What?
El Higueral, a mountain community deeply marked by the Salvadoran Civil War, is creating a commemorative space to honor its past and nurture hope for the future. This project, led by KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture and local partners, aims to transform the site of a tragic massacre into a place of remembrance and healing. Your support will help bring this vision to life, preserving the community's history and fostering resilience for generations to come.
Why?
El Higueral, Chalatenango, El Salvador, holds a profound place in the history of the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992). In February 1981, it witnessed a tragic massacre of hundreds of civilians by the Armed Forces of El Salvador and paramilitary groups. Despite ongoing repression, the community repopulated the area in 1988, in a movement of hope and resilience. Every February 14, the community gathers to commemorate these events of suffering and renewal, fostering community building and preventing future violence in a country still grappling with its recent history.
As part of the “Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador” initiative, KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture collaborates with the grassroots Asociación Sumpul representing the region’s survivors, the University of El Salvador (UES), Western University (Canada), AgwA architects (Belgium) and Salvadoran artists. In this multidisciplinary collaboration, communities initiate and direct their projects. El Higueral is one of several architectural endeavors within the initiative, aiming to anchor historical memory in public spaces through commemoration sites and community museums.
From 2021 to 2024, a participatory process led to the design of a commemorative space in El Higueral, now nearing realization. This project features three key elements:
1. River Stone Petroglyphs: Artistic carvings on the river stones, where the massacre unfolded, preserving the site’s historical significance.
2. Cortez Blanco Tree Planting: Planting around 100 trees along the procession route from the river to the village, symbolizing life and renewal.
3. Spiritual and Civic Space: By connecting the church and Casa Comunitaria, a spiritual and civic center is formed. This roofed space will host the church bell and two memorial columns with ceramic plaques bearing the names of victims and survivors.
The crowdfunding effort seeks €8,000 to realize the campanile, memorial columns, the central Cortez Blanco tree, and petroglyphs on the river stones. Community members, arts students of the Escuela de Arte (UES), and architecture students from KU Leuven will collaborate to realize these works. This essential first step enhances the village's beauty and is key to the community’s project, providing a striking environment for the commemorations.
Impact of your contribution
Your contribution will help create a meaningful commemorative space that honors the memory of those who suffered and celebrates the resilience of the community. This space will become a place for reflection, healing, and connection, strengthening the identity and heritage of El Higueral.
By supporting this project, you contribute to preserving the memory of those who endured one of the darkest periods in El Salvador’s history. Additionally, you help them build a public space for the community and visitors to remember, reflect, and find hope, ensuring that the legacy of courage serves as an enduring example for generations to come, as the project aims at strengthening intergenerational dynamics and the community’s organization. This is essential in the current negationist and repressive dynamics in the country.
Thank you for helping us take this crucial first step in realizing the commemoration space in El Higueral. Together, we can help this community’s history and spirit stay alive.
If you donate at least 40 euros on an annual basis, you will be entitled to a tax certificate and a 45% tax reduction on the donated amount. You will receive your certificate in the month of March of the year following your donation. Thank you very much for your solidarity.
Do you prefer to give via bank transfer? You can also support the action by making a donation to account number BE45 7340 1941 7789, BIC code KREDBEBB of KU Leuven, stating the structured communication +++ 400/0026/53593+++.
Your donation will be included in the total amount within the week. Do you have a question? Always welcome: contact us.
More information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NmswEZdtWA (testimonies and introduction to the project)
www.elsalvadormemory.org (Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador)
El Higueral aerial
El Higueral site visit 2022
Commemoration 2023
El Higueral workshop 2023
Memorial space
Campanile and column
Memorial column detail
El Higueral, a mountain community deeply marked by the Salvadoran Civil War, is creating a commemorative space to honor its past and nurture hope for the future. This project, led by KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture and local partners, aims to transform the site of a tragic massacre into a place of remembrance and healing. Your support will help bring this vision to life, preserving the community's history and fostering resilience for generations to come.
Why?
El Higueral, Chalatenango, El Salvador, holds a profound place in the history of the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992). In February 1981, it witnessed a tragic massacre of hundreds of civilians by the Armed Forces of El Salvador and paramilitary groups. Despite ongoing repression, the community repopulated the area in 1988, in a movement of hope and resilience. Every February 14, the community gathers to commemorate these events of suffering and renewal, fostering community building and preventing future violence in a country still grappling with its recent history.
As part of the “Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador” initiative, KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture collaborates with the grassroots Asociación Sumpul representing the region’s survivors, the University of El Salvador (UES), Western University (Canada), AgwA architects (Belgium) and Salvadoran artists. In this multidisciplinary collaboration, communities initiate and direct their projects. El Higueral is one of several architectural endeavors within the initiative, aiming to anchor historical memory in public spaces through commemoration sites and community museums.
From 2021 to 2024, a participatory process led to the design of a commemorative space in El Higueral, now nearing realization. This project features three key elements:
1. River Stone Petroglyphs: Artistic carvings on the river stones, where the massacre unfolded, preserving the site’s historical significance.
2. Cortez Blanco Tree Planting: Planting around 100 trees along the procession route from the river to the village, symbolizing life and renewal.
3. Spiritual and Civic Space: By connecting the church and Casa Comunitaria, a spiritual and civic center is formed. This roofed space will host the church bell and two memorial columns with ceramic plaques bearing the names of victims and survivors.
The crowdfunding effort seeks €8,000 to realize the campanile, memorial columns, the central Cortez Blanco tree, and petroglyphs on the river stones. Community members, arts students of the Escuela de Arte (UES), and architecture students from KU Leuven will collaborate to realize these works. This essential first step enhances the village's beauty and is key to the community’s project, providing a striking environment for the commemorations.
Impact of your contribution
Your contribution will help create a meaningful commemorative space that honors the memory of those who suffered and celebrates the resilience of the community. This space will become a place for reflection, healing, and connection, strengthening the identity and heritage of El Higueral.
By supporting this project, you contribute to preserving the memory of those who endured one of the darkest periods in El Salvador’s history. Additionally, you help them build a public space for the community and visitors to remember, reflect, and find hope, ensuring that the legacy of courage serves as an enduring example for generations to come, as the project aims at strengthening intergenerational dynamics and the community’s organization. This is essential in the current negationist and repressive dynamics in the country.
Thank you for helping us take this crucial first step in realizing the commemoration space in El Higueral. Together, we can help this community’s history and spirit stay alive.
If you donate at least 40 euros on an annual basis, you will be entitled to a tax certificate and a 45% tax reduction on the donated amount. You will receive your certificate in the month of March of the year following your donation. Thank you very much for your solidarity.
Do you prefer to give via bank transfer? You can also support the action by making a donation to account number BE45 7340 1941 7789, BIC code KREDBEBB of KU Leuven, stating the structured communication +++ 400/0026/53593+++.
Your donation will be included in the total amount within the week. Do you have a question? Always welcome: contact us.
More information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NmswEZdtWA (testimonies and introduction to the project)
www.elsalvadormemory.org (Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador)
El Higueral aerial
El Higueral site visit 2022
Commemoration 2023
El Higueral workshop 2023
Memorial space
Campanile and column
Memorial column detail
Donate an amount of choice
Your contribution is an essential first step to provide a striking environment for the commemorations.
For amounts higher than €40, you are entitled to a tax certificate and a 45% tax reduction on the amount donated.
I want to donate
For amounts higher than €40, you are entitled to a tax certificate and a 45% tax reduction on the amount donated.
Donate 50 euro
Donate 50 euro to realize 10 ceramic plaques bearing the names of victims and survivors. Your tax benefit is 22,5 euro (45% of your donation). So your donation will actually cost you just 27,5 euro.
I want to donate
Donate 100 euro
Donate 100 euro to help with the planting of 1 cortez Blanco tree along the procession route from the river to the village. Your tax benefit is 45 euro (45% of your donation). Your donation will therefore actually cost you only 55 euro.
I want to donate
Donate 200 euro
Donate 200 euro to realize one petroglyph on the river stones. Your tax benefit is 90 euro (45% of your donation). Your donation will therefore actually cost you only 110 euro.
I want to donate