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PERQUIN |
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 After passing through Arambala, the road begins its final climb to
PERQUÍN , a small and - given its history - surprisingly friendly
mountain town, set in the middle of glorious walking countryside. During
the war the town was the FMLN headquarters, from where they broadcast to
the nation on the (literally) underground station Radio Venceremos ("We
Will Triumph"). Attempts by the army to dislodge the guerrillas mostly
failed, leaving the town badly damaged and deserted. Today, the "town
that refused to die" has repaired most of its buildings, although the
scars of war are evident everywhere, and nearly everyone has a
horrendous tale to tell. Even so, there is today a sense of optimism and
a determination to rebuild the community.
Perquín's main draw is the moving Museo de la Revolución Salvadoreña (Tues-Sun
9am-4pm; US$1.25), set up by ex-guerrillas in the wake of the 1992 peace
accords. The curators travelled throughout the country collecting
photographs and personal effects of those who died during the fighting,
and notices request that visitors donate more in order to expand the
collection. There is a succinct summary (in Spanish) of the process
leading to the beginning of the armed struggle; displays of arms and
weaponry confiscated from the army and weapons - including missile
launchers, bombs, guns and grenades - disabled after the signing of the
peace accords; and examples of international propaganda aimed at
bringing the events in El Salvador to the world's attention. Outside is
the bomb crater left by a 1981 explosion and a mock-up of a guerrilla
camp - the crude bent-wood and palm-leaf constructions offered little
shelter but could be erected and dismantled quickly. Behind the museum
you can see the remains of the helicopter that was carrying Domingo
Monterrosa (architect of the El Mozote massacre) when it was shot down
by the FMLN in 1984. The most moving exhibits are perhaps the anonymous
transcripts of witnesses of the massacre, and drawings by refugee
schoolchildren, depicting events as they saw them.
A separate room contains the transmitting equipment and studio used by
Radio Venceremos . Using subterranean sound rooms to evade detection,
the station broadcast every afternoon throughout the war on a number of
frequencies, transmitting the guerrillas' view of events, as well as
interviews and music. After the peace accords, the station received an
FM licence in August 1992, and is now based in San Salvador -
ironically, in offices rented from a member of the ARENA Party. Now a
commercial, mainstream station playing a mixture of Latin American
sounds and US rock, Venceremos has been heavily criticized by some of
its former listeners for accepting all manner of commercials, as well as
electoral advertisements from all political parties.
If you decide to stay in Perquín, the friendly El Gigante (up to US$5),
five minutes' walk from town back down the road to Gotera, has clean,
communal rooms with shared bath, and a small comedor. The more upmarket
Hotel Perquín Lenca (tel 680 4046, fax 680 4080, perkin@netcomsa.com ;
US$15-25), 1.5km south of town, has solid wooden cabins with bath, hot
water and hammocks, and an excellent restaurant and bar. Breakfast is
included, and advance booking is recommended. Other places to eat in
town are the small comedores, Blanca and Las Palmeras , both just off
the main square, and the friendly La Muralla on the Parque.
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