WEBVTT - A Death in the Family

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<v Speaker 1>Warning, this episode contains references to extreme violence. Please use

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<v Speaker 1>discretion when listening. Nearing the end of my first week

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<v Speaker 1>in El Salvador, I was feeling completely exhausted. I'd traveled

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<v Speaker 1>all over from San Miguel to the capitol and back,

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<v Speaker 1>interviewing people who had lived through the war and listening

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<v Speaker 1>to the saddest stories. I had tried to mentally prepare myself,

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<v Speaker 1>but being here in the place where it all happened,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a lot harder than I'd anticipated. So every night,

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<v Speaker 1>after a long day of interviews, I really looked forward

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<v Speaker 1>to going back to my hotel room, eating a quick dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>and going straight to bed. I got my parents a

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<v Speaker 1>room at the same hotel so that we could spend

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<v Speaker 1>a little time together at the end of each day.

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<v Speaker 1>But on this particular evening, my dad interrupted dinner to

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<v Speaker 1>casually mention something. By the way, he said, I invited

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<v Speaker 1>my cousins over to the hotel so you can interview them.

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<v Speaker 1>They'll be here soon. I was totally caught off guard.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know anything about these cousins. What would I

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<v Speaker 1>ask them? Why would my dad just spring this on me?

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<v Speaker 1>To be honest, I was pretty annoyed. I didn't know

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<v Speaker 1>that these cousins were about to tell me about the

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<v Speaker 1>incident that sparked my family's journey north to the US,

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<v Speaker 1>the moment that brought the war to my family. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Jasmine Romero and this is Sacred Scandal, Nation of Saints,

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<v Speaker 1>episode five, a death in the family.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll be right back, okay, thank you.

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<v Speaker 3>Is damn for power?

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<v Speaker 4>Margharita, are you stay Yiness and relation familiar?

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<v Speaker 5>Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>We settled into my hotel room, me, my parents, and

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<v Speaker 1>my dad's two cousins, Sola and Margharita. Soyla is the

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<v Speaker 1>shorter of the two, with a mullet of dark, curly hair.

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<v Speaker 1>She didn't really want to talk much, but Margharita slowly

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<v Speaker 1>warmed up and.

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<v Speaker 2>See is it that one?

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<v Speaker 1>Margharita is in her mid sixties with straight black hair

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<v Speaker 1>and hooded eyes that gave her the nickname Lachina growing up.

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<v Speaker 1>For most of the interview, she held a plastic water

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<v Speaker 1>bottle in her hands, twisting it every time I asked

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<v Speaker 1>her a question. Apparently I wasn't the only one being

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<v Speaker 1>ambushed by this interview. I started out slowly asking questions

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<v Speaker 1>about what Margharita's childhood.

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<v Speaker 5>Was like.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad and his cousins grew up playing together in

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<v Speaker 1>San Miguel. Cousin Soula mentions a game called yanked onion. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>a kid would wrap their arms and legs around a tree,

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<v Speaker 1>and all the other kids would make a line and

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<v Speaker 1>grab each other by the waist trying to pull the

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<v Speaker 1>kid off. These sound like the kind of stupid, fun

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<v Speaker 1>games that you can only play with a group of

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<v Speaker 1>neighborhood kids that really know each other. Everybody starts chiming

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<v Speaker 1>in with the names of games that I've never heard of,

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<v Speaker 1>little broken pot, walking Pilgrim, since they all seem to

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<v Speaker 1>have fond memories of this time, despite the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>they were playing all these games barefoot. It's the thing

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<v Speaker 1>that I've heard my dad talk about from time to time,

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<v Speaker 1>how poor his family was growing up, the things that

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<v Speaker 1>they had to do to survive, But I've never actually

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<v Speaker 1>heard these kinds of stories, the details in the same

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<v Speaker 1>light joking tone that he uses to talk about these games.

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<v Speaker 1>He talks about hunting for.

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<v Speaker 6>Food mala guando to o.

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<v Speaker 5>Y.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad and his brothers would go out looking for

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<v Speaker 1>skunks or possums, and if they found one, they'd whack

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<v Speaker 1>the animal with a stick and bring it home to cook.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad's childhood seems to be filled with these kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of little anecdotes. He once told me that he did

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<v Speaker 1>his first Communion through three times just to get the

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<v Speaker 1>bread and milk that the priest would give you at

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<v Speaker 1>the end. It makes me so sad for him, for

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<v Speaker 1>the child that he never got to be. For cousin Margharita,

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<v Speaker 1>there were other events that shifted her childhood, something that

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<v Speaker 1>happened when she was a teenager in the late seventies.

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<v Speaker 6>Porquer Ricardo Kei, Earlia ke and Elenin here at the home.

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<v Speaker 1>Elenim is the nickname for the local high school in

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<v Speaker 1>San Miguel. This was the late seventies, around the time

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<v Speaker 1>that labor movements had really started to take center stage.

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<v Speaker 1>The same movements that had taken root in the capitol

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<v Speaker 1>were finally reaching Saint Miguel, and local students at Elnim

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<v Speaker 1>had organized a protest to advocate for higher wages, and

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<v Speaker 1>just like in so many other protests, the local police

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<v Speaker 1>showed up and fired at the students. See among the

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<v Speaker 1>students killed or three of cousin Margharita's classmates. She remembers

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<v Speaker 1>seeing their bodies get dropped off at the Morgue a je.

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<v Speaker 1>It was the same story playing out across the country.

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<v Speaker 1>The more the government squashed the protests, the more the

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<v Speaker 1>people saw the need to fight back, and the more

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<v Speaker 1>that the government cracked down. But this was the first

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<v Speaker 1>time that the war that had been brewing in the

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<v Speaker 1>capitol was rearing its head as far south as San Miguel.

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<v Speaker 1>In the years to come, the psych would repeat. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>the government's reasons for the killings were always the same,

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<v Speaker 1>rooting out those who were cooperating with the leftists. Even

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<v Speaker 1>for people like my parents, the assumption always was if

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<v Speaker 1>someone was killed, they must have been part of the

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<v Speaker 1>f m l N. Not a justification, but at least

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<v Speaker 1>a way to put some reasoning behind every death. It's

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<v Speaker 1>what my dad says to Margharita about someone named Maria

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<v Speaker 1>no Nadi. My dad had always assumed that Maria was

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<v Speaker 1>part of some leftist organization, but Margharita insists, no, Maria

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't involved in any of that. Maria, I learned, is

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<v Speaker 1>my dad's aunt cousin Margharita's mother.

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<v Speaker 4>El Partido and mah prom Pero or local.

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<v Speaker 3>Porce.

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<v Speaker 1>To this day, no one knows exactly why the Amara

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<v Speaker 1>was murdered. They all have theories, and it kind of

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<v Speaker 1>seems like my dad and his cousins are trying to

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<v Speaker 1>work it out in front of me in real time.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like this is the first time that they've ever

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<v Speaker 1>talked about it. It's definitely the first time that I

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<v Speaker 1>hear about it. Cousin Soila chimes in with her own

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<v Speaker 1>theory El Sindicato the union. She says, Maria was part

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<v Speaker 1>of the workers union at the factory, and maybe that

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<v Speaker 1>was the reason, which my dad agrees with.

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<v Speaker 6>Cando.

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<v Speaker 1>They were rounding them up, he says, dumping them into

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<v Speaker 1>common graves. My dad remembers that around this time was

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<v Speaker 1>when people started disappearing in San Miuel, especially those aligned

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<v Speaker 1>with the unions. Police would come to your house and

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<v Speaker 1>pick you up for questioning, but when your family went

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<v Speaker 1>to go look for you at the police station, the

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<v Speaker 1>cops would say, I don't know who you're talking about,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe go check at.

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<v Speaker 7>That other station.

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<v Speaker 6>No no yeki, no taqi.

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<v Speaker 1>Then a couple days later a body would pop up

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<v Speaker 1>on the street, or it would never appear at all,

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<v Speaker 1>it would be disappeared. For my dad and his family.

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<v Speaker 1>This felt like just a crazy thing that was happening

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<v Speaker 1>in their town. But this was happening all over the country.

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<v Speaker 1>This was the work of Loses Squadron, the death squads

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<v Speaker 1>that had started in the capital with Dauisson and his cohort. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>I ask cousin Margherita, what exactly happened to your mother.

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<v Speaker 1>It was late afternoon. Margharita was out on the patio

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<v Speaker 1>chatting with the neighbors while her mom was inside making

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<v Speaker 1>dinner for the family. When trucks pulled up to the house.

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<v Speaker 1>The men in the trucks put on ski masks to

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<v Speaker 1>cover their faces and grabbed rifles. One of them grabbed

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<v Speaker 1>Margharita and put the rifle up to her face. They

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to know where her mother was.

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<v Speaker 7>Agar Lo Pusil the Amara stepped out of the house

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<v Speaker 7>and told them, if you're looking for me, well here

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<v Speaker 7>I am.

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<v Speaker 1>Let go of my daughter Yasala. Inside, Margherita's two younger

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<v Speaker 1>brothers were hiding in the kitchena.

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<v Speaker 4>E co migoya lasak dentria de la casa isla Mala.

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<v Speaker 1>The men then grabbed the a Maria, forcing her out

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<v Speaker 1>onto the patio. One of them kept Margharita at gunpoint,

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<v Speaker 1>warning her to be still inside. Her younger brothers crawled

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<v Speaker 1>through a hole in the side of the house and

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<v Speaker 1>watched as their mother struggled against the masked men.

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<v Speaker 4>I ye yasilvaro miselle and cordenot yes.

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<v Speaker 3>I am helpak.

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<v Speaker 1>They shot the Amaria there on the patio in front

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<v Speaker 1>of her children. Margherita was only seventeen years old when

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<v Speaker 1>she watched her mother.

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<v Speaker 3>Die and joto yamugia.

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<v Speaker 1>That night, my dad heard the news that his aunt

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<v Speaker 1>had been killed. First thing in the morning, he and

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<v Speaker 1>my mom walked over to the Amaria's house, expecting to

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<v Speaker 1>get their condolences to the family. They found the whole family,

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<v Speaker 1>Margarita and her younger brothers all huddled around the Amaria's body.

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<v Speaker 1>They had sat there all night waiting for the corner

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<v Speaker 1>to come and.

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<v Speaker 2>Take her away.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad says that the police came and took note

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<v Speaker 1>of where she was shot, collected evidence.

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<v Speaker 6>Guanto di Paro as if that mattered to anyone, He says,

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<v Speaker 6>as if anyone would do anything about it.

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<v Speaker 1>To this day, my family doesn't know exactly who did

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<v Speaker 1>it or why. It was August of nineteen eighty five,

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<v Speaker 1>months after Oscar Romero's murder in the Capitol. For my parents,

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<v Speaker 1>it was the first time that the approaching war had

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<v Speaker 1>really affected their lives. The first person in the family

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<v Speaker 1>to die, and she wouldn't be the last. That's after

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<v Speaker 1>the break. After talking with my dad and his cousins,

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<v Speaker 1>I realized that it was time for me to finally

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<v Speaker 1>sit down with my parents and get their full story.

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<v Speaker 1>If I'm honest, I think I'd been avoiding it, dreading

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<v Speaker 1>what I might hear.

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<v Speaker 8>Testing testing one, two three, say something that was very cute.

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<v Speaker 1>Mom, that's my mom, Anna Viatrice.

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<v Speaker 9>Introduce yourself in English. Please, your accent is not bad. No, no,

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<v Speaker 9>you sound great. Speak English please.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay.

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<v Speaker 10>My name is Anna Veatrice Reyes and I'm the mom

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<v Speaker 10>of Jasmine Romero, who is my fourth daughter.

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<v Speaker 1>My mom's pretty shy. She's the kind of person who

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<v Speaker 1>covers her mouth when she smiles, so it was like

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<v Speaker 1>pulling teeth to get her to talk to me on Mike.

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<v Speaker 1>But with some coaxing, she finally came around. My parents

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<v Speaker 1>have been together since they were teenagers. Together is the

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<v Speaker 1>only life they've ever known, and El Salvador was the

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<v Speaker 1>only place they'd ever been. After Theamaria was killed, Cousin

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<v Speaker 1>Margharita left for the US. It was becoming more and

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<v Speaker 1>more common for people to immigrate north, especially with the

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<v Speaker 1>escalating violence.

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<v Speaker 6>That year.

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<v Speaker 1>Nineteen eighty began a flood of immigration that hasn't stopped

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<v Speaker 1>to this day. When Cousin Margharita left, around ninety five

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<v Speaker 1>thousand Salvadoran immigrants had already immigrated to the US, mostly illegally,

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<v Speaker 1>and even if they had wanted to go legally, that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't really an option. Only two percent of all asylum

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<v Speaker 1>claims from El Salvador to the US were approved because

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<v Speaker 1>allowing those claims would have confirmed what the US continued

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<v Speaker 1>to deny that their funding was, making the situation in

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<v Speaker 1>El salvas Or worse. So illegal immigration was kind of

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<v Speaker 1>the only option, but it was really expensive. It required

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<v Speaker 1>buying a flight into Mexico and then paying a coyote

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<v Speaker 1>to get you.

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<v Speaker 2>Across the border.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, my mom was nineteen years old with

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<v Speaker 1>two young daughters. She and my dad were living with

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<v Speaker 1>my great grandparents, seven people sharing a one room Shack.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea of getting enough money together to get to

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<v Speaker 1>the US felt like climbing Mount Everest, but they took

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<v Speaker 1>the Amaria's death as a warning and started saving every

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<v Speaker 1>penny they could. After a year, they'd saved enough for

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<v Speaker 1>one person to go.

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<v Speaker 10>Jotania Mocho messaged them, Baiha Wendy either repentel.

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<v Speaker 3>Oke Tnie.

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<v Speaker 1>It was nineteen eighty one and my mom was now

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<v Speaker 1>pregnant with her third daughter, my sister Wendy. They decided

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<v Speaker 1>that the easiest path would be for my dad to

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<v Speaker 1>go solo. My dad had a friend who was heading

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<v Speaker 1>north to the US and had invited him along. The

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<v Speaker 1>idea was that my dad would send money back to

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<v Speaker 1>help support my mom and the girls, and eventually save

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<v Speaker 1>up enough to send for them. For my mom, it

0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:40.960
<v Speaker 1>was an impossible decision, break up the family and possibly

0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:44.080
<v Speaker 1>never see my dad again, or keep living meal to.

0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:48.320
<v Speaker 3>Meal like Desi.

0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:53.240
<v Speaker 1>She asked herself would she ever see him again?

0:19:54.080 --> 0:20:08.480
<v Speaker 3>For primers ok so sera, it was.

0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.320
<v Speaker 1>Pretty common for men to abandon their families after they

0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:14.560
<v Speaker 1>got to the U s. My mom worried if she

0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:16.160
<v Speaker 1>would ever even hear from him again.

0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:24.880
<v Speaker 10>Yes, lots and serra Quel and really that see MeV.

0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:29.000
<v Speaker 3>What's will be there?

0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:30.600
<v Speaker 2>Meet?

0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.200
<v Speaker 1>She wondered, how strong is the love between us? Will

0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:41.080
<v Speaker 1>you forget about us? But she couldn't pass up this

0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:44.119
<v Speaker 1>chance of creating a better future for the girls.

0:20:45.720 --> 0:21:01.680
<v Speaker 10>Now that's economic parts.

0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:05.840
<v Speaker 1>They made preparations for him to go. By the end

0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:09.720
<v Speaker 1>of summer, my third sister, Wendy was.

0:21:09.760 --> 0:21:16.160
<v Speaker 3>Born, Docermene, Wendy wonder and I lost.

0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:22.000
<v Speaker 1>My dad left two weeks after Wendy was born. Sitting

0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:24.960
<v Speaker 1>there un the thatched betha that they had as a bed,

0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:30.160
<v Speaker 1>my mom considered her options. She still had her three girls,

0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:34.439
<v Speaker 1>and now with my dad gone, even less income than before,

0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:38.760
<v Speaker 1>she had to figure out how to get by. How

0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:41.439
<v Speaker 1>could she work? Who would take care of the girls.

0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:47.040
<v Speaker 1>She found a local flower shop and made a deal

0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.399
<v Speaker 1>with the owner. I'll work for you from sun up

0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:53.320
<v Speaker 1>to sundown, but I need to bring my kids along.

0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:59.399
<v Speaker 1>The owner agreed. So every morning she'd get up, Oh

0:21:59.480 --> 0:22:04.159
<v Speaker 1>a lass, say the la man, get things ready for

0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:11.679
<v Speaker 1>the girls, lechitaitai, dress them, comb them, strap her newborn

0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:12.120
<v Speaker 1>to her.

0:22:12.040 --> 0:22:18.680
<v Speaker 3>Back, I Lata.

0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:28.440
<v Speaker 1>Her job at the flower shop was making paper flowers.

0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:32.399
<v Speaker 1>She'd spend her days making paper bouquets for the upcoming

0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:39.200
<v Speaker 1>holiday Elia Fiinados all Souls Day. It's the Salvadoran version

0:22:39.240 --> 0:22:43.520
<v Speaker 1>of the day of the Dead. For Liale Fiados, it

0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:46.879
<v Speaker 1>was customed to place paper flowers or crowns on the

0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:50.920
<v Speaker 1>graves of loved ones who had passed. She still remembers

0:22:51.000 --> 0:23:01.040
<v Speaker 1>exactly how to do it all these years later. Within

0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:04.200
<v Speaker 1>a few weeks, letters started showing up for my dad,

0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:06.240
<v Speaker 1>saying how much.

0:23:06.160 --> 0:23:06.760
<v Speaker 2>He missed her.

0:23:08.280 --> 0:23:12.119
<v Speaker 3>And Ceo missing timas.

0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:19.880
<v Speaker 1>How he wanted them to be together in the us quanto.

0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:31.960
<v Speaker 1>It was reassuring to know that their love could survive

0:23:32.200 --> 0:23:38.200
<v Speaker 1>beyond borders, but the timeline for their reunion was not clear.

0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:41.280
<v Speaker 1>He said he'd have to work for at least a

0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:45.000
<v Speaker 1>year to save up enough. My mom would write her

0:23:45.080 --> 0:23:48.040
<v Speaker 1>letters back and put on lipstick to seal them with

0:23:48.119 --> 0:24:06.320
<v Speaker 1>a kiss. My dad did not receive the intended message.

0:24:15.800 --> 0:24:24.000
<v Speaker 11>Como, why are you wearing lipstick if I'm not around?

0:24:24.400 --> 0:24:24.879
<v Speaker 3>He asked.

0:24:26.000 --> 0:24:28.719
<v Speaker 1>Of course, why would a woman put on lipstick if

0:24:28.720 --> 0:24:33.080
<v Speaker 1>her husband isn't around? I guess love and machismo, No,

0:24:33.240 --> 0:24:39.879
<v Speaker 1>no borders. My mom wanted the family to be reunited,

0:24:40.760 --> 0:24:42.879
<v Speaker 1>but the poverty that they were living through wasn't the

0:24:43.000 --> 0:24:47.240
<v Speaker 1>only problem. More than anything, she wanted to leave El

0:24:47.320 --> 0:24:51.280
<v Speaker 1>Salvador because the country was becoming more and more dangerous.

0:24:50.840 --> 0:24:51.320
<v Speaker 2>By the day.

0:24:52.520 --> 0:25:04.760
<v Speaker 10>Lasse ya weltmas masinceura porque constantin minte jan una vesporo

0:25:04.880 --> 0:25:10.480
<v Speaker 10>manaunaves almeao ya rang masquentez.

0:25:12.040 --> 0:25:15.840
<v Speaker 1>What had been an occasional problem had become an everyday occurrence.

0:25:16.960 --> 0:25:20.200
<v Speaker 1>That disappeared were showing up dead on the side of

0:25:20.240 --> 0:25:24.960
<v Speaker 1>the road every day. It's the kind of thing that

0:25:25.119 --> 0:25:32.120
<v Speaker 1>sounds so unbelievable to me, the idea that you could

0:25:32.160 --> 0:25:35.480
<v Speaker 1>just be walking around, going about your business and run

0:25:35.520 --> 0:25:40.800
<v Speaker 1>across a pile of dead bodies. At the time, my

0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:45.320
<v Speaker 1>mom understood very little of what was going on. Even

0:25:45.400 --> 0:25:48.880
<v Speaker 1>with the death of Mitia Maria, she still couldn't fathom

0:25:48.960 --> 0:25:53.800
<v Speaker 1>why so many people were being killed, the greater politics

0:25:53.840 --> 0:25:56.400
<v Speaker 1>at play. All of it went over her head.

0:26:09.400 --> 0:26:16.320
<v Speaker 10>No porque porqueerra los indicatos porquela hente de las fabricas,

0:26:16.440 --> 0:26:30.080
<v Speaker 10>protesta porcelos indicatos, protestesosvilla porqueto maestroque maestral mate.

0:26:34.200 --> 0:26:38.440
<v Speaker 1>Every day more teachers and students and just regular people

0:26:38.560 --> 0:26:43.159
<v Speaker 1>she knew were being taken seemed to be subversives in

0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:47.200
<v Speaker 1>the eyes of the government. It felt like a taking

0:26:47.320 --> 0:26:51.520
<v Speaker 1>time bomb. My mom was more determined than ever to

0:26:51.600 --> 0:26:55.879
<v Speaker 1>get her daughters out of that terrible situation. And his letters,

0:26:56.160 --> 0:26:58.639
<v Speaker 1>my dad kept saying that he was sending all he could,

0:26:59.320 --> 0:27:02.680
<v Speaker 1>but it wasn't an off. My mom was not going

0:27:02.720 --> 0:27:05.119
<v Speaker 1>to sit around and wait for him to save her.

0:27:07.080 --> 0:27:09.399
<v Speaker 1>With the money she made at the flower shop, she

0:27:09.480 --> 0:27:12.520
<v Speaker 1>started buying materials to make paper flowers of her own.

0:27:14.280 --> 0:27:20.400
<v Speaker 1>For three months straight, she worked day and night. After

0:27:20.480 --> 0:27:22.840
<v Speaker 1>the girls were put to bed, she would stay up

0:27:23.520 --> 0:27:28.240
<v Speaker 1>folding and twisting the paper into roses, coral beans, and

0:27:28.400 --> 0:27:33.000
<v Speaker 1>red button gingers. She made flowers that no one had ever.

0:27:33.000 --> 0:27:40.640
<v Speaker 10>Seen before, yokaria levida ile vivida lis color ros intensos,

0:27:41.160 --> 0:27:47.200
<v Speaker 10>al a latinta ca al colorada mass but a quips

0:27:47.359 --> 0:27:48.960
<v Speaker 10>a mass in tenzo loos coloris.

0:27:50.240 --> 0:27:54.280
<v Speaker 1>When Lia the Finados came with calluses built on her blisters,

0:27:55.040 --> 0:27:58.320
<v Speaker 1>she went down to Elmergado with baskets full of her

0:27:58.400 --> 0:28:03.520
<v Speaker 1>colorful bouquets and sold them by the dozen. By the

0:28:03.600 --> 0:28:06.760
<v Speaker 1>end of the day she had sold every single flower

0:28:06.840 --> 0:28:11.159
<v Speaker 1>that she had made. She had saved enough money to

0:28:11.280 --> 0:28:13.920
<v Speaker 1>pay for her passage north all on her.

0:28:13.840 --> 0:28:24.719
<v Speaker 10>Own parts para compre labisas.

0:28:26.720 --> 0:28:26.800
<v Speaker 5>And.

0:28:29.560 --> 0:28:33.320
<v Speaker 1>She started making arrangements to make the journey north. She

0:28:33.440 --> 0:28:37.520
<v Speaker 1>bought visas to get into Mexico, ordered Salvadorn passports for

0:28:37.600 --> 0:28:42.400
<v Speaker 1>the girls, and bought plane tickets for everyone. She had

0:28:42.440 --> 0:28:44.080
<v Speaker 1>never even left her hometown.

0:28:43.760 --> 0:29:00.800
<v Speaker 10>Before, Nola Ladino elcho Lordo.

0:29:02.080 --> 0:29:05.280
<v Speaker 1>She didn't know if it was just adrenaline, but she

0:29:05.400 --> 0:29:08.640
<v Speaker 1>somehow built up the courage to make the journey just

0:29:08.800 --> 0:29:13.560
<v Speaker 1>her and her girls. Every time she got scared, she

0:29:13.720 --> 0:29:17.760
<v Speaker 1>remembered that this wasn't just for her, it was for

0:29:17.880 --> 0:29:20.680
<v Speaker 1>the girls, so they'd have a chance to have a

0:29:20.760 --> 0:29:27.240
<v Speaker 1>better life than she did. The first step of her

0:29:27.320 --> 0:29:29.760
<v Speaker 1>journey was to get to the airport in the capitol,

0:29:30.600 --> 0:29:33.040
<v Speaker 1>but she didn't know how to get there, so she

0:29:33.160 --> 0:29:38.640
<v Speaker 1>asked her sister Margharita to take her. To be clear,

0:29:39.040 --> 0:29:43.400
<v Speaker 1>I have two Margharita's in my family. My dad's cousin

0:29:43.760 --> 0:29:46.760
<v Speaker 1>Margharita Saravia, who you heard from earlier in the episode,

0:29:47.640 --> 0:29:52.080
<v Speaker 1>and my mom's younger sister Margharita Lisama my Dia.

0:29:51.920 --> 0:30:00.080
<v Speaker 3>Margharita hielm ansel Mira Mano Posa.

0:30:02.320 --> 0:30:06.960
<v Speaker 1>Was my mom's younger sister. She was bolder, more adventurous.

0:30:08.560 --> 0:30:11.120
<v Speaker 1>When they got to the airport, my Ta left my

0:30:11.240 --> 0:30:33.720
<v Speaker 1>mom with a parting wish. Yeah, OK, send for me,

0:30:34.440 --> 0:30:38.040
<v Speaker 1>she said, when you get settled in the North, send

0:30:38.120 --> 0:30:42.880
<v Speaker 1>for me. My Margarita had three kids too, and she

0:30:43.040 --> 0:30:45.040
<v Speaker 1>was in an abusive relationship.

0:30:50.680 --> 0:30:54.040
<v Speaker 3>And Camino Yah Mexico and Camino.

0:30:57.800 --> 0:31:00.920
<v Speaker 1>While my mom was in Mexico route to the border,

0:31:01.800 --> 0:31:04.720
<v Speaker 1>men in masks broke into where my Ta Margarita was

0:31:04.760 --> 0:31:09.560
<v Speaker 1>sleeping and took her away. That day at the airport

0:31:10.600 --> 0:31:13.440
<v Speaker 1>was the last time my mom ever saw her sister.

0:31:26.680 --> 0:31:27.200
<v Speaker 3>Yeah a.

0:31:31.080 --> 0:31:41.480
<v Speaker 1>Y three days later, just as my mom was arriving

0:31:41.560 --> 0:31:45.600
<v Speaker 1>to the US, Mytha's body was found on the side

0:31:45.640 --> 0:31:53.520
<v Speaker 1>of a country road. This is a story that I knew,

0:31:54.680 --> 0:31:58.160
<v Speaker 1>or at least that I thought that I knew, that

0:31:58.280 --> 0:32:01.800
<v Speaker 1>my Thea was taken away by a deaths. But it

0:32:01.920 --> 0:32:05.040
<v Speaker 1>wasn't until this trip that I got the full story,

0:32:06.240 --> 0:32:12.240
<v Speaker 1>one that went beyond the brutalities of war. That's next

0:32:12.280 --> 0:32:25.520
<v Speaker 1>time on Nation of Saints Sacred Scandal. Nation of Saints

0:32:25.680 --> 0:32:28.560
<v Speaker 1>is a production of a HA Podcasts in partnership with

0:32:28.640 --> 0:32:32.040
<v Speaker 1>Iheart's Michael Dura podcast Network. And is hosted and written

0:32:32.160 --> 0:32:36.560
<v Speaker 1>by me Jasmine Romero. Produced by Jazmine Romero with help

0:32:36.600 --> 0:32:41.640
<v Speaker 1>from Alvaro Sespelees. Research and reporting by Jasmine Romero, edited

0:32:41.680 --> 0:32:44.360
<v Speaker 1>by sayde Gevelo. Nation of Saints was recorded in New

0:32:44.440 --> 0:32:47.080
<v Speaker 1>York City at the Relic Room with engineering by Sam Bear,

0:32:47.840 --> 0:32:52.400
<v Speaker 1>Mixing and sound designed by Baciquinones. Original music by Golden Mines,

0:32:52.640 --> 0:32:57.400
<v Speaker 1>Darko and Diame based on Patrick Hart's original composition. Fact

0:32:57.480 --> 0:33:02.360
<v Speaker 1>checking by it Indira Aquino Ayala. Executive producers are Gorman geratrol,

0:33:02.560 --> 0:33:06.479
<v Speaker 1>isaac Lee Rose Reed, and Nando Villa. Our executive producers

0:33:06.520 --> 0:33:10.920
<v Speaker 1>at iHeart are Giselle Mansis and Arlene Santana. Sacred Scandal

0:33:11.080 --> 0:33:15.000
<v Speaker 1>was created by Melanie Bartley and Paula Vadro's. For more podcasts,

0:33:15.080 --> 0:33:17.520
<v Speaker 1>go to the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to

0:33:17.600 --> 0:33:18.560
<v Speaker 1>your favorite podcasts.