"El Salvador Presente"
Mark Vallen 1994
Signed and numbered Lithograph
14" x 18" inches - $250

"My drawing depicts Salvadorans in protest, carrying Christian funeral crosses in honor of those killed in the war. The crosses are emblazoned with Salvadoran folk art and one bears the name, Arnulfo Romero. It is a reference to the Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was murdered by a right-wing death squad on March 24 1980 while celebrating mass in a hospital chapel. At the center of the drawing is a young woman who wears a t-shirt decorated with the words, FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front), the leftwing guerillas that in 1992 transformed themselves into an electoral party. They won the historic Presidential elections of March, 2009, bringing the FMLN’s candidate, Mauricio Funes to the presidency.

In 1994 my original lithograph appeared as a cover for the independent political journal, CrossRoads. The publication also published the following statement from me regarding the artwork - 'Over the years I have learned many invaluable lessons from the Salvadoran people - lessons concerning what it means to love and sacrifice for a community, about the indispensability of culture in that struggle, lessons regarding faith and irrepressible human spirit. This work expresses the gratitude and indebtedness I feel for receiving these gifts.'"