bild
The funeral of Ricardo Arias (88). He lived in Itipuga, but all his children migrated to the US. They came back for the funeral of their father. Of the town of Itupuca 85% of its population has migrated to the US. The town features quite a high number of fancy houses constructed by families living in the US, many of them remain empty. When the financial crisis hit the town, as the whole country, was affected. Remesas (money that family send from the US back home) decreased by 40%...El Salvador is often mentioned as the most Americanized country in the Americas. One third of its population lives in the USA. El Salvador also has most murders per capita in the world. Violence stems from the brutal civil war and the gangs, gangs who originated in the US. When the peace accords were signed in 1992 the US deported many Salvadorians back to El Salvador: the start of the gangs 'Mara Salvatrucha' and '18'. Salvador's economy is heavily depending on remesas; money that Salvadorians in the US send to their families in El Salvador. (KEYSTONE/NOOR/Kadir van Lohuizen / NOOR)