El Salvador Emigration

Sunday, March 12, 2017 - 6:00pm
Jose Chencho Alas

While Mexico has large numbers of its citizens in the US, per capita El Salvador has a far larger percentage of its people who have emigrated due to poverty and violence. Now under Donald Trump’s ethnic cleansing program, large numbers will be forced to return to those conditions. To explain why they left and what can be done once they return, Salvadorian peace activist Chencho Alas will discuss his work in small villages helping the people live a more economically and environmentally sustainable life.

A former Catholic priest, Chencho has preached and practiced liberation theology since the 1980s. Currently director of the Foundation for Sustainability and Peacemaking in Mesoamerica, he fundraises in the US but works in Central America and southern Mexico promoting environmental sustainability and peace. As a peace activist he has received awards in recognition of his dedication to human rights, and notably for his efforts to preserve peace in El Salvador during the violent aftermath of its civil war.

 

Upcoming Events

Monday, September 22, 2025 - 1:30pm
CST
Rebecca Grant
Location:
La Biblioteca, Sala Quezal, Insurgentes 25, Centro, San Miguel de Allende

Award-winning author Rebecca Grant discusses her latest book--Access, Inside the Abortion Underground and the Sixty-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom. Access charts the reproductive freedom movement... Read more

Monday, September 29, 2025 - 1:30pm
CST
Lee Ragsdale and Erick Nava Palomino
Location:
La Biblioteca, Sala Quezal, Insurgentes 25, Centro, San Miguel de Allende

As the partner of a formerly incarcerated and deported person, Lee Ragsdale has personal experience with the effects of incarceration and deportation on families. Lee and her husband Erick will join us to talk about deportation and reintegration in Mexico, offering a snapshot of current immigration/deportation... Read more

Monday, October 13, 2025 - 1:30pm
CST
Film Screening
Followed by discussion with Brad Rockwell
Location:
La Biblioteca, Sala Quezal, Insurgentes 25, Centro, San Miguel de Allende

2025 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary

Remarkable largely unknown footage of a dramatic turning point in world history covering events over three continents concerning a tragic coup in the Congo. Featuring: Maya Angelou, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy... Read more