By VerónicaRamos-Coreas, D.C. CISPES

For five days in mid-August, CISPES members from around theU.S. came together near the nation’s capital for workshops on campaignbuilding, fundraising, organizing and so much more. The location of the 2010CISPES Summer Camp was a farm in Culpeper, Virginia, and we were not alone. Wewere surrounded by tons of land and tons open space, but also by cows, makingthe experience that much better.

            Wehad the pleasure of having Audelia López – an FMLN representative in theLegislative Assembly and member of the party’s Women’s Secretariat – come allthe way from Chalatenango, El Salvador to share her knowledge about the past,present and future of the country, focusing on the history of popularresistance to colonialism and imperialism; the fact that she was also a formerguerrillera made her presentation much more authentic! She  was able to answer many of thequestions about the successes of the first year of the FMLN government, forexample opening neighborhood health clinics in rural areas, and some of theserious challenges the country faces, for example the impact of thousands ofpeople being deported to El Salvador every month. Not only did she share herknowledge with us, but she also participated in various workshops alongside theCISPES members (I think her favorite was the history of Salvadorans in thesolidarity movement).

            Asa first time Summer Camper, I did not know what to expect when it came to theworkshops. We had several workshops that directly pertained to our ongoinganti-mining campaign, which is focused on defeating Pacific Rim Mining’slawsuit against El Salvador and working toward an overhaul of CAFTA. At first,the broad array of workshop topics, such as Black and Brown unity, facilitatingbilingual meetings, and art in organizing, struck me as unrelated. But afterattending these and other workshops, it became clear that this was all part ofthe bigger plan - to dismantle oppression, to build as inclusive a community aspossible, and to incorporate different mediums in our organizing.

            Notto be overshadowed by the hard work that went into the workshops were plenty ofopportunities for laughter, dancing, swimming and good times amongst all theCISPistas, new and old. The night before everyone had to leave, we chatted anddanced the night away. Some even made their acting debuts for a telenovela(soap opera) that was spontaneously written and filmed on location.

            Oneof the highlights of summer camp was being able to hear about the Radical Rootsdelegation, the first trip of its kind for CISPES (see article on page 1) fromthe Salvadoran/Salvadoran-American youth participants. The five delegates whoattended summer camp, including myself, gave our testimonials. Although everydelegate had her or his own unique story and experience, we shared a sense ofsolidarity with the movement in El Salvador and the movement here in the U.S.The delegation was lucky enough to have two amazing people document theexperience every step of the way, which we were able to share at camp. A photoshow, shot by David Castillo, followed the stories from the delegates. Anotherdelegate, Nicola Chavez-Courtwright, was there in spirit when the summercampers got to see a preview of the film she had been recording throughout thewhole trip.

            Anotherhighlight was the participation of two very special guests. Angela Sanbrano, currentPresident of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communitiesand CISPES’ first Executive Director, shared her organizing experience to helpus develop both political and base-building strategies. Professor of LatinAmerican Studies at UC Santa Cruz Hector Perla imparted invaluable knowledgeand analysis on the history of El Salvador and the history of the solidaritymovement, highlighting the key role that Salvadoran organizers played infounding it.

            TheSummer Camp experience is definitely an interesting one. You are learning fromyour fellow CISPistas, the same way that they are learning from you. Everyonehad something to contribute, whether it was facilitating and leading a workshopor asking questions and listening in on a discussion. This was a great way toget inspired – here’s looking to the future! ¡Adelante!