Weekly discussion topics were as follows:

  • Week 1: Identity and Belonging
    • Introductions
    • Ground Rules
    • Icebreaker
    • What are things that set you apart from your Salvadorian family?
    • How do you feel represented in American media? Has it impacted how you feel about your identity?
    • Do you feel awkward sharing that you are Salvadorian with non-Salvadorians? What are things you feel you have to constantly negotiate with Salvadorians and non-Salvadorians?
    • Reflection & discussion of future meeting topics [feedback]
  • Week 2: Community and Belonging
    • Reflections/reactions around first meeting
    • How do you negotiate rootedness compared to other communities of color?
    • What do you think are key issue areas in the Salvadorian-American community?
    • What are ways you feel you were supported by your community? What are ways you feel you were not supported by your community?
    • Reflection
  • Week 3: Visible and Invisible Barriers
    • Opening reflection
    • What has influenced your sense of possibility (negatively and positively)?
      • e.g. hierarchies, beliefs, experiences, family, friends, authority figures, gender roles etc.
    • How do you think we construct and maintain a sense of community? For example, if there was a program you could take part in – now or in the past, what would it consist of?
    • Reflection
  • Week 4: Lifespan Development
    • Guided meditation – personal timeline

*I conceptualized a lifespan as comprised of infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age

  • If you were to do a timeline of your life, what would you characterize as your significant life events?
    • Reflection
  • Week 5: Indigeneity, Traditions, and History
    • Reading excerpt about Mayan history in El Salvador [introducing information that describes El Salvador as one of the birthplaces of the Mayan civilization]
    • Is this new information? What does hearing/reading this excerpt bring up for you more broadly about our indigenous roots?
    • Reflection
  • Week 6: Sexuality, Gender, and Religion
    • Presenting concepts of machismo and marianismo
      • Machismo: Strong or aggressive masculine pride
      • Marianismo: A strong or exaggerated sense of traditional femininity, especially in some Latin American cultures, placing great value on forbearance, self-sacrifice, nurturance, and the limiting of sex to marriage. Virgin & whore dichotomy.
    • What parameters and references [like machismo/marianismo] were your point of departures for constructing your gender identity? How has that impacted your identity? e.g. how you formulate personal relationships (platonic or romantic), choices, behaviors etc.
    • Reflection
  • Week 7: Race, Hierarchies and Power Structures
    • Discussion of the following concepts
      • double consciousness vs. multiple consciousness
      • entre mundos (in between worlds) vs. world-traveling
    • What do we look for in solidarity? How do we create solidarity amongst each other? And among other communities of color?
    • What kinds of power dynamics and hierarchies result in gatekeeping? What are they trying to prevent or protect?
  • Week 8: Synthetizations and Possibilities
    • Overall goals moving forward
      • Improving access to different spaces
      • Strengthening a sense of community & identity
    • What media platform do you think would be most effective and/or accessible for connecting the Salvadorian-American community and providing more positive visibility?

*e.g. Youtube channel, podcast, Instagram, Facebook page etc.

  • Do you think that an arts program would be beneficial to the Salvadorian-American community? What mediums come to mind? What other “non-art” components would you prioritize as peripheral programs?
    • Final reflections

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