What's Up El Salvador

Lucha Libre in El Salvador! I am a huge fan of craziness so as you might expect I could not stay away from Salvadoran Lucha Libre forever. The sheer madness of it, the theatricality, the outlandish characters, make it something that everyone should attend at least once. Not in Las Vegas.  But in a downtown [...]

This is a shout out to my brothers and sisters from the Careterra a La Libertad, where my car broke down last night. I did not get your names, though I remember your faces. I remember the faces of your kids too, because as you were using your cell phone screens to light up by [...]

I grew up in Southern California so I have heard the sound of cicadas before. On some summers days more than others we would hear their loud, otherworldly sound buzzing out from any wooded area nearby. I thought the sound was creepy, and it’s “war of the worlds” quality made me think something dangerous was [...]

Last week my daughter’s school held the annual pre-school intramurals. I must admit, I did not know what an intramural is, we did not have them at any school I attended, but I figured it out. I was already in the family gathering mood, since the week prior to the intramurals, the school hosted a [...]

I don´t know the secrets of choosing a cafe location, but I would never personally choose the bottom of a staircase for a coffee cart, in particular a very nice one. But then again, I cannot remember the last time I made a good business decision so…never mind. Bianco Cafe is a tiny little cart, tucked [...]

Before we moved to San Salvador, many people warned us about violence. I read books and articles about the gangs, the crime, the politics, the bloodshed. I set myself of for a slanted view of everything around me. I was ready to view the world through blood colored glasses.   It was so bad that [...]

Dear Salvadoran Immigracion Office, Thank you very much for finally accepting my documents, allowing me to pay those high fees and penalties today. I was confused that each different person we spoke with had seperate issues with our application, but relieved when my attorney managed to gain the attention of an individual in order to [...]

You know how some places have laws about construction times? San Salvador does not New restaurant going in at Plaza Futura. They work litterally all night. They quiet down during the day so as not to disturb the office workers Neighbor across the Senda. They work litterally all day and all night. In fact more [...]

Through all this flooding, the temperature is still pretty warm, though the truly tropical residents disagree. I think it is adorable that the guards at the fronts of all the residenciales are sporting snowboarding jackets and ski hats! I had a short discussion about shoes, with a very talkative cleaning woman who waded up the [...]

If there were not problems in the justice system here, I would not hear so many bad things about it from people both inside and outside the problem. There are radically different views about the true nature of violent crime in El Salvador. Some seem confused, Some seem imbalanced and others seem way too simple [...]