Indigenous culture in El Salvador? I

I. How design took me back to national history

Graphic design has let me explore areas of knowledge of all kinds. This time it has taken me on a trip to the past, to the culture of my own country, El Salvador.

This curiosity was born after spending many hours of my life watching Netflix (as we have all done during this quarantine of 2020) and I want to share three shows that inspired me a lot:

Star Trek first-generation

Seeing how Captain Picard speaks to other beings about the mythology of the human as a species, made me wonder what was the mythology of my people before being conquered by the Spanish? and what we still know about it?

Pachamama

A beautifully illustrated film that softly recounts how the process of conquest was for Southamerica but represents our own conquest process as well, a loss that many Latin Americans regret and has inspired me to do my bit to preserve our cultural treasures by starting this personal investigation.

Restaurants on the edge

Showcasing an inspiring process of brand identity creation in every episode. These three professionals embrace local identity and resources as the center of their designs. Making me start research for visual references about how an interior design would look like if it had to be inspired by Salvadoran traditions? and after not finding any clear results, I made the decision to do it for myself and share the development with anyone who finds it useful.

This series has sparked a lot of curiosity about our graphic roots as Salvadorans, especially at this moment when I am designing spaces for my own home. I want to know what elements I can have at home that transmit my roots and make a fusion of styles with the minimalism and bohemian look that I love.

In El Salvador and in many other countries, the consequences of the conquest are still present. We continue to want to be like our European or North American neighbors, we imitate their lifestyles, ways of dressing and in times of globalization, it is perfectly understandable, but we abandoned our identity. As Jorge Lemus (2009) very accurately says in his article “Defining the Salvadoran indigenous: Salvadoran indigenous have been erased from the memory of Salvadorans” and after seeing this reality, I have given myself the task of investigating our native color palette, shapes, patterns, original flavors in cuisine, dances, etc. and put together all this wealth that despite all the blood spilled, lives on in us as Salvadorans and I hope it continues to spread through Salvadoran designs.

I hope to share with you soon more of this graphic cultural journey!