Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
Resurrection in El Salvador
My three trips to Central America—each organized and led by Augsburg
College's Center for Global Education—have done much to shape my
politics. h e i rst trip, in 1988, took place during El Salvador's Civil War.
By my second visit, in 1991, the leftist people's revolution had been put down
and US- and corporate-friendly forces were in control. h e third trip, in 2005,
was built around the events memorializing the 25th anniversary of the assassina-
tion of Archbishop Oscar Romero. ( Journals from all of these trips are online at
www.ricksteves.com/politicalact.)
For each of these trips, I had a week or two available for a vacation. I could
have enjoyed lying on a beach somewhere, but I chose to spend the time in El Sal-
vador. Checking in on a people who lost a revolution, taking the pulse of corporate-
led globalization in a poor country, collecting my impressions, and sharing them
now is precisely what I consider to be travel as a political act.
I realize it's odd, as a relative novice to Latin American travel, for me to
have such strong opinions—or any opinion, for that matter—on these topics. It's
clear: My passion is rooted in the opportunities I've had to talk with and learn
from smart, poor people living in what I grew up considering “banana republics.”
Frankly, spending time with the poor in Central America radicalizes people from
the rich world. I hope the following impressions and observations—mostly from
my 2005 trip—not only share some of what I learned, but illustrate why choosing
a place like Managua over a place like Mazatlán the next time you head south
of the border can create a more fuli lling travel experience.
Travel Makes You Wiser, but Less Happy
As we prepared to leave Miami, a l ight attendant who liked my TV show
bumped me from coach to i rst class. Alone among leather seats with my drink
in a real glass, I thought about the congestion—noisy families, people trying
to jam all their cheap new electronic gadgets overhead—back in economy. I
