While I was in Las Flores for campo week, I spent quite a bit of time with Chata. She is 21 years old and studying tourism in the town near her home. Part of the vigil includes a soccer tournament and she is a very good soccer player so she came down to play. It was great because she came on Friday and spent the night so I got to spend a lot of time with her.
On Saturday morning the soccer tournament started. We had enough women playing that we formed 2 teams just from our community. Unfortunately there were only 5 women teams in the tournament so we didn’t get to play as much as I would have like to but it was still fun. My team won our first game in penalty kicks (many games ended this way as the games were only 15 minutes long). Since there were only 5 teams, our team had a bye that put us into the championship game. It was great because our second team also made it into the championship! It was one of the most fun games of soccer I have played. Luckily my team won and took home the first place trophy.
While we were playing soccer, other people in our community were making alfombras (rugs). They are essentially pictures made out of salt that were put in the road on the University campus. There were about 20 different ones from many groups of people. The idea is you spend all day making this beautiful creation that represents something more, such as justice or solidarity. Then later in the evening there is a procession of people and you walk over them, running the pictures together.
A big part of the vigil is the procession that takes place in the evening. There are thousands of people who gather to remember the martyrs but the gathering also represents the continuing fight for justice and human rights. Everyone takes a candle and we process throughout the campus and a bit of the surrounding community. The procession ends in a large parking lot where mass is held by the UCA rector. The UCA rector is a Jesuit who has a relationship with our community so he has said mass for just our community before. Because of this the mass felt more powerful as I felt a connection to him.
His homily was anything from a safe typical homily. He named many of the social problems present in Salvadoran society. He was not afraid to call out politicians and the government, as they have not been trying to fix the situation in fact they have been making it worse. It seemed people really took to his words as there were clapping and cheering at points in his homily. Personally I found his homily to be extremely powerful. He began with the problems and did not hold back. It was overwhelming at first to just hear all the things that need work, I just felt helpless and powerless to the problems. As he continued to talk, he pointed to examples of hope and to people who have been instrumental in creating change. It was inspiring to hear about the people who are continuing to create change and to see so many other people dedicated to social change. I remember feeling energized to work that much harder and to dedicate my life to improve our world.
The night continued with music and dancing. The Salvadoran student who lives with me, Tomás, is an incredible musician. He started off the night and then also preformed with one of his groups, Trova. I will try and post a video but I am not sure that it will work.
Unfortunately as the dancing got started I had to say good-bye again to Chata and her sisters, Leidi and Chicki (who had come down later in the day). It turned out to be a lot more difficult than I was expecting. I felt so close to Chata, especially as I had spent the last day and a half with her, and I just did not want our time together to end. As I was saying good-bye to Leidi, she took her ring off her finger and placed it onto mine. I could feel my heart fill up with love and pain. It was such a beautiful moment with her and I will never forget it. I remember standing on the sidewalk, waving as the bus took my friends back home. A few tears rolled down my cheek knowing I may not see them again but also tears of joy for the time I was able to spend with them.
It is just the beginning of the good-bye process as I only have a month left in El Salvador. I am so scared to say good-bye to the people I have come to love. But I have learned so much from them and I know I need to continue the love they have given me. So for now I will enjoy ever moment I have left.
No comments:
Post a Comment