1718_LAS ARADAS
memorial site for the victims of the Sumpul Massacre

The Río Sumpul massacre of May 14 1980 is one of the many massacres of the civilian population of El Salvador perpetrated by the Salvadoran national guard and the paramilitary group ORDEN during the civil war. The architectural project for the memorial site Las Aradas can be read as a threefold action. Firstly, marking the site. The plantation of 200 fire trees that blossom in May during the commemoration creates a large clearing that frames the landscape, the terrain and the existing monument. Secondly, a series of infrastructure is introduced in the new forest, where the measure of the tree grid reappears: a roof for the mass, a series of benches, toilets, etc. Lastly more symbolic elements find their place: the existing monument in the clearing alongside a memorial with all the names of the victims, a statue of Monseñor Romero, marking the edge between the open space and the new forest.

This project is cofinanced by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), with the support of Asociación Sumpul (Asociación de Sobrevivientes de las Masacre del Sumpul y las Otras Massacres de Chalatenango), CRIPDES, Western University (Canada) and KU Leuven