The city’s French Alliance and Spanish Cultural Center often host one-off events, while La Resi, a popular multimedia space that welcomes visual artists, independent educators and musicians alike, remains a bastion of experimentation and collaboration for all who seek it.Įl Salvador’s indie music industry is still in its infancy, and though a strong push for formalizing press and management relationships is being made, spearheaded by organizations like KUI and publications Factum and Bulla, many musicians lack the knowledge or tools to properly market their projects. La Casa Tomada shuttered its doors last year and though it’s expected to re-open elsewhere, an exact date and location have not yet been determined. La Luna closed in 2012 and recently reopened under new ownership as Buhos Pizza, which is once again among the favorite venues in San Salvador. The kids of left-wing exiles who fled to Mexico would also show up and take theater classes there because it was the most similar environment they could find to what they had experienced in Mexico City.”Ī lack of venues is one of the many challenges faced by the Salvadoran underground. Sons of military officers who let their hair grow after the peace treaties were signed-they would come hang out at La Luna. “There need to be meeting grounds,” he adds, “which is what Beatriz Alcaine tried to build with La Luna. Maravilla has been an integral part of the national scene for nearly 13 years as member of bands Polly Class and Manyula Dance Club, booker and event coordinator at the iconic Casa Tomada, and a cornerstone of Central America’s tightly-knit indie network. “For a scene to exist there must be some sort of harmony, whether musical, emotional, spiritual or ideological,” says Fran Maravilla, one of El Salvador’s most influential and beloved cultural organizers. Rappers like Snif and Oneime have also put their necks on the line for their art, spinning intimate portraits of barrio life that bring hope to a new generation of kids eagerly searching for paths beyond gang membership. Ignition (hardcore), Toma el Riesgo (straight edge), Adhesivo (ska) and Los Bastardos (experimental) all doled out brutal catharsis over the past decade, eviscerating injustice, institutional violence and economic inequality over throbbing mosh pits. However, when it comes to the hip underground kids, unspooling a connective musical thread becomes more challenging.Įl Salvador’s turbulent political history-which includes nearly a century of dictatorships, civil wars and gang violence-has shaped much of its cultural yield, paving the way for punk and rap as essential outlets for a society in trauma. Cumbia reigns safely as the country’s sonic lingua franca, a genre where stalwarts like Marito Rivera and Orquesta San Vicente are able to connect with children and their grandparents alike. The sound of El Salvador can be described as a melange of influences from powerhouse neighbors like Mexico, Colombia and the Caribbean-manifesting in colorful pockets of rock and reggae throughout the capital city’s urban sprawl and its breathtaking nearby beach towns. Take El Salvador for example The smallest nation in Central America, by square mileage, is also home to breathtaking beaches, verdant landscapes, bomb local cuisine and vibrant movements in music, fine arts and film. With the rare exception of Costa Rica, which in the past we’ve highlighted as an exciting haven for music, fashion and nightlife, the rest of the region remains a glaring omission from the greater cultural conversation. Where is Central America? I don’t mean on a map-but in the media.
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