Ana Salzar and Douglas Reyes shared with Ms. Lily Barcelona’s and Mr. George Symeonides’ AP Spanish classes their story about life and survival in El Salvador during the country’s civil war that lasted 12 years from 1980-1992. The entire discussion was conducted in Spanish.

Both of them were very young during the war.  Reyes lived in the capital during the war and saw the violence and military in the war.  Salazar lived in a rural area of El Salvador. She and her family always wondered when they had to pick up and go.  She often helped her mother with her other siblings.

During the presentation, Reyes also sang songs about the resistance and also the struggle during the war.

Besides studying the history of the war, the AP Spanish students also studied about the families and communities.  They prepared for the presentation by watching documentaries, feature films, and they also had a packet about the unit.

“It is an authentic way to use Spanish to communicate and also to learn about the personal history of the survivors and civilians of war,” said Ms. Lily Barcelona, Spanish teacher.

The presentation showed a different side to the civil war.  “The difference between this experience and Spanish class was that we were listening to a personal account of the civil war rather than watching a documentary or film on it,” Lagestee said.

“This presentation will help me in the future by making the language more than just a class that I have to take for college, but a way to examine the history of many cultures,” Lagestee said.

Both Barcelona and Symeonides worked to bring these speakers to Central.