The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team is currently working on a design proposal with Pro-Busqueda and Asociación Sumpul for a memorial commemorating the Guinda de Mayo Massacres. This project will be realized the second half of our SSHRC Partnership Grant. The Guinda de Mayo Massacres in Chalatenango – which culminated in May 1982 and lasted for multiple months – are among the worst human rights violations of the Salvadoran Civil War. The perpetrators – the Belloso Battalion – were trained at the School of the Americas and were relentless in their pursuit of civilians across the region. In addition to bombings, scotched earth tactics, and forced displacement, there were also multiple civilian massacres. One survivor and community leader, Don Lisandro, describes the Guinda de Mayo as a “rosario” (a string or series) of massacres.

Pro-Busqueda was the first organization to organise the commemoration, which is now co-organized with Asociación Sumpul [Sumpul Association]. The commemoration begins in canton Los Amates and includes a procession with a series of stops at significant points of violence. The procession ends at the current Turicentro on the other riverbank, where the land owner has  agreed to donate a piece of land for the construction of a memorial. Some indications suggest that the memorial should be visible from the road (and with its own entrance) further away from the riverbank because the river tends to flood during the rainy season. The commemorations are attended by approximately 250 people, including participants from other parts of the country.

During the commemorations, participants present offerings that consist of objects associated with the massacre, which are borrowed from the Museum of Arcatao. These include simple, everyday objects that people lost during their flight like shoes, plastic to sleep on, clothing, and (plastic) toys. The commemoration also consists of live music and a ceremony along the river with flowers (commemorating the killing of the lisiados de guerra [mutilated of the war] and the capsized boat), close to the Turicentro where a mass is held.