The trip to San Salvador takes an hour and a half by bus. We have taken it a few times now. It is always crowded and hot, but it gets you where you need to go. The minute you arrive in San Salvador, you can feel the thick pollution in the air. The traffic is made up of 80% buses, all old school buses from the United States with bright colors "God bless you" written on the front.
I would say they are very "blinged out".
We left Wednesday morning at 4:30 in the morning, flagged down the bus just in time. We arrived in San Salvador and took at taxi to el Hospital Divina Proveidencia and the Capilla where Oscar Romero was shot and killed. The hospitalito is a beautiful place, a place of rest. The hospital is a hospice home, the only home of its kind in El Salvador. Its palliative care services are free, and they provide food and rest for families as well.
We sat outside the grounds for almost 2 hours waiting for the video crew to arrive. While we were waiting we talked to a man whose brother had just died during the night. It was powerful to connect with him, and while we could not fully express or understand his grief we were glad to have been there in that moment.
The video crew brought 10 other tourists that they picked up from a hostal in El Tunco. El Tunco is the party beach, and these tourists were party people.
It was a strange realization, that we had very little in common with these travelers. We are not tourists here, and we are not 21 anymore.
One man took his shirt off and laid in the parking lot to get a tan. Two others got big beers to enjoy at 10AM. Two wandered off to a museum down the street without telling anyone. Another tourist wandered looking for pupusas.
In the meantime Chris and I got makeup put on, and walked into the chapel to begin the video.
I will admit this was not the way that we wanted to experience the place where Oscar Romero died. He is truly a Jesus figure in El Salvador, the archbishop who stood up and called to an end to the violence by the El Salvadoran government. He rose up in the name of equality, and for that he was killed. 250,000 people came to his funeral, and in the middle of the service a bomb went off and shots began. Many say that his funeral was in fact the beginning of the El Salvadoran civil war.
We stood in this holy place and were given directions. Lucky for us we did not have to say anything for this video, only repeat the same tourist-esque motions many times.
As we traveled to the next location, I talked to a tourist about traveling, and was telling him how beautiful Croatia was. He said "but dude, you can't surf in Croatia". True enough.
The next place we went was the Metropolitan Cathedral, where the Oscar Romero's crypt is. There is a beautiful carving of him lying there, his face kind and gentle.
I stood with the other tourists as they videoed, and we continued talking. "Dude, who is this guy?" one girl asked. I explained who Romero was, and what happened at his funeral. She had never heard the story before, I was glad to share it.
I turned to the guy next to me, "so, you're traveling around El Salvador?" "Well, I wouldn't really call it traveling, cause I don't really like going place to place". "Oh, so you're on vacation?" He responded, "well, I wouldn't really call it a vacation, I'm just living my life and surfing, you know".
And that my friends is the definition of a hipster.
At the end of the day, we had an... interesting... experience and were paid for our time acting like tourists for the tourist video. Perhaps one day it will be on Youtube? Based on the pace of El Salvadorans, we might see the video in a year or so!
It is my hope that whatever the final product may be that it will lead to more people wanting to know the story of Oscar Romero and the story of El Salvador. As I learn it enriches my life and my faith. I have great admiration for these people who have suffered so much, yet smile so often as I pass them on the street.
"Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty."
-Archbishop Oscar Romero
Thank you for this beautiful post! I was lucky enough to travel to El Salvador for the 30th anniversary of Romero's martyrdom (Spring of 2010). He was an amazing man, and I consider him one of my heroes. The trip, for me, was a holy experience, especially the time spent in the chapel where he died while beginning the Eucharist. He truly was the "voice for the voiceless," and in his absence we are called to be the same.
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