(FROM THE NEWSLETTER): I've lived in different countries around the world for the past 17 years. This experience has been meaningful and deeply gratifying. It has also given me a profound sense of belonging in all the places I've spent a lot of time. Ironically, I didn't have this sense of belonging in the country where I was born. But something has changed. Now I feel like I've come full circle and have that sense of belonging in my home country, too.
I fled El Salvador because of the civil war. And I returned many times since to a country beset by crime. That war and that crime mostly kept travelers from discovering one of the most beautiful and traditional countries in the world.
But now everything is different. Because of a large and controversial crackdown on crime in the last five years and on gangs in the past year (called the "State of Exception," where due process has been suspended for anyone with gang tattoos), El Salvador has transitioned from the "murder capital of the world" to the safest country in Latin America. Salvadorans are generally ecstatic about the change, and can walk in their own neighborhoods without fear for the first time since the 1970s.
I have visited El Salvador three times just this year, and have another trip there planned in the very near future. And I can tell you, it's an entirely new place. For the first time since my childhood, I feel more than just safe, but a real sense of freedom in the country where I was born. Rediscovering El Salvador has been a transformative experience for me.
My childhood in El Salvador was wonderful. I was very lucky to have had a paternal grandmother who was a formidable woman and role model. Her name was Lucia Serrano (or: Doña Lucía Montoya de Serrano Piche). I called her Mama Lucia. She was the first female mayor of her town of Zacatecoluca and the first female governor of her Department (which is like a US state) of La Paz. In fact, she was the first female to hold an official office of any kind in Latin America. She was also asked to run for President of El Salvador during the war, but declined the offer. (During a trip to Oaxaca this year, we met a well known German retired war correspondent who covered Latin America, and he knew my grandmother. It was surreal.)
Doña Lucía Montoya de Serrano Piche, my grandmother.
My grandmother was an ethical person with a big heart. She and I shared the same birthday and she always made me feel so loved and special. My grandmother was loved and admired by many. Her politics were famous for staunch anti-corruption policies. But she broke her own rule to never use her influence or power for her own benefit only once that I'm aware of — she pulled strings to rapidly get visas for me, my little brother and my mom to emigrate to the US legally as the civil war was getting out of control in 1980. Of the many grandchildren she had from her 5 children, she bestowed this gift upon me and my family. And for that, I will forever be grateful.
My grandmother as Mayor in 1956, with her city council.
I have a theory as to why she did it: My grandmother lost her infant grandson (my dad's nine-month-old baby and my youngest half-brother) due to an accident by the child's nanny. Then she lost her son, my father, due to complications from alcoholism. He was 41.
In 1980, Bishop Óscar Romero was assassinated while celebrating mass at a church in San Salvador. Opposition guerrillas started forcibly recruiting both adults and children as soldiers. I was with my grandmother in her car when rebels tried to assassinate her. It was all going bad quickly, so my grandmother used her influence to get us visas fast. We flew to the United States where I became a citizen a few years after arriving.
I feel incredibly lucky to have been spared from that horrendous war. My grandmother probably saved my life, and definitely gave me a better life.
El Salvador’s Pacific coastline is truly stunning.
I have been lucky and feel blessed for my good fortune. Moving to the US is what many people in the world would love to do. Most of the lucky Americans born in the US might not realize how billions of people around the world would love nothing more than to visit and, preferably, live in the US for a chance to realize the American dream. I’m proud to be an American Citizen and I love the United States. I would never take for granted how lucky I am for all that the US has meant in my life.
Surprisingly, traveling around the world has made me even more appreciative of the United States. It’s a privilege to be an American Citizen. Talking with others around the planet and learning about their struggles and how they live is always eye opening. Although the US is far from perfect, I’ve gained an important perspective about how much freer and easier life is in the US generally, relatively speaking.
I have been traveling to El Salvador on and off since 1996 (when I first brought my kids to visit the place where I was born and meet my grandmother). But my realization of what I’ve been missing didn’t begin until 2019, during a family reunion there. I was embraced by loving relatives and began to unearth something beyond poignant family stories: my childhood identity.
In many ways, losing my mom early this year brought me back on a journey of literal discovery. We wanted to honor my mom by spreading her ashes on her favorite beach, in her beloved country. In the process of searching for my mom's roots and, subsequently, my own, I got back many memories I had forgotten and recovered a part of my life I had left behind that had remained mostly dormant.
My mom’s death this year has been challenging. But losing her well before she died due to Alzheimer’s left a huge void in my heart that I don’t think will ever close. But my mom left me with the gift of a newfound appreciation for my native land bringing me back full circle to the place I came from. I feel at home again in my beloved El Salvador.
Salvadorans, among them extended family, suffered through a deadly civil war and unspeakable gang violence for over four decades. But El Salvador is safe again and now being described as an undiscovered travel gem.
Kept unexplored by tourists due to 40 years of internal turmoil, El Salvador is a hidden tropical paradise. With soft black sandy beaches, warm Pacific waters, world renown surfing waves, lush nature, majestic volcanos, welcoming people, stunning lakes, charming colonial villages, ancient Mayan ruins, delicious food (including its famous pupusas), sopa de res, pan con pavo, nuegados y chilate, pan dulce, Salvadoran quesadilla, amazing dairy products, infinite types of delicious tropical fruit and incredible seafood. El Salvador is a travel destination marvel unlike any other!
The widely diverse Salvadoran cuisine is second to none in flavor, ingredients and uniqueness. And don’t even get me started with Salvadoran horchata! Made from a gourd seed called morro, Salvadoran horchata is exquisite.
El Salvador is also known for producing some of the finest coffee and cacao in Latin America and even the world — it’s a little piece of heaven for coffee and chocolate lovers!
Nothing in the world like the food in El Salvador.
I’m deeply excited to be hosting our first ever El Salvador Tropical Experience in January. I have so much gratitude for those of you who immediately signed up to attend. I appreciate your trust and support more than words can ever say.
Sharing my place of birth, the delicious cuisine I grew up with and the wonderful soft sandy beaches I ran on as a little girl in my beloved El Salvador with you is truly an honor and a dream come true. It will be an unforgettable journey of a lifetime filled with unparalleled adventures!
We have one last room available for this first and one-of-a-kind epic culinary tropical exploration! It will be an honor for me to welcome you in my native land.
Joy and adventure, Amira