Documentary uses art to explore the making of D.C.’s Salvadorian community
By hola | Published | No Comments
Quique Avilés, a Salvadorian American poet and artist, arrived in the U.S. from El Salvador at age 15 and witnessed firsthand the migration and transformation of his community that settled in large numbers in the Washington area.
Avilés has used his art since 1980 to reflect the realities of Latin Americans and advocate for local brown and Black communities. Now the well-known member of D.C.’s arts community is leading the creation of a new documentary, “Las Muertes Más Bellas del Mundo” (“The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”). It will explore the experiences of the District’s largest Latino community “through the eyes of artists of the Salvadorian diaspora.”
Teaming up with Carolina Fuentes and the other members of the Yellow House Collective, Avilés endeavors to honor the journey and struggles of Salvadorians during and after the country’s civil war, presenting their narratives with dignity and authenticity. That war spanned about a dozen years, from 1979 to 1992, and left at least 75,000 people dead, setting off a migration that led many to the Washington area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Salvadorians today comprise the largest Latino national group in Washington, D.C. More than 200,000 Salvadorians live in the greater Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro areas, which is the second largest Salvadorian population in the country.
About five years have gone into this documentary, with many changes and transitions along the way. The film, which will run a little longer than one hour, will receive its world premiere on Sept. 18 at GALA Hispanic Theatre. Currently, the filmmakers are in the editing process as they raise funds to finish the film.
Avilés and Fuentes joined us for an interview this spring. Below, we delve into their perspectives on Salvadorian identity and the contemporary challenges faced by the community.
It’s a pleasure to have you guys here today. Can you explain the film, plot and background in more detail?
Quique Avilés (QA): Let me provide some context about our Salvadorian community’s presence in Washington, D.C. The D.C. metropolitan area — often referred to as the DMV — stands out as one of the few regions in the United States where Salvadorians constitute the majority of the Latino population, second only to [Los Angeles]. This area has a unique history, distinct from other major cities like Miami, New York and San Francisco. Salvadorians began to arrive in significant numbers in 1980, alongside Ethiopian and Cuban immigrants. At that time, D.C. was still predominantly African American, with neighborhoods divided along racial lines. Many Salvadorians, like other Central American migrants, fled their homelands due to the civil wars in countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Honduras played a role in these conflicts as a military base for U.S. operations. Seeking safety from violence and persecution, Salvadorians made their way to D.C., often through word-of-mouth recommendations from family or friends.
The idea for our film stems from this history of migration and resilience. We’ve worked on this documentary project for over five years as we navigated various changes and challenges. We’ve settled on exploring the Salvadorian presence in D.C. through the perspectives of Salvadorian professional artists who represent a vibrant and diverse community. This film aims to shed light on our experiences and contributions to the city’s cultural landscape.
Carolina Fuentes (CF): We’re trying to highlight their experiences as immigrants and members of the community of artists in the DMV. So we have Lilo Gonzalez — who many of you may know as an artist — and of course, Quique himself. So this really is a community project, the centerpiece of our mission. We are fundraising $50,000. That’s where we are now. We’re in the process of editing. We’re in the process of finishing the film to spread awareness of all of the things that the Salvadorian diaspora is doing here in D.C.
Wow, that’s amazing. How were you and the Yellow House Collective able to collaborate? What was the foundation that started this fruitful partnership that evolved?
QA: The Yellow House Collective happened because of my wife, Hillary [Binder-Avilés, also a collective member]. She bought the house in [the D.C. neighborhood of] Brookland, thinking that we were fleeing gentrification in [D.C.’s] Columbia Heights. About three years later [came the] condominiums. If you have been to Brookland lately, you’ll see it is quite an invented plastic neighborhood, like many others sprouting everywhere in the city. The Yellow House has been for 25 years. It’s a place for me to create projects, write poetry, throw parties and do jams and artistic productions with a sense of quality and dignity. [The] idea is that we must continue to speak about human dignity. Also, artists have to be paid for what they do. Carolina, can you talk about what the Yellow House is like?
CF: We are a group that comes together. We have meetings that can be [on] Zoom or [in a] physical space. We discuss whether to include certain archives or pictures in the film.
Our last meeting was a couple of days ago. We discussed the most important things to do [and] went through pictures of the artists to choose what best depicts their stories and how we want to portray them. Because we talk a lot about violence and tragedy, we don’t want that to be the highlighted theme, right? We also want to capture moments of happiness because Salvadorians are extremely happy people. When they’re in their saddest moments, they’re joking. They’re laughing. We’re taking it day by day. The collective is about coming together as a community to make these decisions, enjoying each other’s presence, being part of each other’s lives and supporting one another through that process.
QA: In Washington, D.C., Salvadorians play integral roles in the city’s infrastructure, yet they are often excluded from reaping those benefits. Despite contributing to the construction and maintenance of upscale developments, many Salvadorians cannot afford to live in them. Gentrification, symbolized by the proliferation of Black Lives Matter signs in predominantly Black neighborhoods, underscores a phenomenon of economic and ethnic displacement. Developers and city leaders prioritize the interests of affluent newcomers and neglect the needs of long-standing residents.
Salvadorians were viewed as invisible or disposable by the wealthy elite and stereotypically relegated to menial roles, such as domestic workers or service providers. However, a group of Salvadorian artists seeks to challenge these narratives by showcasing their cultural contributions to D.C. through various art forms like dance, photography, acting, painting and mural painting. Their art serves as a testament to the Salvadorian presence in the city and the resilience of a community that found refuge in D.C. during the civil war of the 1980s.
Despite facing adversity, many Salvadorians have made D.C. their home, establishing families and communities [there]. However, the influx of affluent newcomers since the mid-1990s led to the displacement of working-class residents through practices like gentrification. Now, the city’s demographic makeup is diverse with residents from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, but economic disparities persist. Opportunities often favor the highly educated and privileged.
Despite their traumatic past from fleeing war and persecution, many Salvadorians have found solace and purpose in art, transforming their experiences into creative expressions. War refugees have become artists by turning the horrors of war into meaningful narratives through their art.
It probably felt like a safe haven for you guys to be able to express yourselves freely?
CF: My family escaped days before the El Mozote Massacre. My maternal grandparents and their children were displaced from their home with none of their belongings. Unfortunately, they still had family members in El Mozote, and those who remained were brutally murdered. It was a miracle that my maternal family survived. I talked to my parents about [that experience]. My mom raised me with the traumatized mindset that she had gone through.
Part of being in the film is reflecting on generational trauma, continuing the story of healing and questioning, “How or why was I raised a certain way? What do I learn from my own story? What do I accept from that story? What do I need to understand, accept and move on? Why is there so much anger?”
The film allows me to explore all these feelings safely. Reading the poems or seeing the imagery of the places where my family lived was very powerful. In a way, listening to these stories and seeing all of these images [has allowed] the memory of those stories [to live on]. It has been a very reflective part that has allowed me to continue and ask more questions about the history of my family and other Salvadorians in Washington, D.C.
How has the process for filming the documentary been so far? What have been the best and toughest moments in finalizing the film?
QA: Our experiences, including the challenges faced by our parents and friends, reflect broader global issues. When we examine countries like Sudan, Mexico, Guatemala and Bangladesh, we see similar patterns of exploitation and wealth distribution. Immigration isn’t just a Mexican issue; it’s a global reality shaped by historical injustices and environmental crises.
Our film aims to highlight these interconnected issues and advocate for change. We believe in the importance of preserving history and ensuring that the voices of marginalized communities are heard. While the current generation of leaders may resist change, demographic shifts suggest a more inclusive future. Through our art, we strive to confront the injustices of poverty, oppression and racism. We aim to create a more equitable world.
CF: [We want] to expand on the challenges we face as a collective while running against the idea that migration and identity are monolithic. Throughout the film, we strive to compensate for various experiences. Many undocumented individuals didn’t arrive here by plane, so when we bring guests with diverse experiences and backgrounds, we aim to incorporate different perspectives and stages of life. It’s a challenge to understand that we can’t represent everyone, but we will try our best to archive and present their stories, songs and poems. At the end of the day, we are remembering our dead. This is a celebration of their life. So we try to pay our respects.
I’ve always believed that commemoration is how we move forward. What do you want in the future for Latino communities in D.C. and, to a bigger extent, the United States?
QA: Culture holds immense significance for us, spanning countries, accents and alliances across Latin America. [Fiesta DC] celebrated this cultural tapestry, but its decline in the early 90s — influenced by decisions made predominantly by white individuals — reflects broader issues of gentrification and economic disparity.
In Washington, D.C., rising rents have displaced many Latinos and the Black community, transforming the once “Chocolate City” into a place where money dictates access and political power. This economic and ethnic displacement mirrors a form of cleansing where those without financial means are marginalized.
Our diverse cultures sustain us amidst suffering and exploitation. Despite adversity, our love for family and heritage and the desire for dignified deaths fuel our resilience. Poetry emerged as a cathartic outlet, born from anger, loss and the trauma of witnessing loved ones’ suffering. Art serves as a vehicle for honest expression, cutting through political correctness to confront uncomfortable truths. Even as the United States remains entangled in global conflicts, poetry offers solace and a means to navigate the complexities of our experiences.
“Las Muertes Más Bellas del Mundo,” or “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World,” will premiere on Sept. 18, 2024, at GALA Hispanic Theatre. To learn more about the Yellow House Collective and how to purchase tickets to the upcoming documentary, visit the film’s website. To contribute to the fundraising campaign, find the GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/lasmuertesfilm.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
– Story by Ian Henry
– Copy edited by Michelle Benitez
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