My Family 's House On The Kitchen Island

Imagine living in a country where you know you could die at any moment but don’t know how much longer till it happens. That was how much of the population of El Salvador used to feel when the government could not control the big coffee corporations. These out of control corporations, highly feared that the people would want to revolt against them so they hired murderers to kill innocent people to spread fear in the minds of the people of El Salvador. Fear, hate, and sorrow were the common feelings felt by the poor and innocent major population of El Salvador caused by the evil wrongdoings of the government during October 1979 – 16 January 1992. This is how the main character, Jose Luis, of the novel “Mother Tongue” by Demetria Martinez, felt before escaping his beautiful yet over constantly dangerous country, which depended on its cash crop, coffee beans to sell on a foreign market as the country’s main income. However, following the stock-market crash of 1929, a drop in coffee prices became apparent and affected everyone in El Salvador, but the poor especially. Making things worse, the glorious United States was funding the men whom were doing all the innocent killings with more weapons and money to increase their military power. So for Jose Luis the safe haven that he had escaped to was also blatantly funding the war that was killing so many innocent people he knew and had forced him to escape for his own safety. With nowhere else to go in order to find safety the United

In 1964, Guatemala was being run by a military junta, violence was a part of every day life, the economy was in shambles, and jobs were scare (Cuevas, 2011). It was in this setting that a young man, my future father-in-law, took a chance at a better life for he and his family. Enticed by rumors of prosperity in the United States, Alex and his brother Rene saved their money to journey to Chicago, leaving their families behind in a search for hope that was borne of desperation. Alex left his wife Ruth with 20 Guatemalan Quetzal, the equivalent of $20 dollars, and their three children, Vivien, 5, Ingrid, 3, and Marvin, a newborn baby. What experience lay in store for he and his family? How would they fare in an unknown country, without

At seven o’ clock in the morning on December 11, 1981 an evil force entered the small El Salvadorian village of El Mezote (School of Assasins). With painted faces and army fatigues, the guerillas carried machine guns and automatic rifles into the peaceful village. As survivor Rufina Amaya recounts, “At ten o’clock the soldiers began to kill the men who were in the church. First, they machine-gunned them and slit their throats” (“Country Sheets for Close it Down Fast!” 3). After the men, the women were placed face down in the dusty streets and shot to

It was July 25th, 2003 when the first Ciudadana was born, seven pounds three ounces at 3:28 pm. I was the joy of my parent’s, brother, tias, tios , and primos ( aunt’s, uncle’s, and couisins. I was the one that had a chance, first generation. My parents describe it as an emotional experience. I was my Father’s first child and my moms only girl. It was in that room where history was made for the Mora Hernandez Morales Martinez family. The hardest part is that none of my grandmothers were there to see me growing up, they were at “home”

Twentieth century El Salvador is made up of violence, suffering, and hardships. After the independence of El Salvador, the elite took control of this country which produced discontent amongst the lower classes. During the 1920’s this discontent grew because of political abuse and increased poverty. According to John Chasteen in Born In Blood and Fire, Salvadoran indigenous people were pushed into volcanic land by the

Murder. Fear. Extortion. Crime. Death. These words were and still are daily thoughts to those who reside in El Salvador. My parents would lay frightened in their home, shaking from the short spurts of gunfire firing directly outside their home; this was war, the decade long Salvadoran Civil War. Gunshots. Screams. Child soldiers carrying heavy automatic weapons. Corpses. Blood. Men were forced to fight for either side, nowhere to hide. Stableness was not an option. In the late 1980s, my parents decided to head for the United States in order to avoid the conflict and seek better opportunities; El Salvador had fallen down the rabbit hole. Going back and forth from El Salvador and the United States would be a way of life for my nomadic

The size of Connecticut, El Salvador is one of Central America’s most densely populated countries and has the highest mortality rate in the world. First conquered by the Spaniards in the early 1500s, El Salvador’s history is filled with tension, violence, and exclusion; the settlers robbed the indigenous people of their land and forced them to slave in the coffee plant fields. Not only were the indigenous people deprived of their land, it was kept in the hands of the elite, creating little to no social mobility and further subjugating native Salvadorans. As discontent and tension increased between the elite and the poor, a massacre occurred on January 22, 1932 that was carried out by the National Guard, killing between 10,000 and 40,000 peasants—most of whom were indigenous people. The slaughter ignited a fire among the Salvadoran people that was fueled by unfulfilled promises of socio-economic parity and agrarian reform. In 1979 a civil war broke loose, Salvadorans were disappearing, illegally detained by the military, and killed. Maria Teresa Tula, a Salvadoran woman of indigenous decent shares her first-hand experience with violence in her work Hear My Testimony; as the wife of a union member, Maria Teresa was catapulted into a world where the government captured and killed her husband. In order to find answers Maria Teresa joined a civil society made up of women known as COMADRES, an organization dedicated to helping the families of the disappeared and finding their

The one class that really opened up my eyes to see the world in a different point of view was Entrepreneurship and Creativity. I may have not gotten the best possible grade, but I will never forget the learning principles that inspired me to create and explore many different options. The course had a marketing pitch competition that has gotten me to think in an entrepreneurial mindset ever since. As my parking app pitch came close with the runners-up, I am still trying to improve and innovate from previous models.

Julio, a 23 – year – old native from Tijuana, Mexico, went for a walk up the hill where it ended at a big and tall fence. As he pressed his face against the fence; he remembers all the rumors his family told him of the other side. He remembers the stories Mama Dona Pachita would talk about during dinner and how on the other side people lived in big houses with stainless steel appliances, air conditioning, and hot water. She would talk for days about the amount of food people had and all the different cuts of meats one could only wish for. Her talks of the other side were as if she was once there, but we knew she had never been there. The

After interviewing my mother, Olivia Robles, and father Valentine Chavez, I discovered all the background information I’ve been longing for, and more. My mother told me the reason I was in Mexico a few months after being born is because my father wanted to meet me. I was about three-four months in this photograph, and my uncle Emiliano took the photo. The photo was shot on a late May or June weekend in 1992 during a family friends baptism, while my grandmother was still alive, and my father still lived in Mexico (Robles).

In a conversation with my father, Jose E. Zavala, he disclosed to me the horrific methods that Salvadorans took because they were so desperate to escape the country. Jose E. Zavala was born in El Salvador, and was granted refuge in the United States when the civil war was at its peak, and When the United States did not allow people to migrate, parents would save money and only send their children in a pick-up, led by “coyotes” or people who would

The movie “La Casa de mi Padre” takes place in Mexico and represents family values and the cost of drug rivalries. In this movie the main character (Armando Alvarez) is a “ranchero” on his fathers land and the idiot of the family. Armando lives with his father in the house of his father, as enforced in the title, and although not heavily educated and lacks the qualities of a successful man as consistently pointed of by his father finds greater purpose when his brother comes back to town. The film begins by helping the viewer identify all the main characters in the movie and there place in the film. The issues faced in the film are created when Armando 's brother (Raul) and beloved and favorite son to Pedro returns to his father 's ranch as a successful businessman. This is the first consequential action that begin to dictate the direction of this movie. As Raul returns he brings with him his lover and hopefully soon to be wife. Pedro quickly gives his blessing to his son and begins planning the wedding. Accompany Rauls return to the family ranch Armando reaches the conclusion that the business that his brother has gotten himself into is the drug business. Appalled by the the idea of his brother getting involved in such evil and threatening the family name Armado addresses to Raul to confirm the accusation. Armando is enraged by his brothers stupidity and utter disregard for the pride of his family. He directs his hate and blame for his brothers poor decisions on his new

June, 1944, I woke up early at six o’clock am for normal 8-6 day shift at Restaraunt Altuna in Guatemala City. This day was more odd, i didn’t wake up from my alarm like usual days. My mom drove to my house and banged on my door until i opened. She was kind of overreacting at the time i thought. She said “Jeremy i'm worried about you living close to the heart of the capitol there is a protest group that is going around town causing disputes with the dictator. With all these riots and protest i heard he could respond back and possibly declare marshall law.” I couldn’t believe her at first, my mom has always been overprotective of me. I knew that certain people are not happy with our government but i didn’t think protest groups would get this

A country inhabited by over six million people off of the coast of Central America. A ravishing land full of beaches and wildlife, but also a place ravaged by corruption and gang populations that feel that they are leaders of the urban areas. This country has been torn by the result of war games played among its own brothers. The beautiful nation of El Salvador that has been the place of birth for my parents, grandparents and ancestors. San Salvador is the nation’s capital and possibly most prominent area of my land. The smallest of all Central American countries yet the most densely populated. Our flag wave’s two streaks of blue and one of white topped by a symbol representing the coat of arms in the center. Salvadorian people also being

Business Improvisation has by far been the best course I have ever taken at UNC. When I stepped into class on the first day, I had not a clue what to expect. To be completely frank, I had