once in a while...

wordpress ho!

2009-06-01T09:18:00.000-04:00

So I've decided to move myself over to a spanky new wordpress blog! Wordpress it seems has a little more room for images, and it's just a little swankier in general (no disrespect to the lovely people at blogger who have hosted me til now...). So please come visit me at my new space, kcreedon.wordpress.com. And for those of you who have been noticing I've been falling off of the horse a bit recently, I promise to be a bit more faithful in getting up images of what I'm working on. Looking forward to seeing you over at wordpress, and, as always, thanks for looking...

salvadoran elections slideshow

2009-04-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

So I put together a little slideshow about March 15, presidential election day in El Salvador. It's in Spanish, but if you don't understand Spanish, you can just look at the pictures and listen. Hope you like it -- click here to see.

Also, if you're interested in seeing my piece in the Christian Science Monitor about the elections, you can check it out here.

adios managua

2009-04-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

Heading back to the states today.

semana santa

2009-04-06T11:44:00.002-04:00

Holy week is starting here, and this statue will be mounted on a float for the evening procession.

masaya

2009-04-05T11:55:00.002-04:00

ojoche

2009-04-02T11:00:00.005-04:00

Images of the Ojoche women's project in Chinandega, Nicaragua. Ojoche is a native plant with lots of nutrients that can be ground and used in baked goods or mixed up as a drink.

mujeres de limay

2009-04-01T10:08:00.000-04:00

Some images of the women of the Limay ceramics cooperative in Limay, Nicaragua.

limay

2009-03-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

Back in Nicaragua for the last leg of my trip. For the next few days I'll be visiting women's cooperatives, including the workshop where they produce these ceramic statues.

tamales

2009-03-30T09:39:00.002-04:00

A woman cooks corn for tamales in the community of El Sitio Nuevo.

2009-03-29T08:42:00.000-04:00

Image from a cemetery in the community of El Sitio Nuevo, near Suchitoto.

espejo

2009-03-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Wall hangings in El Sitio Nuevo.

tienda

2009-03-28T17:02:00.000-04:00

Dina Mejia opened a small store in her home with a loan from the ESPERA Fund.

los pollos

2009-03-28T12:50:00.000-04:00

Edica Martinez is raising chickens with the help of a loan from the ESPERA Fund.

suchitoto

2009-03-27T16:00:00.003-04:00

Today I headed to Suchitoto for a couple of days with the women of the Concertacion de Mujeres, a network of women's groups from communities around the area. I'm going to do some documenting of an revolving women's credit initiative called the ESPERA Fund, sponsored by Mary's Pence. Eva Martinez, above, is the coordinator of the project in Suchitoto.

lunchtime

2009-03-25T13:59:00.002-04:00

izel's picture book

2009-03-24T12:55:00.003-04:00

my hostess, izel sushila, looking at photo albums. i think this might be one of her favorite things to do, aside from washing dishes.

rehabilitacion II

2009-03-23T01:59:00.001-04:00

More images from the rehabilitation center in Santa Marta.

Cristian plays while Ana massages his weak left wrist.
Lola entertains a young patient while he receives respiratory therapy.
Lola makes a home visit to an elderly patient.

more family portraits

2009-03-22T01:36:00.000-04:00

family portraits

2009-03-21T01:27:00.001-04:00

A few images of members of my Santa Marta family...

rehabilitacion

2009-03-20T00:58:00.000-04:00

I'm doing a little project with the physical rehabilitation center in Santa Marta to document some of the work that the therapists, Ana and Lola, are doing in the community. Here are a few images from my first day at the center.

A hand-drawn poster helps parents learn how to exercise their young children.
Ana, left, leads an opening song at at workshop for children with special needs and their families.
Lola, right, helps the family members learn how to work with the children to improve their motor skills.
Playing catch.
Singing a goodbye song.

2009-03-19T23:37:00.000-04:00

santa marta

2009-03-18T23:27:00.002-04:00

Today I headed out to Santa Marta, in Cabanas, where I'll be until next week. I lived here for a couple years, so it's great to see lots of familiar, friendly faces.

el 15 de marzo

2009-03-15T22:22:00.001-04:00

A few images from election day -- more to come soon.

An ARENA party poll worker waits to enter the voting center at 4:45 am.
An FMLN party poll worker guards the voting station where people will come to mark their ballots.
FMLN and ARENA poll workers line up to cast the first ballots of the day before voting opens for the general public at 7 am.
An FMLN representative at his polling station.
FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes emerges from an appearance at a church service at the Tabernaculo Biblico Bautista Amigos de Israel.
An ARENA supporter sells party logo keychains inside the Feria Internacional voting center.
A young ARENA party supporter at the voting center in Zacamil.
At the end of the day, poll workers from both parties review each ballot and separate them into piles before beginning the final count.
Thousands of FMLN supporters at the Plaza Masferrer watch Mauricio Funes give a press conference announcing himself as the new president-elect of El Salvador.

swimming

2009-03-14T01:51:00.004-04:00

Had to sneak in a couple more pictures of my hostess Izel.

christian science monitor

2009-03-13T02:00:00.000-04:00

Today this image was published with an article about the Evangelical church and the elections in the election in the Christian Science Monitor. Check out the article and my audio slideshow at this link.

en las calles

2009-03-12T15:35:00.006-04:00

Some images from the streets in the days before the election.

en las calles II

2009-03-12T14:00:00.001-04:00

Some more images from the streets of San Salvador.

ARENA party presidential candidate Rodrigo Avila makes a stop by a local shopping center to distribute campaign t-shirts and aprons and meet and greet supporters.

An FMLN campaign billboard features a cop from the Simpsons and reads: "Vote wisely: Don't vote for the ex-cop." Avila was a former head of the national police.

esperanza

2009-03-11T14:00:00.003-04:00

Pastor Edwin Guzman is the leader of UNICSAL, an organization of 600 Evangelical pastors who recently endorsed Mauricio Funes of the FMLN in the presidential race. On Guzman's wrist is a bracelet with the Funes campaign slogan that reads "Nacio la Esperanza," or Hope is Born.

torre fuerte

2009-03-11T13:12:00.002-04:00

Nelson Valdez of the Red Nacional de Pastores Torre Fuerte, a national network of pastors founded with the support of the ARENA government. Valdez contends that an FMLN victory would be dangerous for El Salvador and especially for the Evangelical churches because he believes they would limit freedom of expression and freedom of religious practice.

oracion

2009-03-10T12:42:00.006-04:00

Members of the Mision Elim church in Soyapango worshipping during a Tuesday evening service.

entrada

2009-03-10T12:30:00.001-04:00

Members of the Mision Elim church stand posted at the church's entrance to welcome people as they arrive to worship.

cafetin

2009-03-10T12:17:00.002-04:00

Women chatting in the cafeteria at the Tabernaculo de Avivamiento Internacional.

avivamiento

2009-03-10T11:54:00.001-04:00

Carlos Rivas, head pastor of the Tabernaculo de Avivamiento Internacional (TAI) in San Bartolo. Rivas founded the church after breaking ties with the more conservative Tabernaculo Biblico Bautista Amigos de Israel when he was rebuked for publicly criticizing the government. To read more about Rivas, see this article in the Christian Science Monitor.

se hace calzado

2009-03-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

Just outside the gates of the Tabernaculo de Avivamiento Internacional, this couple offers shoe repairs and inexpensive meals in their roadside shack. Both members of the TAI church, they support Pastor Rivas' progressive stand on social justice and say they want to see an FMLN government in power.

home prayer

2009-03-09T01:51:00.000-04:00

The Evangelical church community of La Cuchilla hosts a prayer service in a member's home.

bus propaganda

2009-03-09T00:21:00.003-04:00

Taken out of the window of a cab. The man in the ad is the FMLN candidate for president, Mauricio Funes, who is leading in the polls.

el paraiso

2009-03-08T01:47:00.001-05:00

Members of the Apostles and Prophets church in the El Paraiso community go to Sunday service. The community is located along the railroad tracks in Soyapango.

fmln carnival II

2009-03-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

fmln carnival

2009-03-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

The FMLN held their campaign closing party on Saturday a week before the elections. They closed off six city blocks and held a carnival in the street all night.

la cuchilla

2009-03-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Ricarda Villanueva is the president of the community of La Cuchilla. The community has been struggling for the past nine years against the local mayor's office attempts to evict or relocate them. While the community does not own the land, Ricarda argues that community members have been settled there for the past 70 years and that they have a legal right to the land. The community is located directly across the highway from a fancy shopping center and according to Ricarda there have been proposals to develop the land as a parking lot, a park, a heliport, or another shopping center.

bible bookmark

2009-03-06T20:00:00.002-05:00

As I try to develop this piece regarding the role of Salvadoran Evangelicals in the election, I've been trying to figure out how to ask people about their political preference and how it is, or if it is, influenced by their religious beliefs. I ended up by chance sitting next to this guy at the church service this evening and after about 10 minutes, realized he was using this FMLN sticker as a bookmark in his bible. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to speak with him about it, but snapped this picture over his shoulder.

juventud elim

2009-03-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

The service this evening was focused around the youth membership of the church.

legend

2009-03-06T19:30:00.001-05:00

I couldn't resist this guy's shirt. (incidentally, in case you were wondering, he is praying, not saluting his fan base.)

standing guard

2009-03-06T19:00:00.004-05:00

I attended my first Evangelical church service of the week at the Mision Elim church in Soyapango this evening. Elim is reportedly one of the largest churches in the world, with I think over 100,000 members. The congregation is divided into a bunch of committees, and I think this woman with the vest is on some kind of security detail outside the main church building.

(p.s. So my real camera had some malfunctions this evening -- luckily we were able to resolve them the next day, but all the pics from this service were taken with my little Canon point-and-shoot, which I am so glad I brought...)

izelita

2009-03-06T01:42:00.005-05:00

New country, new hosts... Here in El Salvador, I've been welcomed by Tara, Izel, and Mauricio, in the good ol' Urbanizacion Jose Simeon Canas. Here is Izel, for those of you who have not yet had the good grace to meet her.

ticabus

2009-03-05T11:17:00.001-05:00

On the bus with my traveling partner Patty -- thanks for coming along companyera! (please excuse the lack of Spanish characters -- not sure why Blogger doesn't seem to want to let me use them)

border with honduras

2009-03-05T11:08:00.004-05:00

Today's the day I bussed from Managua over to San Salvador. These little bicycle carts run people back and forth across the border between Nicaragua and Honduras.

(p.s. for those of you who have been checking this blog and waiting for me to actually post something, you'll notice I'm back-dating these images to the day I shot them, even though I'm posting them a week later. It's been a crazy week, but I'm finally sitting down to post, so I thought I should try to do it chronologically... thanks for looking!)

Cristo Viene

2009-03-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

This is the makeshift "fence" on the home across the street from my friend's Patty and Syd in Managua. It reads "Cristo viene" -- Christ is coming. I thought it was appropriate as I prepare to spend some time with the Evangelical Christian community in El Salvador this week.

Meet Moto

2009-03-04T20:20:00.000-05:00

My Managua hosts: from left to right, Patty, Moto, and Syd.

En la casita

2009-03-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

Patty, one of my Managua hosts, in her bright yellow kitchen.

Day One in Managua

2009-03-04T12:10:00.002-05:00

These are some clay bell chimes hanging behind the house of my lovely hosts Patty Adams and Sydney Frey in Managua, Nicaragua. It's pretty wonderful to have left behind a foot of snow in Boston to wake up to 80 degrees and breezy weather.

2009-02-15T18:01:00.001-05:00

2009-02-14T18:00:00.001-05:00

We Shall Not Be Moved: Alfredo Martinez

2009-02-13T17:46:00.002-05:00

Alfredo Martinez in his East Boston apartment. When the house he lives in was foreclosed on, the bank told Alfredo and the other tenants that they had to move or risk being evicted.

We Shall Not Be Moved: Marcus Johnson

2009-02-12T17:43:00.002-05:00

In the hallway outside his apartment, Marcus Johnson examines the wire that leads to a gun sensor recently installed on the roof of the building by the police.

We Shall Not Be Moved: Marcus Johnson

2009-02-12T17:41:00.001-05:00

Marcus stands in front of an abandoned house in his Dorchester neighborhood.

We Shall Not Be Moved: Marcus Johnson

2009-02-11T17:38:00.003-05:00

Marcus Johnson, 70, talks about how the neighborhood of Dorchester has changed since he moved here in the 1960s.

2009-02-10T17:04:00.001-05:00

2009-02-09T17:02:00.002-05:00

2009-02-06T17:01:00.000-05:00

Mattahunt Steppers

2009-02-05T16:57:00.002-05:00

Coach of the Mattahunt step dance team standing in front of the wall of trophies the team has won.

Mattahunt Steppers

2009-02-04T16:53:00.000-05:00

Mattahunt Steppers

2009-02-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

Images from the Mattahunt step dance team practice.

Mattahunt Steppers

2009-02-02T16:50:00.001-05:00

Mattahunt Steppers

2009-01-30T16:44:00.002-05:00

Images from the Mattahunt step dance team practice.

2009-01-29T13:43:00.001-05:00

2009-01-28T13:40:00.001-05:00

2009-01-27T10:20:00.000-05:00

2009-01-26T10:18:00.000-05:00

Honkfest II

2009-01-23T14:41:00.000-05:00

Honkfest

2009-01-22T11:46:00.001-05:00

Images from last October's Honkfest in Davis Square. (it looks really warm!) The rest of the set is posted on my Flickr page here.

2009-01-15T09:43:00.000-05:00

2009-01-14T09:40:00.000-05:00

2009-01-13T08:59:00.000-05:00

2009-01-12T08:58:00.001-05:00

dia de muertos III

2009-01-10T10:32:00.001-05:00

some of the offerings on the day of the dead altar at our house.

2009-01-08T20:00:00.001-05:00

dia de muertos II

2009-01-07T15:14:00.000-05:00

2009-01-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

2009-01-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

We Shall Not Be Moved

2009-01-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

Window

2009-01-02T10:59:00.001-05:00

Snowstorm

2009-01-01T10:26:00.000-05:00

View from our kitchen window yesterday afternoon.

We Shall Not Be Moved

2008-12-31T09:59:00.002-05:00

Image from the porch of a tenant-occupied three-story home. The tenants are fighting eviction following their landlord being foreclosed on.

Dia de Muertos

2008-12-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

Scene from the Day of the Dead celebration at our house.

Tom Quinn

2008-11-20T23:09:00.003-05:00

Images from a story I did for Radio Boston on home foreclosures.

Luckendy

2008-11-04T09:57:00.000-05:00

Images from the series I'm working on with Boston's security officers.

Tomekka and TJ

2008-11-03T09:49:00.002-05:00

Images from the series I'm working on with Boston's security officers.

Naomi

2008-11-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

Images from the series I'm working on with Boston's security officers.

Jane

2008-11-01T09:42:00.000-04:00

Images from the series I'm working on with Boston's security officers.

2008-08-22T17:31:00.000-04:00

2008-08-08T09:08:00.000-04:00

2008-08-07T09:07:00.000-04:00

2008-08-06T09:06:00.001-04:00

2008-08-05T09:05:00.000-04:00

2008-08-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Salties.

2008-08-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

2008-08-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

On the catwalk.

2008-08-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Bath time face-off (I promise this is the last bath time post...).

2008-07-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Carter at bathtime.