the only person interviewed not

directly related to me by blood.



B L E E D M A R K S

14

Giancarlos Campos: Were

you actively involved in El

Salvador’s Civil War that lasted

from 1980 until 1992?

Ana Patricia Garcia: Yes, but my

job was more secretarial.

GC: And for which camp did you

work for?

APG: I was on the other side,

Las Fuerzas Armadas Legalmente

Constituida.

GC: When did you start working

with them.

APG: September 1985.

GC: What compelled you to work

for the millitary?

APG: Yes, There wasn’t a lot of

work outside of the Military,

so I had to make ends meet by

working in the military.

GC: Was there other employment

opportunities during that time?

APG: Yes there was.

GC: Why did you chose to work

with fuerzas Armadas when you

mentioned earlier that other

employment opportunities were

available?

APG: It was too hard to work

for outside agencies and

corporations. The job didn’t

have the many requisites and the

military offered free training

and you started working almost

immediately. they gave a lot of

money to and work meant money.

GC: How did you find out about the

position you worked during that

time?

APG: I found out about it through

your Grandpa.

GC: Did you have any other

obligations while working for the

fuerzas armadas?

APG: yes, we’re supposed to talk

to the public about how great the

Salvadoran military was. To make

them “conscious”, to tell them

to be alert of the guerrillas

movements and to let us know of

them. also to gain confidence

in us, and to trust us and the

Fuerzas armadas by extension. To

convince them to support us.

GC: Did you know any people with

ANA PATRICIA GARCIADECEMBER 15, 2015




15High Military Rank in the fuerzas

Armadas?

APG: A lot, among them Colonel

Leopoldo Hernandez and Guillermo

Benavides.

GC: Can you tell me about some

of the episodes of violence you

heard about or witnessed yourself

during that time?

APG: There were a lot of murders,

economic sabotage, they would

attack electric poles, phone

boxes.

APG: In cojute there wasn’t a lot

of violence, we were relatively

sheltered. The people who saw

and suffered a lot from the

violence were those who were

in the cantones*. In the small

little pueblos,in the campos.

Those places were Tenancingo, El

Cerro de Guazapa, Cinquera. El

departamento de Morazán.

APG: However when was in the

middle of a conflict when I

went to Estado Mayor en San

Salvador. During that time when

I was studying when they (the

Guerrillas) attacked, it was

in the November of 1990, to

celebrate the second anniversary

of the offensive. It was ten days

of our war, no one could travel

between the departments. My

work was mainly administrative

I wasn’t really aware of what

was happening. There were zones

in San Salvador that there were

small pockets of poor Civilians

fed up with the system.

GC: Did you ever experience

moments of sexism, or sexual

violence?

APG: No, Gracias a Dios que no.

GC: There was also a lot sexual

violence directed towards

women, Did you ever hear of any

instances that occured to other

people?

APG: Si se ollia, but mostly on

the side of the Fuerzas armadas.

APG: We were not all the way

informed about the atrocities

committed by the Salvadoran

Military. They always told us

about the good they were doing,

but they never told us of the

violence they enacted on the

very people they were trying to

protect.

GC: Were you ever in close

proximity to an armed conflict?



B L E E D M A R K S

16APG: In cojute there wasn’t a lot

of violence, we were relatively

sheltered. The people who saw

and suffered a lot from the

violence were those who were

in the cantones*. In the small

little pueblos,in the campos.

Those places were Tenancingo, El

Cerro de Guazapa, Cinquera. El

departamento de Morazán.

I went to estado Mayor en San

Salvador. During that time

when I was studying they (the

Guerrillas) attacked, it was

in NOV del 1990, to celebrate

the second anniversary of the

offensive. It was ten days of

our war, no one could travel

between the departments. My

work was mainly administrative

I wasn’t really aware of what

was happening. There were zones

in San Salvador that there were

small pockets of poor Civilians

fed up with the system.

APG: I Left the job to come

to the United states...I left

it until I knew I was coming

to the US not before.I got a

visa, then I asked for political

asylum. And I got the TPS

status..temporary protection for

salvadorans. I didn’t get asylum

the first time i applied. I was

scared of receiving threats or

being followed by ex guerrilla

soldiers, that is why I wanted

to flee from el salvador. they

didn’t give it to me because they

were saying that in El Salvador

was already in peacetime, so

there was no need to apply under

political asylum.

APG: There was a massive

earthquake that wreaked a

lot of damage throughout the

country, and that was one of

the reasons we as well as many

other Salvadorans, were granted

permission to work here in the

UNITED STATES.

GC: When did you stop working

with the Fuerzas Armadas?

APG: When they signed the peace

treaty.

GC: Were you ever tried for your

involvement with the fuerzas

armadas?

APG: No, personnel like us didn’t

receive any kind of punishments

for working with the fuerzas

armadas.

GC: When did you leave el




17

Fig. 2

3. (Fig. 2) Image of my Grandfather [depicted squatting], and his sister the only woman depicted.

salvador?

APG: Dec. 1992

GC: What do you think about the

Guerrilla now?

APG: Well, that they were fighting

for a just cause. And that they

were fighting a lot of social

injustices. I found out too late.



B L E E D M A R K S

18CARLOS A.CAMPOSDECEMBER 17, 2015

Giancarlos Campos: What is your

name, where are you from and what

part of el salvador is that.

Carlos Andres Campos: Well my

name is Carlos Campos and I am

from the department of Cuscatlan,

in a pueblo called San Jose

Guayabal. That is where I saw

my years of infancy, and well I

studied in a pueblo that was 30

minutes away by foot from where

I lived. I went up to fourth

grade. And during that time was

when the war developed. I never

really understood what were the

justifications behind the war

however.

GC: How old were you when the

whole conflict came about?

CAC: I was 18 when it started.

GC: Were you there during the

whole conflict?

CAC: No I moved from where I was

staying because the guerrillas

wanted to recruit me.

GC: So you didn’t want to join?

CAC: No, because I asked an uncle

for advice, and he suggested

that a contra, is never well

received in other countries.

Because if I was in the Fuerzas

Armadas I would have a better

chance at political asylum in

other countries. But nevertheless

I never wanted to take anybody

else’s life. I never wanted to

be a murderer. So instead I

preferred to move from San Jose

Guayabal, to Santiago Lunarca in

the department of La Paz.

GC: Can you tell me more how the

war affected you?

CAC: Well the most direct effect

it had on me was that my sister

died because of it3.

GC: What was her name?

CAC: Sofia del Rosario, Campos.

GC: How old was she?

CAC: She died in 1983. She was

15.

GC: Can you tell me about when

your sister passed away?

CAC: Well I wasn’t there when

it happened, but my family did

tell me. She died in the middle

of a cross-fuego. The Salvadoran

military was attacking the

guerrilla, and our house was

in the crossfire. And at 11AM,

a bullet deflected from a metal

covered tree and it entered her

cranium.




19

Fig. 3

3. (Fig. 3) Image of Rosa Campos.



B L E E D M A R K S

20GC: Can you tell me more about

an episode of violence you

experienced directly?

CAC: Well since I moved when the

conflict was barely beginning

1981, I didn’t really see as much

violence as everybody else did.

GC: When you moved, did you move

into a neutral zone or was there

also violence?

CAC: The violence also expanded

into where I moved. It was

expanding in general. And the

reason why I left was because I

felt, the only sure thing that

was going to come out of me

staying In El Salvador was that I

was going to die.

GC: And was la paz controlled

by the fuerzas armadas or the

guerrillas?

CAC: The fuerza armada. Because

the guerrilla were mostly based

in the mountains. But because

of that I felt relatively safe,

because who i was really scared

from was the guerrilla. Because

I was scared of being killed by

them because i refused their offer

to join so many times.

GC: So you didn’t support either

the guerrilla and the militia

correct?

CAC: Yes, I was neutral.

GC: Did either badger you about

joining one or the other?

CAC: I was mainly approached by

the guerrilla to join.

GC: Did you ever meet someone in

the guerrilla?

CAC: The main one that was

agitating me was Abraham,

otherwise known as Potoco. He was

always insisting that I join.

He would tell me to that if I

joined they would give me fifteen

colones as salary, and five extra

ones for each soldier I turned

in. And if I ever got to be a

jefe of Teloton, I was going to

get an even better salary. But

since I never subscribed to their

ideology of taking someone’s life

away, I could not bring myself to

join them

GC: What did you think of the

United states at that time, Given

their involvement in the conflict?

CAC: Well at that time I was

unaware of their presence in

El Salvador. I was young. I

didn’t really know of their

involvement until I moved here,

in 1989. In that time that’s

when Ronald Reagan was in power.

And I knew that he sold the

Salvadoran government arms from

the second world war. He gave

them airplanes, missiles, and

things like that. But I never




21understood why the whole conflict

came about. And in my pueblo,

I knew of airplanes that would

drop bombs on us. And you could

always see when they would

attack other pueblos. We would

see mountains that would be set

ablaze. And even today i never

understood their ideologies or

reasoning. And if they wanted

peace it should have started with

ourselves. And nothing ever gets

solved with violence, it only

generates more violence.

GC: And what year did you leave

El Salvador to come to the United

States?

CAC: 1989. Because the war seemed

like it neverending.

GC: Even your time in La Paz?

CAC: No, as time passed they kept

on discovering people, though I

wasn’t involved.

GC: To finish things off is there

anything else you would like to

tell me about your experiences

during that time? perhaps

something we didn’t cover?

CAC: Well only this: during that

time I lived my live in constant

fear. The fear of dying, of

feeling like I had no future.

I’ve always believed in freedom.

And freedom is primordial, if im

free i am not scared.

3. (Fig. 4) Scans of my father’s official documents from El Salvador.

4. (Fig. 5) Image of my fater in 1985.

Fig. 4



B L E E D M A R K S

22

Fig. 5




23ANA RAQUELRIVASDECEMBER 17, 2015

Giancarlos Campos: Hi, how are

you what is your name and how old

are you?

Ana Raquel Rivas: My name is Ana

Raquel Campos, and I am 53 years

old.

GC: What age were you, when the

events of the salvadoran civil

war transpired?

ARR: I was 18 years old. and it

lasted until I was thirty.

GC: Where did you live

ARR: San Luis la Herradura.

GC: At that time was the

Herradura controlled by the F.A

or the guerrilla?

ARR: Fuerzas Armadas.

GC: Can you tell me about your

experiences during that time?

ARR: It was a difficult time during

those years. We saw a lot of

suffering during those years.

In a plaza in my pueblo, there

would often be heads, mutilated

bodies, There was a tree within

this plaza that where a lot of

merchants would gather and that’s

where the town woke up to two

heads hanging from one of its

branches from their hair, while

the bodies where near the side

of the road. We saw a lot of

injustices, towards civilians who

neither aligned themselves with

the militias or the guerrillas.

Because a lot of the times if you

would tell either the guerrillas

or the militias that you were

allied with the opposite cmp,

they would assassinate you.

GC: Where any of your family

member in the guerrilla or in the

militia?

ARR: No. none of them were. we

were all neutral.

GC: At any moment did either

group ask you to join?

ARR: No. since I was the youngest

in my family and a girl, i

was able to evade forceful

conscription.

GC: What about your family, in

particular your brother?

ARR: No they never asked them

because they had their families.

And the Fuerzas Armadas wanted

only young people.

GC: In any moment did you know

anybody, either as family members

or friend who died as the result

of the conflict?



B L E E D M A R K S

24ARR: Yes, my brother died on

Nov 9 1980. That is when the

Guerrilla started forming itself,

and at that time they were mostly

made up of delinquents and

maliantes. But both sides were

equally abusive to the people

they were trying to protect.

As for my brother he worked in

a bus urbano as a bus driver,

in the capital on route 7C.

And in the capital, close to a

psychiatric hospital, a man got

up and asked my brother for the

box with money. In those times,

the chauffeurs themselves charged

the passengers for the money. We

didn’t know if he was either a

guerrillero or from the fuerzas

armadas. So he got on and asked

my brother for the box with

money, and my brother refused.

And they shot him in the chest,

which ruptured his lungs. And in

8 days he died6.

GC: What was his name?

ARR: Mauricio, Barahona Rivas.

GC: Can you tell me about another

incident where you were in the

crossfire between the guerrillas

and the fuerzas armadas?

ARR: Because I lived near the

coast, there was a place called

San Jose de las Montañas. At

approximately 11AM, you could

hear the sound of the bombs

exploding on the ground. And

then the whole pueblo would say,

“they are bombing san jose la

montañas”. But at that time they

were bombing everything that was

the residential areas. But they

asked the civilians to get out of

their houses first. But the people

who wanted to leave their houses,

came to my pueblo in lanchas, and

botes. like refugees. The people

who remained in the cantones,

were tiroteadas, bombarded, and

set on fire. not only was the land

burned through, but livestock

was also destroyed amongst

the countless people who were

massacred. It was a huge tragedy.

And they all went to my pueblo

to ask for help, and refuge(get

better word), and shelter. And

old people died, as well as

children.

In another instant, we had a

neighbor who was in the military,

and during that time we used to

have a store. And he would come

in to buy food, soda, or beer.

His name was Manuel Duran. And

he would come talk to us, and

we would always say hi to him.

in one instance, I asked how his

military career was going and he

talked to us:

“This week we were in a place

called tierra blanca, that is




25

Fig. 6

6. (Fig. 6) Image of my Step-Mothers Deceased brother.



B L E E D M A R K S

26on the edges of the Rio Lempa

and we were instructed to do a

“limpieza”, to remove all the

guerrillas that are located

on the edges of the river.

And we told the people in the

residential area to move, and

those who didn’t would surely die

in the crossfire. And all the kids

we rounded up from that area were

beheaded, and we dumped their

heads in the river.”

And he is still alive, and he

is still alive. But from what I

heard last, he is in a wheelchair

right now, paraplegic from an

accident. But he is paying for

all the horrific things he did

while he was in the fuerzas

armadas. I think its justice, and

some kind of retribution from

god.

GC: And what was your opinion on

the guerrillas?

ARR: I feel like both of sides

killed too many innocent people

for me to have positive feelings

about either of them. A lot of

people died who didn’t really

have to die. What both sides

were fighting for something que

no tenia sentido. And it was

mostly innocent people who were

dying. The poor people, the farm

workers, and the people that

lived in the fields were the ones

who suffered the most. and they

lost their loved ones. I think

that talking about wars, is

something that shouldn’t be asked

about, because wars shouldn’t

exist. because it more than

just the soldiers who suffer the

consequences.

ARR: We would hear the dogs

bark at night when they came to

massacre families. we never had

tranquility, we would go to sleep

shaking, because we never knew if

we were going to day?

GC: And what year did you come to

the US?

ARR: 1994.

GC: So you were there when the

Acuerdos de Paz(peace treaty) was

signed.

ARR: Yes, but we didn’t really

pay attention. But they would

always lie to us, so we never

believed them. We never knew who

to believe.




27

Fig. 7

7. (Fig. 7) Image of my Step-Father, shortly after rescuing his brother, freeing him from forced conscription

into the Fuerzas Armadas.



B L E E D M A R K S

28VICTOR M.LOPEZDECEMBER 20, 2015

Giancarlos Campos: To start off

can you tell me your name and

where you were born?

Victor Manuel Lopez: My name is

Victor Manuel Lopez, and I was

born in Chalatenango. And when

I was 7 years old we moved to

Cabañas. Because the military was

killing people, who they thought

were Guerrilleros.

GC: So the civil war began when

you were 7 years old?

VML: Yes. Although it was

declared then massacres and

injustices against the people

were happening long before then.

But at that point, we knew that

the people had to arm themselves.

GC: Was Chalatenango a city or a

department in El Salvador?

VML: We were in el Municipio

de Jesus, Chalatenango. The

situation there was getting

really ugly, so that is why me

and my family left. We lived in

a canton. And in the cantones was

where the army was killing the

people. Because well, I guess

they thought the people who lived

in the cantones were armed. But

with time, the soldiers came

to knock on our doors. In one

instant, when I was 8, they

(the soldiers) came to kick our

doors demanding food. So then my

mom, woke me and my brother up

to grind the corn into masa, to

make the food for the soldiers.

Sometimes we would have to feed

60+ soldiers. And that would

happen frequently.

GC: But to clarify, you were in

El Salvador for the whole war

right?

VML: Well actually, I was there

from from 1980 to 1990. And I was

involved in the war from the time

I was 7 years old until I was 17.

GC: So can you tell me more about

your experiences during that

time?

VML: I saw many occasions

when the soldiers would kill

civilians. One time the army came

to our neighbors house at night

and killed the whole family.

GC: Do you remember their names?

VML: Yeah, they were Rafael

Enriquez his wife's name was

Josefina, and a son named

Porfirio...I can't really remember

her last name.

GC: How did the battlefield smell?




29VML: Well the majority of battles

were at night, because it was the

time where people were the most

distracted. and it smelled really

ugly, mostly like gunpowder, and

our guns would get really hot

and they would burn our hands.

we would try to mitigate the pain

with wet rags. And we would hear

a lot people screaming at night.

And my padrino would always,

would always give us a shot of

guaro, so that we could kill our

fear.

GC: Did you ever receive any

injuries from any battles?

VML: Yes, when I was 17 I got

shot on my left thigh, and that's

what rendered me paraplegic.

I received three bullets in a

battle in San Jose el oratorio.

And that was what ended my

military career.

And when I was 15 my godfather

Moises Reyes, who was a commander

in the guerrillas, he would come

at night to give us advice..he

would talk about the things that

were happening in the country.

And it was always battalions

that they would send into the

cantones, to massacre the people.

And he would tell us, that the

only way to go, the right way

was to align ourselves with the

Guerrilleros. Because the army

would come and take you and put

you amongst their ranks within

the fuerzas armadas. However the

guerrillas..in terms of their

recruitment practices were a

lot more passive, in that they

would try to convince you instead

of forcing you. And they would

convince us that fighting for

their cause provided a better

chance at living..and protecting

our families. And in those times

when never slept in our houses,

because people would always died

in the night.

GC: Where would you sleep?

VML: We slept in the monte.

We would take our blankets and

carpas made out of nylon for the

rainy season. It was...really

horrible. And under my padrino’s

guidance, I decided to take up

arms and fight.

GC: Where you ever involved in

any battles?

VML: Yes, I fought in the battles

of Tejutepeque, Cinquera, and

Tenancingo. In a canton called

Culuco. And we were responsible

for covering our territory as

well...san jose luco de pena.

And well it's things that are

really ugly to experience. I was

actively in battles from when i

was 15 until i was 17.



B L E E D M A R K S

30Unfortunately the Fuerzas Armadas

had conscripted my brother,

forcefully. And he was in the

2nd Brigade of Sensutepeque. In

one raid we actually ran into his

brigade and engaged in combat,

luckily we won and we rescued

him. They had run out of rounds,

and they surrendered. And we had

also acquired many other soldiers

as well. The other soldiers also

expressed that they were fighting

in this war against their will.

And people like that..we refused

to hurt. If they opposed us

however..we had to kill them.

GC: Did you ever have prisoners

of war?

VML: No, not at all. We would

take them to churches, so that

they could contact their families

so that we could give them back

to their families.

GC: At that time, The U.S.

had an interest in containing

communism in Latin America, so

as to prevent it from spreading

into other areas. Did you ever

encounter them?

VML: Yes, they were called

the Yankees. And the entire

Salvadoran Army was funded and

supported by the United States.

On our side, we all had to come

up with our own resources.

However we did receive arms from

other countries. And that was our

only defenses, and if we didn't

receive that help from the other

countries it would have been way

more one-sided.

They would sell arms, and they

have engaged various parts of

the world in needless conflicts..

or in things that never really

involved. And I even have

my doubts about the attack

on the twin towers. I refuse

to believe that the American

government had zero involvement

in those attacks. Like the whole

government is implicated in in

events that occur worldwide for

their own interests, and there

are things that they are not

telling us.

GC: Did you ever meet a “Yankee”?

VML: No.

GC: Did any of your family

members lose their lives?

VML: Yes, One time My mom's

sister came to our house, because

the army had come to take them

out of their house and because

they lived in combat areas, in

San Salvador. And they came to

live with us. And her son-in-law,

Alfredo, use to come visit his

wife's family members. And they

sent his friend a letter to kill

him. And his friend told him,




31“alfredo leave from here because

they told me to kill you, because

they have accused you of being

a guerrillero”. And he didn't

believe them and so. So then the

government came for both of them,

in about two days. And they came

in helicopters, they removed his

roof so that they could invade

his house and take him out of

it. And he had little kids, like

your little brother Alejandro 4,

5 year olds. And the next day we

found him dead, with his head cut

off.

As for the friend who warned

him, he ended up fleeing from his

family and even the country. It

was a huge controversy. And at

the end of it they would blame

the guerrillas.

GC: Did you ever meet any

colonels in the Guerrilla?

VML: Well there was my padrino

Jose Reyes.

VML: Sometimes we would only eat

once every three days, and some

battles lasted for 8 to 10 hours.

GC: And what did you do during

the time before you came

to America, and after your

involvement in the war?

VML: I basically worked in

agriculture, we cultivated

watermelons among other things.

We didn't have the right to use

the hospitals, and we had to heal

ourselves using our own means.

But with time, in the 1990s my

mom, dad, and my brother came

here on visas. And my brother

made my parents residents. And

when they were here, they felt

sorry for the rest of us that

were still in El Salvador..

and for the people that still

remained. And that was when they

sent for me. And it was another

level of pain and suffering in

coming here

GC: What kind of drink was that?

VML: Well back in El Salvador we

use to call it Chaparro, and we

would make it in the cantones.

And that was the way we calmed

our nerves..but in hearing

everybody's screams

GC: Did they have any kids?

VML: Yes they had a daughters,

they are Irma Henriquez and

Marina Henriquez. But they didn't

kill them. They only killed the

parents, they (the soldiers)

killed them in front of their

children. And the army used to

pass themselves as Guerrilleros,

so as they committed these

murders, the public would lose

trust in the Guerrilla. And to

convince them that the guerrilla



B L E E D M A R K S

32were the evil ones. They did

this at night, because we had

a lot of refugees from other

departments, and they would leave

their families back in their

pueblos. Even us, when we left

Chalatenango we left our families

there. And when we wanted to go

visit our families, they would

assume us as guerrilleros...they

thought we were their messengers.

And they would kill us based off

those kinds of assumptions.

GC: Also during that time, I know

that there were often songs from

the FLMN?

VML: Yeah we would listen to the

guaraguaos, and that music was

banned by the government because

they thought the people who

listened to that were part of the

guerillas. There was also facundo

cabral.

GC: So you came here por tierra?

VML: Yes, Exactly. And it was

another facet of suffering because

in Mexico is where there are

a lot of robbers and people,

because as soon as people are

getting of the buses they ask you

where you are from so that they

could rob you.

GC: Did they ever ask you?

VML: Well the coyotes come

giving you advice about what to

do once you are in mexico and so

that you could survive it. And

even tho i would follow their

advice, but my accent would

always give it away. And they

would tell us that if you gave us

a certain amount of money they

would guide us through Mexico.

And since some of us were scared

of getting lost in Mexico, we

would accept their offers. But

we did encounter really good

people..they were mostly on the

country-side. But they were a

real blessing, because they would

give us food and and a place to

sleep. And the government would

often steal and oppress these




33CECILIA E. GARCIAAPRIL 2, 2016

Giancarlos Campos: Well to start

things off I would like to ask you

your name and how old are you?

Cecilia Elias Garcia: My name is

Cecilia Garcia and I am 44 years

old.

GC: Did you live through the

Civil War that occurred in El

Salvador?

CEG: Yes.

GC: How long were you in El

Salvador during that time?

CEG: I was there approximately

for five years..approximately.

Actually I think it was from 1980

to 1988.

GC: Where did you live during

that time?

CEG: I lived in Cojutepeque.

GC: In that time, was cojutepeque

controlled by the Fuerzas Armadas

or the FMLN?

CEG: Fuerzas Armadas.


experiences during that time?

CEG: The specific town I lived

in, did not really see any

confrontations. Especially in

relation to the degrees of

violence the other departments

saw. But we could hear them,

because they were really close

to us. And in my town, the

guerrilleros tried many times

to take some of us away, but

they never succeeded. And when

they took a city that was

directly beneath us, we could see

helicopters shooting the people

beneath us.

GC: Did you live through a

conflict yourself?

CEG: Not really. Where we lived

it was relatively peaceful. There

were only like two times that

we actually saw a conflict. It

was the guerrillas who entered

a mountain range where we lived.

But the failed in taking the

village.

GC: Where any of your family

members involved in either of the

armies?

CEG: No. Nobody.

GC: Was anybody employed by the

Cuartel?

CEG: We had one uncle who was in

the Cuartel. He was a colonel.

But We didn’t know him that well,

cuz he was distant and a bit

older.



B L E E D M A R K S

34GC: Did they ever try to recruit

you?

CEG: No, because I was a little

girl.

GC: How old were you back then?

CEG: I was about 10 to 15 years

old.

GC: At any moment did you ever

hear about anybody who had died

as a result of the war?

CEG: I knew of friends who died,

it was a lot of the actually a

lot of them. We would here that

they would be abducted from their

houses...by whom we didn’t know.

We would also find some of them

dead on the street. And because

I studied in San Salvador, when

we were about to get on the bus,

we passed by a dangerous street.

And some masked men came up on

us, but we didn’t know if they

were terrorists or the soldiers.

There were some shots, and they

killed a man who was behind us.

And because I studied in an area

where a lot of wealthy people

lived, they would kidnap rich

people in broad daylight.

GC: What was your opinion on the

war?

CEG: Back then I didn’t have a

sophisticated opinion on the war,

as I was too young and didn’t

know anything, I didn’t even know

why there was so much fighting.

Nowadays I think it was just a

waste of time, for both sides.

And that’s why we came to this

country.

GC: Do you have any opinions

about the Guerrillas or the

Fuerza Armada?

CEG: Not exactly, only that all

the cases we heard about violence

we never knew if it was the

terrorists who caused them or if

it was the the Guerrillas. But we

didn’t trust one side over the

other, because we didn’t know who

it was that we were fighting.

GC: In that time the United

States had an interest in El

Salvador, because the campesinos

were resisting the political

repression. At the same time it

was receiving aid from Communist

Nicaragua and Cuba.

CEG: I have heard that the U.S.

helped the Fuerzas Armadas, i

am not so sure about Cuba or

Nicaragua however. I also heard

that the United States would

train soldiers in America to

then Send them to El Salvador for

combat.

GC: Do you have any opinion over

the aid the U.S. provided towards

El Salvador?

CEG: I mean i think they were




35right in helping the Fuerzas

Armadas. So that they could finish

the war as soon as possible.

GC: And then tell me more about

how you managed to move here?

CEG: We came here because of the

war. And my mother had come to

the United States first, in 1981.

And then she arranged papers for

us so that we could immigrate

here.

GC: Was is through the TPS?

CEG: no it was through a

residency program.

GC: Did you come here in an

airplane or by land?

CEG: We came here by airplane.

GC: What was your occupation

during the war?

CEG: I was a student..i didn’t

really work Sometimes they would

freeze all bus routes due to the

war. And there was a time when

the soldiers did recruit young

men to fight in the war with them.

GC: Are there any other things

you would like to talk me about?

CEG: Supposedly the terrorists

would burn the lands of the

wealthy people. The haciendas.

GC: By terrorists do you mean the

Guerrillas?

CEG: Yes. But sometimes I would

hear that these terrorists were

actually the Fuerzas Armadas

disguised as Guerrilleros, so

they could lose favor with the

public. When the Fuerzas Armadas

didn’t get along with somebody,

they would show up dead the next

morning. SO we never knew who it

was.

GC: Referring back to you calling

the Guerrillas as Terrorists, was

there propaganda to convince you

to make this association?

CEG: Yes. They would make

meetings, or protests?

GC: Wait who would protest

against whom?

CEG: The terrorists. They would

come talk about the government

abuses of the poor. And that

we as the public should align

ourselves to the FMLN. They

would usually disappear once the

soldiers came.

CEG: They would even kill priests

who protested them, but they

would tell the public that it was

the terrorists who did it.

GC: Concluding thoughts?

GEC: There was just so much

violence without any reason.



B L E E D M A R K S

36MARIA ZOILAGOCHEZAPRIL 2, 2016

GC: What is your name and how old

are you?

MZG: I am 70 years old, and my

name is Maria Zoila Gochez.

GC: How old were you when the war

unfolded?

MZG: I was about 35 years old.

GC: Where did you live?

MZG: Cojutepeque, El Salvador.

GC: When did you come to the

United States?

MZG: I came in the beginning,

when the war was barely starting.

GC: Did you come here because of

the war or did you organize other

plans to come here?

MZG: I came because the war. The

situation was horrible, there

wasn’t any work, everybody was

living in fear. The guards would

take out young people from their

homes in the middle of the night,

and they would show up dead the

next morning in the dumpsters,

on the street curbs. There was

a big turnaround at one of the

universities, where the army

massacred a bunch of students.

All this happened in the 1980’s

GC: In the short time you

experienced the wa can you tell

me about your experiences?

MZG: We weren’t the type of

people that would get involved

with politics. We would just hear

things. And in the news we heard

when Monsenor died, the colonel

darwinson sent the hit.

GC: Did you have any friends in

either of the camps?

MZG: No.

GC: Did either of them ever try

to recruit you?

MZG: No. Back then I worked in a

factory that produced electrical

goods. I would often work at

night when the first conflicts

started to erupt. And in that

time I made a friend who would

often tr to rally people up in

the Buses. And some told me

to not be her friend anymore,

because they could tell she

was a Guerrillera and I didn’t

really know. But in two days I

found out someone had killed her.

Afterwards they closed down the

factory, because it was horrible,

and I was left without a Job. The

company was called ABX.

GC: Do you remember her name?




37MZG: No.

GC: Did you ever experience a

conflict?

MZG: Thank god no. I would read

about it in the Newspapers,

especially the beheadings.

GC: Do you have an opinion of the

either the Fuerzas Armadas or the

FMLN?

MZG: Nothing beyond that they

were killing each other for no

reason. We would often never

leave the house after 7PM because

it was really dangerous. And it

was enforced by local curfews.

GC: What year did you come to the

United States?

MZG: Well my two sisters came

first, and then my sister Rosario

sent for me. I was the third one

to come here. Carmen was first,

three years later Rosario came, 3

years after that I came here.

GC: What were your first thought

once you got here?

MZG: First of all it was all

the differences...or how drastic

the change is from one country

to another. It is one thousand

times better here. You can’t live

in El Salvador anymore, in that

time it was the war now it is the

Mareros. There are no jobs, no

good salaries. All the educated

kids are working in restaurant as

janitors.

MZG: I didn’t want to come here.

But seeing how the situation was

only getting worse I had to. And

my daughters encouraged me to

come here. And thank god it was

only through that that I was able

to change my daughter’s life.

GC: So you were able to leave El

Salvador and come to Los Angeles

in the 1980’s. Can you talk to me

about that time period?

MZG: Ever since I came here, I

just came to work. I worked as

a live in maid. I was allowed

to leave only on the weekends.

I worked for that lady for two

years. And then on saturdays i

would go with my sisters who

lived on Normandie. And it was on

Normandie that I met my Husband.

But I came here mojada. I came

through the mountains, I crossed

a dessert, I passed through

fincas. But when I got married

to Gato, he was able to give

me a green card because he was

a resident. And then he helped

bring my daughters over here as

well.


travels through Guatemala and

Mexico?

MZG: Well it took around 15 days,



B L E E D M A R K S

38we came in a group of about 22.

I even went on a boat at some

point, don’t even know where I

went through. Mexico is so huge

though. There are so many little

pueblito in Mexico.

GC: Did you ever face any

discrimination because you were a

Salvadoran woman?

MZG: No, not really. The man who

helped us cross over was really

honorable and trustworthy. He

would always take care of us. His

name was Don Lito. He traveled

with his wife, and he used to

live in Santa Ana..we dont really

know where he lives know.

MZG: One day he came to our

house, and told me “Your sister

told me we are leaving, be ready

in a couple of days”. He told

me to prepare myself by buying

all black clothes, tennis shoes

because we would be travelling

by night time. We crossed through

tomato fields that seemed to have

no end in sight. Towards the end

of our journey we had to climb a

large mountain. And I couldn’t

walk anymore. And the coyotes as

old as you would tell us All esta

los estados unidos, ya vamos a

llegar to encourage us. And we

walked for like 6 hours without

food or water. Without anything.

And once we got to tijuana, we

crossed over on a white van. And

it was a bunch of women in the

back part that didn’t have any

seats. It was a group of four

women, while both a bilingual

mexican man and a anglo american

man drove us through the border.

The mexican boy would tell us to

tell the border workers certain

things. On that whole trip i

remained unhamed, i wasnt even

stung by an ant. And when I first

got here I was taken to a house,

and don Lito then took me to my

sisters home. And after 6 years

of working and saving up, i was

able to sen for my daughters.




39

Giancarlos Campos: To start what

is your name, and where are you

from?

Rafael Garcia: My name is Rafael

Garcia, and I am from Cuzcatlan

El Salvador Dept. COjutepeque.

GC: Where you in El Salvador when

the Civil War erupted?

RG: Yes, I was there for the

entire duration of the war. From

1980-1992.

GC: In any moment did you ever

ally yourself with either the

FMLN or the Fuerzas Armadas?

RG: Unfortunately my dad served

for the Fuerzas Armadas. He

fought in the War of 100 hours

against Honduras. Then he worked

as a police officer. Finally he

retired, but he still maintained

his involvement with the Fuerzas

Armadas. Even so he still kept

his guns and some grenades, he

said for our own safety. And

because he was an ex-military,

I was granted some privilege.

For example because I was his

only I was able to evade force

RAFAEL GARCIAMAY 30, 2016

conscription. I received a card

that I could show to Military

officials that stated that I was

the only son and I would show

it to military recruiters who

attempted to recruit me. It was

difficult when I didn’t know if

the person interrogating me was

from the military or from the

Guerrilleros.

GC: Did you ever fight on behalf

of the Fuerzas Armadas?

RG: No, I was definitely not

actively fighting in what we know

call the War. But I lived through

it as close as I could.

GC: Can you tell me of a specific

moment?

RG: One moment does come to mind.

When we use to live half a mile

away from what we called the

cuartel …

Lydia Garcia: It was more like

one kilometer.

RG: Ahhh yess, when we use to

live 1 kilometer away from the

barracks of the 5th Brigade

Infantry of Cojutepeque. 10

minutes away from those barracks

there was the Pavas mountain

range, there was a night where

the extremist wanted to take

the mountain, in order to launch

an attack against the Fuerzas

Armadas. And there was a battle



B L E E D M A R K S

40between the Fuerzas Armadas and

the Guerrillas. We were caught

in the crossfire, because well,

we lived there. And we saw flashes

of lights that were a result of

gunshots. The bullets flew-up and

down the mountain rainge. And

it was really difficult because I

didn’t know who was going to win

at that moment.

RG: I was also shot once, on

my left arm. Someone from the

military shot me. The gun was a

caliber 38. It entered and exited

through my arm, and it didn’t

make contact with any of my

bones. I was fourteen years old.

GC: Do you have an opinion on

either the FMLN or the Fuerzas

Armadas?

RG: In conclusion it was pure

politics of people that were

not content with the way the

Salvadoran Government ran things.

The only ones who got anything

tangible from this conflict were

the leaders of the FMLN, whereas

those who fought for them got

anything. But ultimately it was

a pointless war, so many people

died. People would kidnap,

torture and kill for no reason.

Everything was so cruel.

GC: Did you ever know anybody who

died as a result of the war?

RG: During that time I was

enrolled in Secondary school.

And during that time me and my

friend Julio wanted to enlist

ourselves as part of the Fuerzas

Armadas. Julio managed to enlist

himself, but after two months, he

was stationed in a city called

Suchitoto, and thats where he

died, half his body blown to bits

by bombs. After that I decided

not to follow through with

enlisting.

RG: My neighbors down the block,

use to live in the same apartment

complex as a Para-millitary group

called La Guardia, Fidencio and

Amilcar. And in the middle of

the night the Guerrilleros went

for them. But they messed up

and instead they got a barber.

The following day we found the

Guerrillero on the street,

tortured and with letters cunt

into their skin. They came for

another one of my acquaintances

because he was to close to the

Fuerzas Armadas.

GC: Did you stay in Cojutepeque

during the whole conflict?

RG: Yes. For us it was normal

to find locations throughout the

city bombed, electrical towers

toppled, and finding dead bodies

Out of nowhere, we were in the

middle of crossfires, and bombs.




41GC: Where your friends mostly

FMLN or from the Fuerzas Armadas?

RG: I had friends in both

parties. I had friends who were

part of the FMLN, and would

distribute propaganda. Years

later we found those people

in the newspaper and they were

disappeared.

GC: When did you decide to move

here?

RG: In 1985 I started working

at a Toyota as a mechanic, I

wasn’t satisfied with the pay.

So I thought about moving to

the United States. And in 1987 I

quit and moved here. We came here

through Guatemala and Mexico..I

probably had about 150 dollars.


journey to the United States.

RG: The first time I attempted to

come was in 1986. I came with

my friend and his wife. We got

to a city called Villa Hermosa

in Mexico, right before getting

to Mexico City. And that’s

where we ran out of money. We

tried hitchhiking, but no one

would give us a ride. But then

we started working as security

guards for a construction

company. Afterwards a truck

driver took us to Mexico City,

I guess he trusted us enough

to stay with his mom. But come

december we decided to go back

to El Salvador. I re-embarked on

this journey in 1987. I left with

my friend, and we got to Mexico,

waited a month and then I got the

the United States.


first days in the United States?

RG: When I first came here, I

didn’t have a lot of money, so

I stayed at my the house of my

friend’s sister. Where we lived

there was a lot of gang activity.

They would sell drugs, and the

cousin of the guy who hosted me

was the leader of the gang. And

you couldn’t be outside block

because the police would often

confuse us for cholos. They

would often take pictures of us.

This was in Walnut, around Bell

Gardens. Then I moved to Central

and 42nd, a primarily Black

neighborhood. Then another friend

hosted me at his house, In the

San Fernando Valley, and I lived

there for two years. Until finally

moving to Koreatown, and then

back to the San Fernando Valley.



B L E E D M A R K S

42

Cinthia Flores: What is your name

and where were you born?

Esperanza Monterrosa: My name is

Esperanza Monterrosa, and I am

from San Salvador.

CF: How old where you when the

war erupted?

EM: I was about 24 years old.

CF: How many years did you live

through the war?

EM: I was there from 1979 until

1983. About four years. It was

rough...

CF: How so?

EM: Well there were a lot of

strong confrontations. There were

killings everyday.

CF: Did you ever assist any of

the factions? Either the Fuerzas

Armadas or the Guerrillas?

EM: No. Because it was the best

way to survive was to not ally

oneself to either camp. It was

still dangerous, but I thought it

better to avoid getting involved

with any of those politics.

CF: But did you sympathize with

any of those groups?

ESPERANZAMONTERROSAJUNE 1, 2016

EM: No. I didnt support with

anybody at any point. It was a

safety issue.

CF: Did you know of anybody who

died as a result of the war?

EM: No thank god. Not one of my

friends died.

CF: Now that it has been 14 years

after the end of the conflict,

what are your thoughts on the

war?

EM: That it was pointless. All

those deaths were pointless.

Nothing has changed. People

are still dying, obviously for

different reasons, but it’s still

the same. In my point of view it

was a pointless war, as nothing

fruitful ever came about.

CF: Even though it is the FMLN

who is in power today?

EM: Those in power are well off

right now, but the rest of the

pueblo isn’t. The pueblo is bad

right now, and will continue to

be so.

CF: Do you believe that there

ever can be change in the

country?

EM: Maybe...Its a bit difficult...

but corruption has existed and

will exist in El Salvador.

CF: Were you ever present during

a crossfire?

EM: Ooooh yes, on the street,




43at work. And when there were

skirmishes, we weren’t able to

work and that’s another way we

were persecuted.

CF: Anything in specific?

EM: Yes. One time I was waiting

for the bus and out of nowhere

I could start hearing gun shots.

And everybody started panicking,

and this was at the center of

San Salvador. And I ran to find

shelter. Because everybody was

running into the city with guns.

And the owner of the business I

was working at died as a result

of that skirmish.

EM: Do you know why he died?

CF: No we never knew. All we knew

was that they came in with the

intent of killing him and then

pilfering his money. And because

the gunmen were masked, we didn’t

really know who they were or what

they were about. And they came

in during payday too. These were

the realities. And even though I

remained neutral it was something

that still affected me on a day-

to-day basis.

CF: When did you come to the

United States?

EM: In Nov. 1983, as a result of

the war. There were no jobs, and

there was so much fear. Everyday

when we left our houses to go find

our life’s we ran the risk of

dying. And it felt like everybody

was dying. It was so dangerous,

especially at night. At 6PM every

night there was a curfew.

CF: Any final thoughts?

EM: All I can say is that it was

a pointless war...suffering...

fear. And to lie like that..

the only thing to do as to leave

and to find another future for

ourselves.

CF: Gracias Mami!



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AESTHETICIZING VIOLENCE

THE SECOND LIFE OF THE SALVADORAN CIVIL WAR AS A

VISUAL ARCHIVE




45Fourteen years ago, The Fuerzas Armadas and the Farabundo Marti

Liberation Front (FMLN) signed a peace treaty ending the El Salvador’s

Civil War that lasted from 1980 to 1992. In the proceeding years, the

proceeding years the pulgarcito (A nickname many Salvadorans use to

refer to the country) El Salvador came to be known less for its Civil

conflict, and more for its criminal gangs-Mara Salvatrucha and 18th

Street. Visual Media, in the form of news outlets and multiple film

industries, has then reinforced this image of El Salvador as a death

capital with a past,and present consumed by violence. But will its

future be rendered in such a way as well?

These following words exist as a record of my thoughts on these images

that are characteristically defined as Salvadoran, and my speculation

on their respective economic and political implications.

The visual archive that I will be studying is one that exists on

the internet and in fact it is the internet. It is the entity that

updates itself real-time, especially self-publishing platforms such

as youtube. Indeed youtube is the site where I accessed the source

material that I am working with, and referencing. And in this study of

images, language, and what I conceptually understand to be violence,

I will be analyzing images pertaining the Salvadoran Civil War

and videos that reference the current state of gang violence in El

Salvador.

Through my research, I have come to understand that Salvadorans who

emigrated as a result of the Civil War refer to the conflict as a

pointless one. Pointless in the sense that so many people died for

nothing. The war is something they would rather forget. Disregarding

leftist and conservative political affiliations, most Salvadorans

who considered themselves innocent bystanders saw the war as a

tragedy that yielded nothing but death through attrition. There is a

collective sense of confusion, anger, and resignation amongst migrants

in not knowing what people were dying for. And most Salvadorans do not

speak on this traumatic past, a silence that stands in stark contrast

with the images of violence that are uploaded, downloaded, and

streamed throughout the globalized collective consciousness.

Ironically this resistance to very the political moment that



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46sparked the first mass diaspora of stands in stark contrast to the

oversaturation of war and gang imagery the news media and film

industries attach to anything Salvadoran. In fact, it was only

after I intentionally interviewed my family about the war for this

project that I was able to access that not El Salvador’s, but also

my family’s history. Primarily I want to interrogate the intensity

of this ‘noise’, why is it the News Media Conglomerates and Non-

Salvadoran Film Companies that continually define the Salvadoran

people as both perpetrators and recipients of its own violent past and

present, when the Salvadoran people themselves wish to forget.

In analyzing the language and images used by these media entities

I am reminded of Guy Debord’s “society of spectacle” and how he

outlines that our society has been desensitized to violence to

such a point where we can readily and blissfully consume images

of our own destruction. In a similar manner, the only viable way

to commodify Salvadorans and systematically import them into the

cultural consciousness is to attach death and violence. Thus we are

trapped in a cycle that perpetually that suffocates any shred of self-

identification out of us. This has had an interesting psychological

effects of Salvadoran migrants as well, this over-saturation of

violence serves to convince Salvadorans that there is nothing left

in our home country, their children grow up to be even more far

removed from that part of our culture and history. Thus El Salvador

is rendered as having no future, the global audience who consumes

these images also believe the same assertions. A clear example of

this manifests when contemporary news media outlets such as vice

report on El Salvador’s present (gang violence) by invoking its past

(war violence). Regardless of the temporal distance between this

connection, these outlets will work to make El Salvador out to be a

lawless death capital. But for what purpose?

Like most things I think it goes back to monetary profit, and

capitalism. Most immediately the primary revenue comes from the

profit generated in screening this media and also through the sale of

its reproductions. Politically, the United States can then use this

mechanism of representations as a tool to submit El Salvador further

to neoliberal policies.




47One of El Salvador’s thriving industries is tourism, they act of

foreigners consuming the country. But what happens when the object up for

consumption is potentially life-threatening? And accordingly since El

Salvador was titled the Death Capital of the world, its tourist industry

has been in decline. Death, along with a global anxiety is also being

exported. And although the amount of deaths resulting from these two

social conditions are tragic in their own their, it is important to note

the various political and economic factors that have led to El Salvador

to its current state in the first place. The United States being the

primary culprit: fearing a communist encroachment via Latin America The

U.S. gave military and financial aid to the Salvadoran Militia so that it

could suppress the grass-root popular political movements that adhered

to the tenets of communism. This system of Robbing Salvadorans of their

agency further perpetuates the narrative of dominance that exists between

the United States and Latin America that is built upon a racialized,

globalized, and economic axis.



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48

PANTEON PIRATEADO




49

SKIN CELLS BECOME PIXELS.

MIGRATING AS RED, GREEN, AND BLUE LIGHT RAYS.

CARESSING ME, ENTICING ME.

DEEPER AND DEEPER, INTO THE ARCHIVES OF WAR.



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Panteon Pirateado (2016)Video (1920x1080), 8 minutes.




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58

NOTES ON SELF-

ETHNOGRAPHY

SPECULATIONS ON SELF-ANTHROPOLOGY, ART, AND

CAPITALISM




59Colonization and the development of Capitalism in the New World was

dependent upon the genocide of Native people and the enslavement of

African people. This relationship of racial superiority has been the

living legacy of capitalism, and it can be seen to this day especially

in the art industrial complex. Thus I am specifically interested

in the moment when an artist of color, whom I will refer to as the

“marginalized artist” makes an artwork that specifically deals with

one or more aspects of either their racial, sexual, or gendered

identity. These are some questions that I will be addressing: What

is its trajectory in an inherently racist art commodity architecture?

What are alternatives? Where does anti-capitalist critique and

representation fit in?

As the western canon of art historical discourse has evolved into its

present state, i.e. conceptualism, there has been an ardent fervor in

the distance from representational arts. Opting for self-awareness and

criticality, explicit and implicit. What is erased from this assertion

are the racial dimensions to this. For one thing it has mainly been

white artists who have dictated this specific discourse. Furthermore

in the time prior to these schisms, namely in the time of modernism,

artists from the global south have been simplified, categorized

and devalued as “folk” in art history texts and in discussions(if

mentioned at all). Indeed the word will always leave a bitter taste

in my mouth as it seems both like a euphemism for addressing cultural

production by people of color as one-dimensional and devoid of

critical content, and parallel for contemporary race relations and

anti-racist activism.

Furthermore artists like Picasso, and Matisse have reproduced these

very same motifs (that once were considered “folk”) in their practice

that have been lauded on a global scale by virtue of their authorship,

or as I like to coll it embodiment and proximity to whiteness. More

contemporary examples being Banksy, Macklemore, and Miley Cyrus. In

this context, what does it mean for the marginalized body to perform

auto-ethnography via artistic production, when it is easily stolen,

sold, and broadcasted?



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60Thus the art industrial complex is built on this inherently

racist blueprint. Whiteness and white people are considered the

default and neutral, while at the same time afforded complexity and

multidimensionality. In essence, white artists have successfully

been able to control representation, at the cost of the marginalized

body’s agency to do the same. Thus the artist of color has to overcome

different barriers, economic and psychological, to get to the same

place as white people. In this kind of climate two problems arise.

Because when artists of color are given the capital to speak, they

usually have to strip down to the most basic way of doing so (i.e.

stereotypes) in order to affirm self-representation; secondly do little

to advance any kind of anti-capitalist critique. Capitalism being the

main factor that led them to the very predicament they are in. But I

believe it is more complicated than that.

When an artist of color uploads their work into the economy of

reproduction, or into the art commodity infrastructure. If they are

able to avert all the micro-aggressions that come with that structure

then they are able to enjoy some kind of success. But should choose

to avert it all together then a sub-economy develops, an economy

that depends not on the appraisal of a single and one-of-a-kind art

object, but through reproductions circulated via more community

oriented organizations. And this becomes a means of survival for

most marginalized people without the networks or even language to

pursue established and more traditional art careers. And it becomes

increasingly apparent that the world of conceptual art is not ready to

grapple with its own racism, or the environment which it has created:

one where they bar artists of color access to this cult and where they

chastise them for not participating in it.

So, as artists of color ow do we successfully hijack these stereotypes

that were imposed on us, yet attempt to critique the very structures

that work to dominate and suppress us? How do we resist and challenge

as opposed to comply and submit?




61



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63

MANY THANKS TO NOA KAPLAN, KARINA OLIVA

ALVARADO, AND THE VICE PROVOST OFFICE OF

CROSS-CAMPUS AFFAIRS.



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the red essay

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