El Salvador, 1960s

[Music] As I was telling you, amigo, these Salvadorans are ruining us oxen. They're robbing us of our peace and our role in Salvadorian progress. I'll write you out, amigo. It makes me ache to the tip of my horns when I think about our miserable situation. Yeah, and look now what's taking our place. Big noisy thing. And just because it goes fast. Gamba. No. El Salvador isn't for us anymore. Remember, amigo the tree where we used to take siestas in the shade. Look what we've got now. Yeah. Yeah. Another big noisy factory. What a pity. What a pity. [Music] What is happening? What is happening to El [Music] Salvador? El Salvador has always been known as the land of volcanoes. And Isulo, better known as the beacon of the Pacific, has been one of the most famous on Earth. Though Isalo had been grandly active for a century, it is suddenly and perversely stopped. This hotel was constructed when Isalo's regular pyrochnic display was one of the world's most magnificent spectacles. Salvadorans are optimistic that it will renew its performances soon. And when it does, the new hotel will overlook an unequaled scenic splendor. Meanwhile, brooding is Salo's symmetrical cone is a startlingly wonderful site. Throughout El Salvador, the tourist finds lovely volcanic lakes ringed by towering volcanic mountains. More than a 100 varieties of tropical trees, shrubs, and flowers bloom during the dry season when the days are cool and springlike at the turn of the [Music] year. During the wet season from May to October, other flowers bloom, but the land is just as beautiful. [Music] The Spanish colonial architecture of El Salvador, dating principally from the 18th century, is almost entirely religious and has simple charm, good proportions, and vigorous design. Interesting local characteristics developed as a result of the earthquakes of the period are low roofs and massive walls. [Music] In the town of Sici stands the church of El Pilar. These old walls have witnessed many historical events. It was here that Anastasia Aino, the last rebellious Indian chief, after taking up arms against the government, had himself crowned king. [Music] El Salvador is the smallest of the Central American republics, but it is a giant among them in industrial activity. There is a genuine boom atmosphere in the country. Here in San Salvador, the capital, this attractive new four-lane divided thoroughfare tunnels under a new jet air strip. [Music] The entire airport has been modernized to accommodate travelers who arrive from the world over. Tourism, business, study are the principal motives. Taka International Airlines, the private Salvadorian national flag carrier, has regular flights to the United States. [Music] Several other Central American airlines also serve San Salvador. El Salvador has been called upon to produce substantial part of the industrial demands of Central America's common market. Excellent new factories representing national and foreign capital have mushroomed into existence, rising out of fields where corn and sugar used to grow. Most of the longestablished factories have expansion programs underway. Salvador's National Institute for Industrial Development known as Insafi was created solely to promote private enterprise in El Salvador. In one year alone, Insafi brought to El Salvador 49 new industries and promoted 20 plant expansions representing the equivalent of over 20 million US dollars in investments. The agency disseminates economic information, helps investors to identify profitable investment opportunities, and provides technical information. With one eye always on the Central American common market, Insafi comes up with practical business-like ideas for the development of the country's resources within the framework of the nations and the common market's needs. The capital city, San Salvador, is also its largest city with a population of almost 300,000. It is the commercial, industrial, and financial center of the republic. A fast growing, stable middle class already exists. Many of these people own attractive houses. [Music] El Salvador boasts the largest textile mill in Central America and it is adding another 20,000 spindles to its present 35,000 spindle capacity. It is also planning to add synthetic fiber production to its present cotton fabric output. This textile mill employs over 1,500 workers who produce more than 1,200,000 yards of fabric per month plus 700,000 lb of yarn. [Music] The cotton used by this mill is grown in El Salvador. [Music] The quality of these textiles is excellent and competes well among the better fabrics of the [Music] world. This recently completed structure is one of the most modern flower mills in the world. Bread and other wheat products have been improved in quality as the result of this mill. [Music] Shoes manufactured here in El Salvador are in demand in both local and foreign [Music] markets. This industry not only employs many people and many materials but also satisfies growing consumer needs. [Music] A huge piece of machinery glues and presses wide strips of heavy paper together for the manufacturer of paper boxes and cartons. [Music] A multitude of sizes and shapes are used in packaging hundreds of products shipped throughout Central [Music] America. Excellent cabinets and furniture are also manufactured in El Salvador. These are select Salvadorian coffee beans which after they're roasted to the precise color will be pulverized for instant coffee which is gaining popularity at home and abroad. Coffee is Salvador's number one agricultural [Music] crop. A small piece of aluminum bar is forced under tremendous pressure and heat through this machine which extruded into many sizes and shapes. [Music] These aluminum extrusions serve as an endless variety of factory construction and home uses. Here they are assembled into jealousy window frames for new buildings. Several large plants specialize in manufacturing steel office and home furniture. Thousands of these cans will be shipped to a paint manufacturer. [Music] Locally manufactured cement pipe for transporting water and sewage meets the demands of a booming building industry for housing, industrial plants, and public [Music] works. Cotton seed, a valuable byproduct of El Salvador's number two agricultural commodity, is processed and refined into cotton seed oil, a multi-purpose product of extremely wide use. [Music] This machine converts the cotton seed oil into lard for home [Music] consumption. No, this isn't cotton seed oil or [Music] lard. It's paint locally manufactured to the highest international standards. [Music] Grinding away 8 hours a day, this machine is one of many that turns out an everyday product essential to health and sanitation. That's right. It's soap. See, amigo, as we were saying, in El Salvador, there is hardly a place left which is tranquil. All is hustle and bustle. Amigo Da. But how about the beaches, the ocean, the waves, the songs of the fisherman? It's peaceful there. No. But my dear friend, this is not a fishing boat. What's going on? No, my friends. This is an oil tanker that bears the name of our country and it's one of the largest. It brings crude oil here to Akahutla. To Akahutla? That is a fishing village. No. No. Senor Akahutla was a fishing village, but now it's one of our principal ports and fast becoming a large industrial center. This new refinery is an example. The crude oil brought to the country is now refined here, right in our own backyard, so to speak. Trained Salvadorans are producing quality fuels to satisfy the everinccreasing demands of our economy. Another large industrial installation at Akahutla is this plant that manufactures chemical fertilizer which can enrich our Salvadorian soil and make it more productive. This means higher income for our farmers and more and better food for our people. Huge humidity controlled warehouses store the chemicals which are scientifically mixed to exact formulas carefully prepared for the scientific needs of our [Music] soils. Soil is the foundation of happiness, prosperity and progress. Deeply rooted in the earth is the welfare of all people. Yes, agriculture, the principal wealth of El Salvador, has undergone tremendous modernization. The desire to improve has created extraordinary activity among our farmers. Every proven new method is employed. The were of the helicopter is becoming a familiar sound as it passes back and forth in its work of fertilizing or fumigating valuable crops. Sugar, cotton, and coffee are treated to asssure maximum quality and yield. There's hardly a field too small to benefit from modern spraying techniques. The copter passes so low that the tops of the plants literally brush the vehicle as the giant propeller swirls the chemical downward. filmed in slow motion, we can better appreciate the efficiency of the process and the precision of the pilot. modern techniques. Efficiency progress. Amigo, I'm still for the good old days. An overgrown mosquito. Nothing more. Nothing more. An overgrown mosquito. Nothing more. Something new to El Salvador are these huge fish ponds where prolific species of fish are raised. As tiny fingerlings, they were planted here to grow to maturity. They're being harvested, but not to be eaten. This is the work of the National Government Fish Hatchery, which ships these live fish to areas where the lack of protein supplying foods is a health hazard. Local farmers in these areas are encouraged to construct small ponds in which the fish are stocked. The fish soon reproduce and mature rapidly. As they mature, they're caught and sold, thus supplying muchneeded protein in diets. The live fish are transported in plastic bags which contain water and pumped in oxygen. They remain strong and healthy under these conditions for 12 hours. Ample time to get them to their new homes throughout Central America or even as far off as Mexico. Of course, areas near the coast have an abundant supply of fish from the sea. The coastal waters of El Salvador are rich with many varieties and sizes, and the Salvadorans have been quick to develop fishing. A sizable industry, for example, has been built around the shrimp that abound in certain areas, gigantic in size and rich in flavor. Several modern packing plants have been built where the shrimp are carefully selected, cleaned, packed, and frozen, and shipped to demanding world markets. Intelligence, hard work, and sizable investments have paid off. Salvadorian shrimp are now considered among the finest in the world. And this dam, named the 5th of November, converts abundant water power to electrical energy to satisfy the increasing demands of people and industry in El Salvador. The tremendous force of the water staggers the imagination of all but an experienced engineer. In the tranquil central region of El Salvador, this dam harnesses the forces of the Riompa to serve the country's urgent need for more electrical power. Giant turbines were installed in huge man-made caverns almost 100 ft below the river floor. Thus, 60,000 kowatts of additional power is generated for Salvador's burgeoning industrialization. Often, the new and old stand side by side in El Salvador. An example is this old cathedral in Santana, the second city of the nation. The Salvadorian takes pride in preserving the nation's cultural traditions. These are traditions that still influence life in El Salvador. Religion, art, intellectual pursuits, indispensable underpinnings to new technological progress. [Music] The Salvadorian sees similarity in the construction of a new building and in the construction of a new nation. The design must be approved. The foundation and construction must be strong and solid and the tradition must find a place and above all the needs of those for whom their building must be served well. [Music] These rules explain why the Salvadorian seeks to build the future but also to preserve the past. Moreover, he recognizes that the future of El Salvador will one day rest in the hands of those who are now children. They are the bright promise of the future. They must be healthy, confident, strong, full of hope and ambition. [Music] [Music] A youth that seeks new horizons each day and is unafraid of future. [Music] Yes, El Salvador has a spirit of youth and a will to work, to play, and to dream. [Music]