Chayo and school friends

Funerals

I've been to two in the past four months.

Ruby the the beautiful little four year old taken away suddenly by a brain tumour.

And now Alejandro.

At both, the terrible sight of parents mourning a lost child.

The photo exhibition of Alejandro really hit me hard. Huge prints and projections of the beautiful guy with the beautiful hair. My head is full of the images still. And of his brother, standing there at the graveside, dark glasses and wearing Alejandro's trademark black trilby.

There was also a whole political dimension to his funeral.
His dad, Mauricio Funes, is the FMLN presidential candidate for 2009, and widely regarded as the first realistic chance that the FMLN has had. Alejandro had been planning to come back to El Salvador in June 2008 to work on his dad's electoral campaign (when he would have graduated from his photography and film degree).

Alejandro

Some of you will remember Alejandro from SuperPakitoChac - the Latin Rock band from El Salvador who toured England a couple of years ago.

Alejandro, the free spirit. The beautiful one with the dreadlocks.

Tragically on October 10th he died in Paris after being assaulted.

27 years old.

My strongest memory of him is at Chayo's 2nd birthday party. Alejandro with a huge smile playing the keyboards. Chayo on his knee joining in, laughing, wearing one of Alejandro's crazy hats.

Chayo's Assembly

So Chayo learnt his lines to be one of the narrators in his class assembly:

'Every day around the world children are laughing and crying, eating and sleeping, playing and learning'.

But Mum "you can't eat while you're asleep" he said to me again and again.

Birthday Bhajis

Well I've managed to celebrate my birthday pretty well. The kids at school were very sweet and gave me lots of cards and pressies, then dinner with work colleagues at Asia Grill in posh Multiplaza shopping mall on Friday night. Next morning yoga class and massage (preceded by a flat tyre and nice man who changed it for me...), then lunch out at La Ventana with my Salvadorean family Vilma, Paty, Aleida and Osiris. Spinach crepes and tiramisu... wow! Then flowers and card from Chayo, followed by very lovely and relaxing dinner at some friends. Onion bhajis, sag aloo, aubergine curry - my favourites and completely unheard of in El Salvador. Plus homemade birthday cake!!!