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

Preface

introduction xiii preface Any project of this scale will by necessity be a collective effort. First and foremost , thanks go to Santiago and his fellow compas (comrades) in Morazán for their sacrifices for El Salvador. One component of their efforts was the creation of the original Spanish version of this manuscript, La terquedad del izote. As Santiago will explain, that original manuscript had to be reproduced collectively, thanks to an act of destruction by soldiers in the Salvadoran Army. Since the end of the war in El Salvador, Santiago has committed himself to preserving and sharing the story of that country’s past. His efforts have manifested themselves notably in founding and directing the Museum of Word and Image (Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen—MUPI). The present text is another manifestation of his commitment to preserving historical memory and promoting popular education . If Confucius was right when he said, “Study the past if you would define the future,” then anyone who cares about El Salvador is indebted to Santiago. The process that led to this translation project began in 2004, when Santiago and Erik Ching discussed the possibility of a mutually beneficial internship between MUPI and Furman University. Their idea became reality with the support of Furman University’s Charles Johnson Center for Engaged Learning and its two internship directors, Dr. Marianne Pierce and Susan Zeiger. They recognized the merits of sending Furman students to MUPI as summer interns and helped secure the necessary financial support from Furman’s undergraduate research program, Furman Advantage. Charlie Nagle was the third intern to work with Santiago. The first two, Rachel Kuck (2005) and Derek Gleason (2007), paved the way. Santiago would like to thank Erik Ching, whose persistence made possible the completion of this project and its publication as a book. Thanks, of course, to Charlie Nagle and Bill Prince, as well as to Jocelyn Courtney, for their concerted efforts on the translation. Special thanks to Charlie’s nuanced gift for translation and his ability to capture the original text’s voice and tone. Charlie Nagle acknowledges Dr. A. L. (Bill) Prince. I am forever indebted to him for his continued support and close supervision during this project. Without xiv broadcasting the civil war in el salvador him, this English edition would not have been possible. I also express sincere gratitude to Dr. Erik Ching for having provided me with this opportunity and to Carlos Henríquez Consalvi for having entrusted me with the translation of his memoirs. I am deeply humbled. Bill Prince thanks Charlie Nagle for his monumental efforts on this project, and Santiago for his trust in their abilities. Erik Ching would like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Knut Walter in San Salvador for his many years of professional collaboration and for serving as a font of knowledge about El Salvador and its past. In the context of this specific project, Knut participated in many of the interviews in Morazán and subsequent discussions that led to the writing of the Introduction. Graphic designer Roberto Lovo in San Salvador produced the two maps that appear in the book. Thanks to Theresa May, editor-in-chief of the University of Texas Press, and Virginia Hagerty, managing editor of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, for their steady support of this project from start to finish. Thanks also to Kathy Bork for her outstanding copyedit. Thanks to the two reviewers— Héctor Lindo and Aldo Lauria—for their evaluation of the manuscript and the Introduction, along with their insightful suggestions for improvements. Our thanks also to Sally Morris for her background photographs of the Izote plant. For readers interested in video images of Radio Venceremos, MUPI’s Web site (http://www.museo.com.sv)hasanaudiovisualsection,whichincludesimagesof Venceremos and at least one short documentary with English subtitles. MUPI’s long-term plan is to have extensive materials available online through its Web site, including scanned documents, videos, and audio recordings of Venceremos transmissions. YouTube makes available some videos on Venceremos as well. Type “Radio Venceremos El Salvador” into the search category, and a couple of additional clips of the radio team will appear. Erik Ching Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.A. Carlos Henríquez Consalvi (“Santiago”) San Salvador, El Salvador August 2009 ...