Dear Friends of MASCP,

In June, MASCP with our parent organization, US El Salvador Sister Cities, sponsored a delegation of local leaders to El Salvador and Arcatao. Defense of Human Rights was the theme of this journey as participants looked at organizing on a grassroots level outside of electoral moments. A major focus of this group was immigration issues in hopes that the participants would gain new insights into the reasons that people from El Salvador travel to the U.S. to request asylum.

The participants were Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman, Jonathan Solari of Dane County Planned Parenthood, Courtney Nelson, Community Art Designer, Fabiola Hamdan, Dane County Immigration Specialist, Wisconsin Senator LaTonya Johnson, Wisconsin Representative Chris Taylor and MASCP members, Marc Rosenthal and Barbara Alvarado. Representative Taylor wrote about her moving experience in an editorial to the Capitol Times:

"Every person we met, whether in San Salvador or Arcatao (Madison’s sister city) or El Charcon, had a story of loss — of whole families murdered during the war or of family members having to flee the country because of violence or for economic survival. What I learned in all of these places, from dozens of people we talked with, was when Salvadorans leave their communities and families on a perilous, uncertain journey to Mexico or the United States, they do so not just for the chance at a better life, but oftentimes to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones."

The participants were Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman; Jonathan Solari, Dane County Planned Parenthood; Courtney Nelson, Community Art Designer; Fabiola Hamdan, Dane County Immigration Specialist; Wisconsin Senator LaTonya Johnson; Wisconsin Representative Chris Taylor and MASCP members, Marc Rosenthal and Barbara Alvarado.

The need for structural change in both countries and a commitment to work major issues such as immigration reform made MASCP’s sistering relationship for more than 32 years more relevant than ever.

Please consider making a donation to MASCP today to support our continued work of organizing against violence and working towards a more humane way of living in both countries.

The long awaited canonization of Monseñor Oscar Romero will be on October 14, 2018 in Rome. Pope Francis will bestow sainthood on Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero amid jubilation in El Salvador and in many Catholic and activist communities around the world, including here in Madison. MASCP together with Latino and Catholic groups will be sponsoring a celebration very close to that day.  We hope you will want to join the community commemoration and festivities for this historic event. You can watch for updates on our website, and make sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you can get details on exact dates, times and locations.

In early July, during the height of the “nance” harvest, the community of Arcatao held it’s first “Festival del Nance”.  It was a grand community-wide celebration inviting tourists and all the local population to participate in the fun and taste the huge varieties of ways that nance can be enjoyed.

Nance is a very small tropical or sub-tropical fruit that turns bright yellow when ripe. It requires little water to grow which allows it to thrive in a wide range of climates. The fruit grows in Central America, Southern Mexico, and Caribbean islands. Many sweet desserts, candies and herbal remedies are made from nance. The alcoholic drink, chicha, also has nance as its base and since the fruit is chock full of vitamins and minerals including folate, it is used widely in these regions as a prenatal vitamin supplement.