Culture and People

I have to say my favorite attribute about El Salvador’s culture is the warmness of its people. The culture is rich in many parts of the country, the pride of our ancestors show in some parts, but the friendliness is everywhere. Our ancestors’ legacy still lives in some towns, and we take much pride in visiting them and keeping them well conserved. Some places like “Ruinas de San Andres” an "Joyas de Cerén” tell the story of how ancestors live I the past, and they’re very popular attractions for people who want to learn about the natives. I believe this is very important for us because as time has passed, El Salvador has assimilated the Western culture more and more. El Salvador went from being extremely undeveloped to having a Starbucks in every corner in a period of ten years. Having been exposed to the “American culture” my whole life, I saw this as an exciting thing to be happening in my country, but the majority of the population, which have never been out of the country, felt it like a huge development in our country, that is because they were used to the local small places. I am from the capital, San Salvador, where the culture and feeling of American influence is much stronger than anywhere else in the country, but in the smaller towns all you can see is the Salvadoran culture. The key difference between both of these cultures is the warmness. You can tell in the small, almost native, towns of El Salvador the warmness and love the people radiate. Everything is much less generic and “popular,” it’s like it was made to fit us especially. It seems that over time there has been a division between the small towns, where no big changes have been made, and the big cities like where I’m from. One thing we both can relate to is the poverty. There are many places all over El Salvador that can be seen as need help, or very undeveloped. All around my country, you can find poverty almost anywhere. Although it’s sad and can be frustrating at times, it is the truth. I believe there is a better future for El Salvador, but it takes the right people and time to get it there. For one, the citizens are positive people. They are genuinely good-hearted and care for the betterment of our country. We need to keep our culture alive, and also the people’s spirits. I hope that through communications, I can return to my country with the intentions of bettering it. I have many ideas on how we can make El Salvador a land of enrichment and happiness again, but it takes hope, and thankfully I have it.