PICO-UNION : Salvadoran Students Discover Their Roots

When Adalia Zelada’s parents left El Salvador in the 1970s, they never imagined that their daughter would go there one day as anything but a tourist.

But last week, the UCLA freshman joined 12 other college students who are studying social and economic issues in El Salvador. The summer program is sponsored by the Central American Resource Center.

Most of the students, like Zelada, are Los Angeles residents of Salvadoran descent. Their research, the center hopes, will contribute to post-war recovery efforts in a country most know only through photos and family stories.

“There are lots of kids who, like myself, were raised here and have lost contact with our roots,” said Zelada, 18, who lives in Pico-Union and hopes to become a physician. “It’s important that we identify with our country, and that we are attempting to better the lives of the Salvadoran people.”

The students will work with non-governmental organizations to study issues such as the growing labor movement in El Salvador, rising crime and the trans-nationalization of Los Angeles gangs, models for sustainable economic development, and educational issues.

The Pico-Union-based center, which for 13 years has helped Central American refugees adjust to their new environment, is taking an interest in El Salvador’s post-war development.

“We have always been involved with El Salvador, and we still have a commitment to work there during their democratization process,” said Meredith Brown, director of the internship program. “When the students come back, the idea is for them to take their knowledge and continue to work with the community.”

Mario Cuellar, a 21-year-old Los Angeles City College student who will spend the summer studying economic development, plans to do just that. He hopes to become an attorney and continue working with the Latino community on civil rights issues.

Cuellar’s studies in El Salvador will focus on the personal remittance phenomenon: About $1 billion is sent annually by Salvadoran immigrants in the United States to their relatives. It will be his job to study how this money can be invested and put to lasting use instead of being consumed for daily needs.

“There is one town I know of, in the province of Santa Ana, where no one works,” said Cuellar, who came to Los Angeles with his family as a teen-ager. “I want to know how those people can organize to spend their money more wisely.”

Round-trip tickets to San Salvador were donated to the program by American Airlines. Most of the students will stay with relatives, and non-Salvadoran students will be provided housing with families in the capital city of San Salvador.

Information: (213) 483-6868, Ext. 124.