PVC 1991 Delegation - Part 1: The Delegates

 

The following notes have been edited to correct errors and to add explanations and updates. Parenthetical notes and remarks from the original are enclosed in parentheses. Present day [2022] updates are italicized and enclosed in square brackets.

Project Via Crucis is a Pennsylvania-based ministry committed to building mutually empowering relationships between communities of faith here and communities of faith served by the Lutheran Church of El Salvador. The work of Project Via Crucis includes accompaniment of our Salvadoran sisters and brothers through delegations; sharing our resources by assisting Salvadoran communities with economic aid and projects that facilitate self-sufficiency; educating people in the United States about El Salvador; and advocacy on behalf of the Salvadoran poor to promote respect for human rights, non-violent resolution of conflict, and a society built on a just peace. (Statement of Purpose adopted September 1991.)

This ministry has sent a delegation to El Salvador each October since its founding in 1987, and with each passing year our relationships with the people we visit have deepened and broadened. In early 1991, after a lengthy process of discussion and discernment, Project Via Crucis committed itself to a sister relationship with a cluster of congregations associated with the Lutheran Church in the department of San Miguel. We did this knowing that San Miguel has had very little international attention, that it is an extremely militarized area, and that the Lutheran work there had been dealt a major set-back by the assassination of Pastor David Fernandez in 1984, a blow from which the congregations were only now recovering. We also knew that San Miguel was the family home of Bishop Medardo Gomez, and that the work there was again growing under the leadership of a dynamic young pastor, Walter Baires. The messages we were receiving indicated that sistering with San Miguel would be much more difficult than with one of the already conscienticized and thriving parishes nearer the capital, but that PVC had proven itself capable of fulfilling commitments over the years and that we would be equal to the challenge.

PVC 1990 Delegation – Part Three: La Peña, San Miguel

 

The following notes have been edited to correct errors and to add explanations and updates. Parenthetical notes and remarks from the original are enclosed in parentheses. Present day [2022] updates are italicized and enclosed in square brackets.

1 October 1990 - late afternoon, a small community in San Miguel

[After a substantial breakfast at the guest house, we loaded luggage and supplies into the bus and set out for our first visit, a mountain village in the Department of San Miguel.]

When we arrive at the village in mid-afternoon, after several delays on the road, we are met by a small instrumental group which has obviously been waiting for us for quite a long time. There are two guitars, a fiddle, a three-stringed bass, and maracas. Their repertoire consists entirely of lively dance tunes, most in a strong 4/4 tempo which reminds me of some of our kolos. [Balkan folk dances. “Kolo means “circle.”] Our group stands around the square listening and clapping along as the group entertains us. Then Chris comes over to me and asks me if I want to play the fiddle. After a moment's hesitation, during which Chris assures me that they would love it, and it would be a good way to help our groups relate to each other, I say sure, I'll give it a try.

Chris explains to the musicians what is proposed, and the next thing I know, I am at the center of a circle with the fiddle in hand. I ask Chris to tell them that what I will play is a song by a young girl to her boyfriend, telling him that she wants to dance and party. Then I begin "Ajde Jano." After the first chorus, the accompaniment joins me, a bit tentatively at first, then more firmly, pulling the rhythm from 7/8 into 4/4. The strings are all gut, the D and A in tune with each other, though somewhat lower than 440. The G is definitely not a fifth below the D; I never do figure out how it is tuned. After five or six times through I end the song, thank the fiddler for the use of his instrument, and return it to its proper owner.