Broadcasting the Civil War in El Salvador: A Memoir of Guerrilla Radio

1984

1984 169 1984 170 broadcasting the civil war in el salvador the legend of el Chongue January 1 Domingo Monterrosa is commissioned as the commanding officer of the entire eastern zone. Still hung over from last night’s festivities, the colonel stands on the banks of the Lempa, contemplating the ruined bridge that lies before him, one of a number of military objectives that he couldn’t defend. The North American consultants are determined to see their publicity campaign around Monterrosa succeed, but they’re taking a risk because their plans are only as strong as the weakest link. And that link is Monterrosa himself. Pride, the downfall of many a colonel, creates illusions and false hopes. January 8 They had told me about its existence on a number of different occasions: El Chongue, a towering waterfall that cascades from the top of the Torola plateau. Countless stories, both magical and real, have grown up around it. I couldn’t stave off my curiosity for more than twenty minutes. I went straight through the center of town in my quest to locate the mysterious El Chongue. I crossed streams and fields and struggled through the underbrush without finding a thing. Disappointed, I had turned to go back when I ran into a short, thin boy on the road. He had a look of wonder on his face. We talked about summer, about how the worms are the bane of every farmer’s existence because they latch onto prize livestock and ripe fruits. He told me that he had been in school up until the fourth grade and that his name was Arnoldo. It didn’t take me long to ask him about the waterfall I was searching for. The boy stammered and said excitedly, “You’re looking for El Chongue? It’s really close. Come on, I’ll show you.” We went along a riverbed, navigating the huge boulders that had been worn away and polished over time, and then walked out to the edge of the plateau, where the landscape disappears over an abrupt cliff. It’s there that the water collects in a shimmering pool before tumbling over the cliff and down dozens of meters. The wind stirs the water, blowing up a fine mist that produces rainbow after rainbow. “Before you came and drove out the police, this is where they came to kill the prisoners. They threw them off the cliff. You can see the bones down below, among the rocks.” Arnoldo climbs out on the rocks, seemingly unaffected by the height as he stares down from the overhang: My teacher told us that they call it El Chongue because it means “water’s mist” in the native language. My grandmother used to tell me about how, long ago during the time of our ancestors, they worshiped the sun and 1984 171 came to this place once a year. They picked a young virgin, and the sorcerer washed her in this very pool. Right there, you see? Then they led her up to this rock and threw her down the cliff. They say that one time they selected an Indian princess, and that once she had been washed and they were ready to cast her off of the cliff, she refused. She told the sorcerer that she didn’t want to be with the sun because she was in love with a boy from Torola. The sorcerer was furious and cursed the girl, saying, “I curse you from this day forward, stubborn child. You will be a serpent and live in the streams and rivers of this place until the men who will come to enslave us are defeated.” And that’s how it was. She became a snake with golden scales, and she appears in the rivers and streams of this area to this very day, coming out to ensnare the men and leave them half-crazy. On the way back to Torola Arnoldo jumps from rock to rock yelling, “Chongue, Chongue!” The thought crosses my mind that the nude, bewitched princess who drives men out of their minds has appeared to Arnoldo. January 10 Today we celebrate the fourth anniversary of Radio Venceremos . A few days ago Monterrosa swore to a group of journalists that he would destroy us in the coming months. We can’t help but make fun of him: “We have to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Radio...