1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Warning. This episode contains references to violence, domestic abuse, and 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: sexual assault. There's a fire in the women of my family. 3 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: Maybe it's because they're born in the land of volcanoes, 4 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: or maybe it's because it's what they have to be 5 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: to survive. But every single one of them is like 6 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: a character from a Garcia Marquez novel. They burn hot, 7 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: and no one burns hotter than my Tiavilma Dina. My 8 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: Tiavilma describes herself as bratty, rebellious, and spirited, which I 9 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: would say is putting it mildly. She's the kind of 10 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: person who takes shit from no one, and I think 11 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: the best way to understand who she is is through 12 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 1: a story she told me about when she and her sister, 13 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: my Ta Marta were young girls is. 14 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:28,320 Speaker 2: Yea by Land. 15 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: Their father came home to find the two young girls 16 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,639 Speaker 1: dancing on the kitchen table to a song on the radio. 17 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: He was an abusive drunk. As soon as he saw them, 18 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: they stopped, but he said, oh, so you like dancing, 19 00:01:54,240 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: Get up and dance for me, margharita you first. Marta 20 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: didn't want to, but her father warned her, if you 21 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: don't dance for me, I'm going to beat you. Ula 22 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,399 Speaker 1: got up on the table and danced. When he was satisfied, 23 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: he told her to get down, that it was Vilma's turn. 24 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: Pilma refused again. He demanded get up and dance, but 25 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: she said, why would I dance for you? He beat 26 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: her bloody with an extension chord all the while she 27 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: refused to dance. 28 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 2: Lostrapa, that's my Tia Vilma. 29 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: The only exception in my family of tough women was 30 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: my Dea Margarita. Pilma and Margharita were only two years 31 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: apart in age, and they were basically inseparable. They were 32 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: what we call in Spanish unya imoure as close as 33 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: the dirt is under a fingernail, And talking about Margharita 34 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: is one of the only times that my Tia Vilma's 35 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: voice softens. 36 00:03:52,240 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 3: Marra majors annos losa maori. 37 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 2: Betterinta. 38 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: She remembers my dear Margharita as being softer than the 39 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: rest of my family, prettier, gentler. She was named after 40 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: the Margharita flower. In English we call them daisies. A 41 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: flower is so simple and common you forget how beautiful 42 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: it is. The story of my Dia. Margherita's life and 43 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: death is like that. It's not an extraordinary story. It's common. 44 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: It's the story of so many Salvadoran women then and now. 45 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 1: It's one of the few stories that I knew about 46 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: my family, that my dear Margherita was killed by a 47 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: death squad. That shortly after my mom said goodbye to 48 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,840 Speaker 1: her in El Salvador, masked men came in the night 49 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: to take her away. I'd always assumed that maybe she 50 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: was part of the FMLN. The leftis Geriez. The truth 51 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: was something so much more complicated, something that gets at 52 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: the heart of what war does to people. I'm Jasmine 53 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: Romero and this is Sacred Scandal, Season three, Nation of Saints. 54 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: This is episode six, The Flower. We'll be right back. 55 00:05:57,480 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: If you ask anyone in San Miguel about my family, 56 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: they'll probably answer you with one phrase. Les chilette. Ras 57 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: chilate is a hot, thick drink made from corn, ginger, 58 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: pepper and cinnamon, and selling chilatte in the mercado has 59 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: been my family business for generations. The women of my 60 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: family would load baskets full of hot chilatte on their 61 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: heads and head to the market to sell them. I 62 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: asked my Tiavilmar to show me what it sounds like 63 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: when she sells chilatte. The chilata comes in plastic baggies. 64 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: I remember drinking it when I was a kid, tearing 65 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,479 Speaker 1: the corner of the bag with my teeth and sucking 66 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: the chilatte out. It's kind of sweet, but mostly Herbi, 67 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: my great grandma, was in charge of making a huge 68 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: batch of chilat at dawn. Once it was ready, the 69 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: women of my family would go to her house and 70 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: load up their baskets, and there were a lot of 71 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: chila terras. Remember my mom is one of nine. 72 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 3: Is the Anna is La Mayor, Margharita, Doos, Bill Matres, Mercedes, Quatro. 73 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 2: Mercedes. 74 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: I guess when you have nine siblings it's easy to 75 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: lose track. It's also tough to remember them all because 76 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: in Alsavaor no one really calls you by your real name. 77 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:44,679 Speaker 1: Almost everyone goes my nicknames Mauricio, Florentine, Holain, La Jus, 78 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: Roxanna becomes China, Maria de Jesus becomes Cheos. You get 79 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: the picture. Selling chilate is how my dis will man 80 00:07:55,560 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: Margharita would spend their days in San Miguel. They from 81 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: young girls to teenagers, carrying those heavy baskets on top 82 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: of their heads, going up and down the streets of Elmergado, 83 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: calling for customers, selling the bags for twenty cents. By 84 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen eighty one, Margherita was nineteen and 85 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: she had three young kids. She had just separated from 86 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: the father of her kids, who was an abusive alcoholic. 87 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: It was Vilma who convinced her to leave him. 88 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 3: Yo la vive, la viv I cannot say parde lombres, 89 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 3: yes dolts. 90 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: At the time, Vilma was seventeen and dating a guy 91 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: named El Bajaro the Bird. His real name was Walter, 92 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: but everyone just called him El Bajaro. I suspect it's 93 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: because he had a big nose. Elbajaro's family had all 94 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: left for the US, so he had his place all 95 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: to himself. It was kind of a crash pad where 96 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: friends would party before going to dances in town, so 97 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: he told Margharita that she could stay there. Margherita moved 98 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: in and soon she met one of El Bajado's best friends, 99 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: a guy named Chara. The two of them hit it 100 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: off and started dating. They became like the cast of 101 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 1: a sitcom. Two sisters dating, two best friends, Bilma and Elbajo, 102 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: Margharita and Chara. The girls would spend their days in 103 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: the mercado, but at night they danced. To this day, 104 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: my Tia Vilma loves to dance. She'll dance anywhere, at 105 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: any time, for any reason, and I love to watch 106 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: her dance. That fall, one of her favorite singers was 107 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: in town, Maria chacao A. Bilma was eight months pregnant, 108 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,319 Speaker 1: but that wasn't going to stop her from going to 109 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: the dance land. By the fall of nineteen eighty one, 110 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: the war had started to trickle down into the streets. 111 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: Every once in a while there were shootouts in town, 112 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: but for the most part the combat was happening in 113 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: the hills. And what does a seventeen year old care 114 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: about politics and war anyway, My teas just wanted to 115 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: do what all teenagers want to do. Party. 116 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,079 Speaker 2: That's yota, They war on Macho. 117 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: They would go to at Baho's house to pregame and 118 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 1: drink before heading to the dance. Now, I know it's 119 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: not great that Mike Tia Vilma was drinking while she 120 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:27,439 Speaker 1: was eight months pregnant. It's easy to judge, but I 121 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,719 Speaker 1: try to have grace for someone who was seventeen, had 122 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: never been to school, and didn't really know any better. 123 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: On the night of November fourteenth, the four of them 124 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: were pregaming at Albajaro's house, but pregaming turned into just drinking, 125 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: and pretty soon it was late at night and Mike 126 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: Tiavilma wasn't feeling so great. 127 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 2: Lacynthia y Maria. 128 00:11:54,040 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 1: I know. Vilma wanted to leave to spend that night 129 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: at my great Grandma's house, but Margharita wanted to stay. 130 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: She wasn't ready for the night to end. They argued 131 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: back and forth for a bit, but finally Bilma gave 132 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,960 Speaker 1: up and left her there. When Vilma got to my 133 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: great grandma's house, my grandma asked her, where's Margharita la 134 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: my Dea. Vilma just shrugged it off. She told her 135 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: I tried to bring her, but she didn't want to come. 136 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 2: Para midichus. 137 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: My grandma was worried that something would happen to Margharita, 138 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: but Vilma just went off to bed. The next morning, 139 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: someone arrived at my great Grandma's house with a message 140 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: a young don't wait for Margharita, they said. She said, 141 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: the morgue, We'll be right back after the break. Mitia man, 142 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: that's my grandma. She remembers thinking it was strange that 143 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: my Tia Margharita didn't come home that night, because Margharita 144 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: was such a hard worker. It was a Sunday morning, 145 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: and Sundays were always good selling days in the market. 146 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 4: Domingo. 147 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: A man came by and knocked on the big wooden 148 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: gate at the front of the house. She thought they 149 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: were just coming to get mimbroso umbros. Mimbros are a fruit, 150 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 1: kind of like a star fruit. There's a big mimbre 151 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: tree in the yard of my grandma's house, and the 152 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: local drunks would come by sometimes and ask my grandma 153 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 1: for some free fruit. But that's not what they wanted. 154 00:14:49,560 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: Helioka Well, they told her that the National Guard had 155 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: rounded up some people last night and that Margherita was 156 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: one of them. My grandma didn't believe it. She was 157 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: sure that Margherita would turn up later. God willing, she said, 158 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: she had no reason to think that Margherita would be taken. 159 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: To understand why Mithia Margherita was killed. We have to 160 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: talk about the death squads and why they existed in 161 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: the first place. Earlier, we talked about how Roberto Lauson 162 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: was central to the creation of Loses Squadron the death 163 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: squads in El Salvador. These death squads were paramilitary groups 164 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: that were not officially part of the government. They were 165 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: usually comprised of soldiers, police officers, and National guardsmen who 166 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: were paid on the side to carry out operations at night. 167 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: The alleged goal of these groups was to gather information 168 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: to find out who was part of the leftist Geria 169 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: group that had declared war on the government, the FMLN. 170 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: These were the same squads who were targeting priests, nuns, 171 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: and religious workers all over the country, but their directives 172 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: kept escalating and their targets became more and more broad. 173 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: First it was the leftists, then it was anyone who 174 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: was helping the leftists, then it was anyone sympathetic to 175 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: the leftists. To gather the information they needed, the death 176 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: squads would torture their victims. Once the information was extracted, 177 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: they would kill the person with a mercy bullet through 178 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: the temple and dump the body in a rural area. 179 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,000 Speaker 1: It's estimated that of the seventy five thousand people killed 180 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: during the Civil War, forty thousand of them were killed 181 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: by death squads, not in combat, but in secret, taken 182 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,919 Speaker 1: from their homes in the dead of the night. This 183 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: is what happened to Matia Margharita. The next morning, she 184 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: was found on the side of the road, along with 185 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: the bodies of Walter Baho, her boyfriend Schara, and two other. 186 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:46,919 Speaker 4: Men Fuelen Blumen Quatro Ayena more yea Jenna Plante. 187 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 1: Matia Vilma went with my grandmother to identify Margharita's body 188 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: at the. 189 00:17:52,720 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 2: Morgue Mirma and subra is La Choki Comando. 190 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:25,119 Speaker 1: Margharita had cigarette burns on her arms and belt marks 191 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:31,400 Speaker 1: on her neck and wrists. Matia Vilma instantly understood where 192 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 1: they came from. She had seen the chair where they 193 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:40,439 Speaker 1: tortured people. As part of her route selling chilate. She 194 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: would stop by the local police precinct and sell to 195 00:18:43,600 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: the cops. She'd been inside, She said. Chair looked like 196 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: a dentist chair, but with leather straps hanging off the sides. 197 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: But why would they have taken Margharita. She wasn't a 198 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: political activist she wasn't a union organizer. She was just 199 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:22,119 Speaker 1: a teenage girl. I'd always assumed that maybe she was 200 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,919 Speaker 1: secretly a part of the f MLN, or maybe her 201 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: boyfriend Chara was, But the answer came to my Tia 202 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: Vilma there at the morgue, while she was identifying her 203 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: sister's body, an what Charra's mother was there to identify 204 00:19:54,880 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: her son. Crying over her son's body, she cursed Gita, 205 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: saying it was her fault that her son was killed. 206 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:10,959 Speaker 1: It wasn't until much later that Vilma understood what she meant. 207 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:20,719 Speaker 1: Chara's mother didn't approve of his relationship with Margharita. To 208 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: this day, no one's really sure why, but the story 209 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,199 Speaker 1: goes it was Charra's mother who sent a tip to 210 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,399 Speaker 1: the National Guard. 211 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:44,160 Speaker 2: The Benganza. 212 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 1: She told them that Margharita was hiding f m l 213 00:20:49,000 --> 00:21:09,880 Speaker 1: N soldiers no name, la senor this thing. Chara's mother 214 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 1: didn't realize that if they came to take Margharita, they 215 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:19,920 Speaker 1: would take everyone who was there, including her son. That night, 216 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 1: the death squad killed Margharita, Charao, and two witnesses that 217 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: saw them taking the group. A man who was across 218 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,920 Speaker 1: the street cleaning a school yard, and his son. All 219 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: of them received the same fate Fromitia Vilma. It was 220 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: a bitter irony. Vilma was the tough one. Vilma was 221 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 1: the fighter. I always carried a knife in my bra 222 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 1: she tells me, just in case. My sister didn't even 223 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: carry a needle. My Grandma, Madia Vilma, and the rest 224 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,959 Speaker 1: of my family buried Margarita in a simple wood box. 225 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:14,360 Speaker 1: They borrowed money from the other vendors and at mercado 226 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: to put the funeral together. The lady who owned the 227 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: flower shop that my mom worked at, she gave my 228 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: grandma the rest of the money she needed. My grandma 229 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,200 Speaker 1: went back to work the very next day, selling chiletta 230 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 1: in the market. She says she didn't shed a single tear. 231 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 4: Yo Mima mahino hokomo Perqueylarima parati particular in particular, in particular, 232 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:51,440 Speaker 4: Riora peramino meslarima. 233 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: Amdia Vilma says, my grandmother does cry for Margarita now 234 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: in her sleep. 235 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 3: Jora madre antesui. 236 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: My ta. Margarita was in a saint far from it. 237 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,159 Speaker 1: By the teachings of the Catholic Church. She was a sinner, 238 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,439 Speaker 1: but she was one of Oscar Romero's people. When he 239 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: preached about nuestros or suffering people, he meant her not 240 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: a saint, but a martyr all the same. On the 241 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: next episode, we'll talk about one of the most controversial 242 00:23:53,880 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: moments from the war, one that people are still debating today. 243 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 1: That's next time on Nation of Saints Sacred Scandal. Nation 244 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,879 Speaker 1: of Saints is the production of a HA podcasts in 245 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,639 Speaker 1: partnership with Iheart's Michaultura podcast network, and is hosted and 246 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: written by me Jasmine Romero, produced by Jazmine Romero with 247 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: help from Alvaro Sespeles. Research and reporting by Jasmine Romero, 248 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: edited by sare Kevelo. Nation of Saints was recorded in 249 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 1: New York City at the Relic Room, with engineering by 250 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: Sam Bear, mixing and sound designed by Paciquinones. Original music 251 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 1: by Golden Mines, Darko and Ieme based on Patrick Hart's 252 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:49,480 Speaker 1: original composition. Fact checking by Erendidra Aquino Ayala. Executive producers 253 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 1: are Gorman gerterol Isaac Lee Rose Reed, and Nando Villa. 254 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: Our executive producers at iHeart are Giselle Bansis and Arlene Santana. 255 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:01,680 Speaker 1: Sacred Scandal was created by Lenie Bartley and Baula Badros. 256 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Alice Wilder. For more podcasts, go to 257 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.