This past weekend, Los Hermanos Flores made history by becoming the first Central American musical group ever to perform at Coachella.1 As expected, a large contingent of the Salvadoran diaspora was in attendance at the festival not only as a show of support for Los Hermanos Flores, but also to elevate the representation of El Salvador at such a large venue. Los Hermanos Flores, in turn, not only delighted the festival with their signature songs, but also transmitted a positive message celebrating Latin American immigrants. So what’s the issue?
At one point during the performance, lead vocalist, Nory Flores, made a brief statement asking Salvadorans and Latin Americans to visit El Salvador because the country is “at peace,” that “peace [had finally] arrived,” and that Salvadorans over there were “having a great time.”
As innocuous and benign as this comment may seem, it is unfortunately perpetuating a FALSE NARRATIVE about El Salvador. How so?
“BUT SECURITY HAS BROUGHT PEACE!”
There is a stark difference between PEACE and SECURITY. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “...peace is not merely the absence of [conflict], but the presence of justice.” Democratic principles like constitutional rights and due process that are respected and adhered to by the authorities represent that justice. When a person is arrested by the State, regardless of whether they are innocent or guilty, and they have access to both their legal and human rights, that is justice. When the authorities abuse their power and their is accountability, that is justice.
Some, then, would argue that SECURITY is a necessary means to achieve safety and stability for there to be peace. Sure, but that SECURITY still needs to be accompanied by rules, procedures, and the same laws that grant constitutional rights and due process. Otherwise, SECURITY that doesn’t have to follow any rules or laws is basically a police state.
ON THE WORLD STAGE, EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL
Returning to the concert at Coachella, Los Hermanos Flores also performed “La cumbia de la paz,” composed in 1992 to mark the end of the civil war. However, in the present tense, the song reinforced the earlier message by Nory Flores about El Salvador being “at peace.” Granted, while Los Hermanos Flores is by no means a political musical group, to call them “neutral, apolitical, or not-political” would be inaccurate. As performers representing El Salvador as a nation, especially on a stage with a world-wide audience, whatever message they choose deliver is by default political.
The abuses of the Bukele regime are not a secret, they are, in fact, well-documented in research, reports, data, & testimonies gathered and distributed by a plethora of reputable sources. Moreover, the corrupt dealings between Bukele and the Trump administration over the migrants illegally sent to CECOT are also known world-wide. The time to claim complete ignorance of what has been happening in El Salvador has long passed.
Los Hermanos Flores could have said any number of positive things about El Salvador are completely true, but instead, they chose to perpetuate a false narrative--one that favors the present regime in power.
Coachella is owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz, a frequent donor to Donald Trump and Conservative Christian causes.