Dancing

The Whirlwind of El Salvador - that's the series that this picture is from. It reminds me of how El Salvador has so much going on:

• the class struggle between rich and poor
  
• an ideological battle between political extremes
  
• the melange of natural beauty, tragic legacy, sheer poverty, and forthright perseverance

The day after these pictures were taken, a woman was sitting near this dance floor descrived the dance as "eclectic", with everyone dance to the same music, but in all different styles. Being on the floor myself, I saw it all: people who had been dancing salsa for decades and others who had never danced in their lives. Salvadoran, American, Mexican, Australian, French. Backgrounds in flamenco, ballet, country line, all together in a dignified mess.

The same with El Salvador. Time moves at the same pace for everyone. The same things happen to everyone in a small country like this: earthquakes, wars, election, globalization. Yet there are so many different human forces here: the evangelicals with their ever present symbols of the star of David and menorah; the predatory capitalists in their gated mansions and pristin shopping malls; the farmers int he hill tending their plots by hand; the Base Christian Community and their message of love in the face of despair.

What can we learn from El Salvador? Frankly, I don't know. Or at least, I can't summarize all that without taking too long. Perhaps, in the course of these writings, both you and I will learn.