The work below was previously submitted to a Central American Studies 115 – Approaches to University Writing course at CSUN.
18111 Nordhoff Street,
Northridge, CA 91330
Los Angeles, CA
September 17, 2024
Dear Carolina Rivera Escamilla,
My name is Leslie Garay, and I am taking Central American Studies 115. I am writing to you to learn more about what caused you to write about your poem “Caged Children.” Is there a specific reason you chose to write a poem as opposed to an essay or an expository piece? Did you feel a poem would portray your intentions the best? Was it because you felt it would resonate with more people or a particular audience this way?
I want to know why you decided to write about the massacres in El Mozote and Sumpul in the same piece as the children in cages. Was El Mozote the first thing you thought of when you heard about the children being put in cages? Was it the Sumpul River Massacre?
Before reading your poem “Caged Children,” it didn’t occur to me that what was happening in the detention centers was similar to what happened in the El Mozote and Sumpul massacres. I found it interesting how history was essentially repeating itself in its treatment of people and the pain and terror they were being subjected to. Being born to Salvadoran parents in the United States has led me to be unaware of certain tragedies and events that have happened in the past and their effects today. Your poem led me to ask my parents more questions on what they’ve seen, experienced, and heard when they were living back in El Salvador. I was able to hear new stories and learn more about what they endured and what they’ve witnessed and heard others experience.
When you said, “Not even one Firefly, no lightning bug wings its way, to accompany them in their fear,” all I could think about were scared children walking alone in the dark with no clue as to where they are going or what lies ahead of them. Then I kept thinking of how these children were being ripped away from their parents and isolated from their loved ones. I can’t even begin to imagine how scary and traumatizing that must be. The way you described children in the poem as “our boys and girls” and “our daughters and sons” made me feel more personally connected to them as I would with family.
After reading your poem, I feel I have learned more about the Salvadoran experience and its history. I look forward to rereading this piece and finding new and different interpretations.
Sincerely,
Leslie Garay