Musicians of Ellacuria & The Missionary Cooperation Plan
While we may not be able to have our Ellacuria delegates join us this October for a visit to Good Shepherd, it is good to know they have a thriving community in El Salvador. Here is one of the exciting things happening with our friends in the Ignacio Ellacuria Community:
[Excerpts from this translated article: https://espaciorevista.com/2024/04/19/seguiria-cantando-hasta-el-final/]
Between October 2023 and February 2024, three women from the Ignacio Ellacuría community recorded an album with their own lyrics, which encourage women’s organizing and the achievement of their human rights.
Sisters Lilian and Gladys Ramos Huezo and their niece, Marina Serrano Ramos agree that “music is in their blood,” as their father is a musician and singer, and during their time at Mesa Grande, he was part of a group that sang in church, at competitions, and at other shelter activities. “We were refugees in the camps. There were music groups, there were people who composed songs. We were just kids there—I was about 12 years old—and my dad was always involved in music (…). That’s when I said, ‘Someday I’m going to get involved in this music thing too,'” Lilian recalls.
“We started getting involved; we were part of the women’s board,” Lilian continues. Then, there was an opportunity; we had a workshop with some people from the UCA (José Simeón Cañas Central American University), and there, each group was going to present, according to their understanding, a topic from those that had been given. I thought of writing a song about the topic I had been assigned, and they came to record that song; it was a hit. Since then, we women were taken to other places to sing during activities such as March 8th, Mother’s Day, and other events held with women. That’s when I began to write these songs to let them know what we, as women, have a right to.
“We visited many communities, many places here in Chalatenango, and we also went to San Salvador. After so much struggle, so much traveling in this music business, one day we went to Chalatenango for a March 8th event. I wrote a song about the massacre of women that took place on March 8th, and Mercedes Cañas, from Solidar Suisse, was there. She came up with the idea of making this album,” Lilian explains, adding, “She asked us if we would agree to record. When she told us that, we didn’t know what recording an album meant; we had always made songs like that, but now we’re here, we’re involved in this project, and it’s truly an incredible opportunity.”
Their band name is “Las Ramos.” This debut album contains nine songs and was produced with support from Solidar Suisse and CORDES, as part of the “Chalatenango without Gender Violence” project.
Marina Serrano says that, at first, she didn’t believe in the idea of ”recording an album.”
Then she felt nervous and scared, but along the way, she grew stronger, learning to play the guitar better, developing her voice, and gaining more self-confidence.
The three musicians agree on the feeling of happiness they experience when they sing.
Our Missionary Cooperation Plan collection for the archdiocese will go directly to our brothers and sisters in Ellacuria, El Salvador. You will hear more about it in the coming weeks, but the collection will be the weekend of October 18-19.
Our parish has been generous in supporting our brothers and sisters in Ellacuria since we first began our relationship with their community in 1990. It is an added bonus that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has worked with us to include Ellacuria as one of their Missionary Cooperation Plan ministries. Their support for this relationship offers an even bigger boost for the community of Ellacuria and goes a long way to enhance the solidarity we already have with our brothers and sisters in Ellacuria, El Salvador.