Padre Octavio Ortíz

¡Hola Amigos!
Wednesday we went on a praxis field trip. We began the day by going to Padre Octavio Ortíz’s parents’ house. We met his parents (who are in bad health) and one of his sisters, Alejandra. There they told us the story of his life. Padre Ortíz was one of 11 children. He was ordained 5 years before he was murdered on January 20, 1979. He was only 34 years old. His parents said they were excited when he decided to become a priest, but were worried when priests became targets of the National Guard. Padre Ortíz, like most priests at the time, worked closely with the poor. He worked in Méxicanos at the San Francisco parish. He was leading a retreat in San Antonio with another priest for the youth. The National Guard came and killed Padre Ortíz, the other priest, and 4 youth, while capturing 20 other youth and torturing them for information. Like other priests, Padre Ortíz was seen as a communist and therefore a threat to the government. His parents said they got a phone call the next day telling them the sad news.

There were 4 other deaths in the Ortíz family. The youngest son was walking one day because the buses were not running. He and a friend walked past a burning bus and were accused of being a part of the FMLN and were shot on the spot. In response to the deaths of their two brothers, the three remaining brothers joined the war on the side of the FMLN and were killed in the war. Only three sisters still live in El Salvador. Two live in California, one died of natural causes, and the three remaining sisters work in the San Francisco parish.

After visiting with Padre Ortíz’s family, went back to San Francisco parish where we had gone to mass on Sunday. Padre Ortíz is buried behind the altar. Then we went San Antonio to see where Padre Ortíz’s body was found. (See pictures).

Before lunch we stopped by the cooperative and found out that one of the women we met Saturday at the reflection had immigrated to Spain. Everyone was sad because it was so sudden, but they said she would have more opportunities in Spain. I also learned that it is easier to immigrate to Europe than the U.S.

For lunch we went to Urania’s (spelling?) house. She has two sons- Ronny, in his last year of colegio (equivalent to a senior in high school), and Diego (5th grade). Diego will be attending our English classes on Mondays. After lunch, Ronny, who is incredibly talented, played piano for us. He also said he can play the flute and guitar and takes acting classes at the local arts center. Ronny talked to us a little bit about the gang situation in Mariona. He said in some parts people have to be indoors by 8pm. Boys join gangs for protection and community. The country’s violent past and lack of father figures cause gangs to form. Even school rivalries turn violent. Students are identified by their uniforms and sometimes students from different school attack each other. Buses can be unsafe because the gangs threaten the bus drivers to give them control of the buses. Oti said a Casa student a few years ago was held at gun point on a bus and robbed by gang members. Ronny said recently he was on a bus and a person near him got shot in the head. That’s probably why we don’t take buses here.

Paz,
Stephanie
PS- Have patience with the pictures. Eventually they will all be uploaded. Until then you all will just have to wait in anticipation when you read “see pictures.”