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Bilingual interviews with remarkable people highlighting stories about El Salvador, its people, and culture. Our mission is to connect Salvadorans to each other and the world!
We never imagined that we’d make such a big impact with this podcast. This episode we’ll explore how Elisabeth Villalta and her family had their lives changed forever in a way they never expected. This is a story about the search for family and identity. It’s also a story about the power of community and how it can help overcome the impossible and reunite long lost families.
Who are you? Where do you come from? The need to find and define our identity is innate in all of us. We don’t need it to live, to eat, to reproduce. Still, we can’t ignore it. You need to know your story and the stories of all the people it took to make you. This is where Elisabeth Villalta finds herself and this is where this story will take us.
(00:00:00) Start
(00:01:35) Intro
(00:04:10) Napo’s Background
(00:08:25) Elisabeth’s Curiosity and the trip to Berlin
(00:34:55) Unexpected Message
(00:46:45) Zoom Call and New Relatives
(01:01:41) The Search Continues
(01:11:29) Calling all listeners
(01:13:41) Close out - Season End
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“La Alegría del Encuentro” by Mauricio Trabanino
In the second part of Salvadorans Around the World, we visit exotic locations like California and North Carolina, but we’re also visiting Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, and the UK ! We’ll hear from Camila, Roberto y Lilian, Kenia, Milly, David, Mauricio, and Natalie! Join us as we listen to stories about all kinds of journeys, from adventures to foreign lands to the search for home and family.
Roberto Alvarado Y Lilian - Soccer and Smiles
Thank you to everyone that took part in this months-long project. In our community, there is a prevailing sense of invisibility. That the challenges we face are often overlooked. Many Salvadorans navigate through life overcoming hardships, confronting traumas, and cherishing small victories, all while feeling isolated in their struggles. This is why we feel it’s so important to share our stories—both monumental and everyday.
Thank you to the Salvadorans willing to share their story with us. It takes courage to open up and we want to acknowledge your gift of authenticity. It may not feel like a lot, but sharing your stories helps us all feel more connected to each other.
Also thank you for listening and sharing our work. It’s thanks to your support that our community feels seen. Together, we’re making our stories less invisible with each shared moment.
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“Fiel” by Vibrass Ska Ensemble
It’s finally here! The first part of our collection of stories of Salvadorans Around the World. In the final episodes of Season 4, we hear stories from Salvadorans from all walks of life. In part one, we’ll hear Jennifer , Mardoqueo, Johanna, Kenya, and Klara share their stories. We’ll hear about the migration trail from El Salvador to the US, the meaning of the American Dream, and ponder deep questions about Salvadoran identity.
Klara Hernandez - Eko Social Justice
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El Salvador has always been a beautiful place and Analucy has known it since birth. Analucy writes about her travels, family, and the identity crisis the Salvadoran diaspora faces. We talk about the importance of loving one’s own country, travel recommendations for El Salvador, and reframing how we think about helping underserved communities at home.
Analucy Benavides is a Salvadoran-American travel blogger and content creator from Maryland. Her writing focuses on travel tips, lessons learned, embracing solo travel, and returning to your roots. She has spearheaded various projects to help develop rural communities abroad and foster cultural exchanges.
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In 1991, a Salvadoran man is shot by the police in Mount Pleasant, Washington DC. A community fed up with police brutality and lack of resources rises up. “La Manplesa” tells the story of the uprising and how Salvadoran immigrants made an impact in the nation’s capital via protest, art, and activism. Quique Avilés and Cindy Centeno tell us the history and process behind this art-focused documentary.
Quique Avilés is a poet, actor and community activist whose work is dedicated to addressing social issues through performance and poetry. A native of El Salvador, Quique has been writing and performing about issues of race, identity, and the plight of poor people in the US for 30 years.
Cindy Centeno is a creative producer who works to share purposeful stories that inspire and build people up. A proud daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, Cindy's background is in film and video, photography, and impact production.
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In “The People’s Hospital,” Ricardo Nuila sheds light on the challenges in US healthcare but also shares that there’s hope. Children of immigrants grappling with the complexities of healthcare for their loved ones will resonate with Ricardo’s unique perspective. Informed by both his medical expertise and Salvadoran background, we discuss the human side of healthcare and navigating “Medicine Inc.” with cultural and linguistic barriers.
Ricardo Nuila is a writer, teacher, and practicing doctor. He is an associate professor of medicine, medical ethics, and health policy at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Humanities Expression and Arts Lab (HEAL) program.
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“Midnight Sunshine” by Robbie Velasquez
As if debilitating pain is not enough, endometriosis patients must also contend with being dismissed by doctors and maybe even family. Nathali fought for years to get diagnosed and treated. Now she fights as the Endocipota so that others, specially Central Americans, can find the help they need
Nathali Zamora is a Brooklyn born first-generation American of Central American descent. She manages a finance career by day and endometriosis advocacy as the EndoCipota by night.
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“Girl You Can” by Gaby Tobar
Por décadas la presencia Salvadoreña en Yonkers crecía pero no se veía. Armando Rivas, con la ayuda de la comunidad hispana en Yonkers, dio el primer paso y formo el Group Salvadoreño de Yonkers. Marchan en desfiles, disfrutan en eventos, y ayudan a nuestra comunidad en la cuarta ciudad mas grande en Nueva York. Armando y el grupo esperan unir toda la comunidad centroamericana en el condado de Westchester y mas allá.
Armando Rivas es un immigrate Salvadoreño y residente de Yonkers. Es el fundador y presidente del Grupo Salvadoreño de Yonkers. Sirvió en la junta ejecutiva del Yonkers Hispanic Cultural Foundation y es miembro del Salvadoran American Chamber of Commerce en Brentwood, NY.
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“La Cumbia del Perro” by Inflorescencia
Salvi Yorkers bridges the past and present with powerful narratives about the Salvadoran diaspora in New York. Diego Murcia, from Bitextuales, helps author, Carmen Molina-Tamacas, cross one additional bridge by producing the audiobook version of her work. Now our stories can reach even more people and Diego can help tell your story too.
Diego Murcia is an author, journalist, and podcast/audiobook producer. His work spans from El Salvador to Mexico to the United States. His podcast “Secreto a Voces” won the 2019 Latin Podcasts Awards in the Education category. A first for a Salvadoran podcast.
Carmen Molina-Tamacas is a journalist, anthropologist, and author of “Salvi Yorkers” with print editions in Spanish and English, and now in Spanish audiobook format.
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“Flor (feat. Adrenalina)” by Amnesica
You made it. You’re a successful engineer at a prestigious organization. What do you do now? Zaida Hernandez decided to help other underrepresented groups get into engineering through her social media platform, The Space Latina. She tells us how she went from looking up at the stars during visits to rural El Salvador to working on sending humans to the moon in the Artemis program.
Zaida Hernandez also known as “The Space Latina,” is a spacecraft engineer and subsystem manager at NASA supporting the Artemis missions. She has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Master’s in Industrial Engineering. She is a first generation college graduate in her family. She is also a children’s book author of space themed STEM books.
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“Viento Solar” by Akumal
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.
