A farmer checking on his cabbage crops.

Young men are cutting weeds all day long to create space for planting vegetables destined for sale in a large supermarket chain.

A farmer is spraying his strawberries to protect them from bugs and parasites that threaten his sole source of income.

The farmer takes a short break because of the heavy weight of the material he’s carrying in the hot weather and sun.

A banana plantation owner is showing a bunch of bananas that will be ready to eat in a week or two.

Vegetables are taken to a sorting area so they can later be sent to supermarkets.

A worker is treating infested coffee trees without protection.

Two other workers are treating the coffee trees to eliminate a fungus attacking the plants.

Women also contribute to preventing the spread of the deadly fungus on the coffee trees by retrieving empty tanks from the workers, refilling them, and returning the filled tanks to them.

Once the coffee beans have been harvested, they are transported to a large sorting area. Initially, the raw beans are sorted using mechanical and automated equipment. The final stage of sorting involves women handpicking the defective beans. The plant supervisor informed me that this task is where women particularly excel, as they tend to be faster, have a keener eye for detail, and possess smaller hands that facilitate the quick removal of the bad beans.

After the mechanical sorting of the beans is complete, they are placed on a conveyor belt. Workers have only a few minutes to gather some beans in front of them and sort them before the belt begins moving again.

An old farmer stands next to a plot in the fields he works. He’s taking a break, standing in the shade. He’s still holding the machete he uses for work.

A family is portrayed in front of their humble house, which is located in the middle of a huge coffee plantation located near Ataco, where they have been placed to live in order to watch over the plantation. The western side of El Salvador is known for its abundance of coffee plantations.

Two kids are following me and showing me the place where they live with their mother and siblings.

Despite lacking the amenities we’re accustomed to in our first-world homes, those kids are more than happy and joyful, radiating smiles and laughter throughout the day. Here they are happily playing football.

A man standing in the water is throwing a net to catch some fish.

A man standing on a boat is throwing his net to catch some fish.

A group of fishermen is returning to El Cuco Beach after spending a day at sea. They are pushing their boat ashore with the help of a trolley.

Fishermen looking at the fruits of their hard work after bringing their boat ashore.

Poachers are stealing the eggs that the turtle beside them has just laid. Since 2009, it has been made illegal to poach turtle eggs. Sadly, it’s the last resort for some, like those I followed that night. Those men told me they used to live off fishing, but when Chinese fishing trawlers began to overfish and damage the Salvadoran coast, they were left with little to no fish to catch. Unable to compete with their small boats, they felt compelled to take drastic measures to support their families. By showing this photo and explaining the context, I am not agreeing with their actions, which they know are wrong and illegal; I am simply sharing another aspect of life in El Salvador. In the poaching process, turtles aren't hurt nor even touched by them.

A woman is stirring dulce de leche inside the Dulceria Villalta production site in San Vicente.

Two women are stirring a mixture of sugar and milk as it boils to produce homemade dulce de leche bars. Dulce de leche is a traditional confection in El Salvador and across the Latin American region.

A lady is accurately cutting a large dulce de leche panel to make little bars that will later be sold.

Once the candies are ready to be sold, they are sorted, weighed, and packed before being taken to the shop. The dulceria Villalta makes all kinds of candies with natural products such as fruits, milk, and nuts.

Artist Oscar Jimenez, a former apprentice of Fernando Llort (the creator of the Palmeño Art, an art movement from the city of La Palma), is applying the last details to his latest creation.

A leather craftsman is cutting a piece of leather that will later be used as part of a pistol holster. He is working in his studio, located inside his house. In the lower left corner, his baby is inside a stroller. In the background, his wife is preparing lunch.

A man is processing clay to make it workable. It’s a long and hard process: he stomps on the clay with his bare feet and moves it with a shovel until there are no air bubbles left in the mixture of water and clay.

A woman is sculpting a camel out of clay, part of the Christmas crib.

Once the sculptures are finished and dried under the sun, they are processed, painted, and sometimes varnished. Here's a man processing the sculptures.

A shop in the city of Ilobasco selling all types of goods and souvenirs made with clay. This town is particularly well-known for its colorful miniature crafts made out of clay.

A woman is manually assembling four rolls of yellow thread into a single roll of string that will be used later in the making of fabric.

Men are weaving fabric on old looms. The fabric will later be used to make various items, such as tablecloths, hammocks, or clothing. San Sebastian is a city known for its weaving workshops, such as this one.

A woman standing up, operating a device to create string rolls. Behind her, an aged piece of furniture struggles under the weight of numerous boxed string rolls.

In the foreground, a section of the loom displays numerous blue string rolls connected to it. On the right, a man operates the loom, spinning it to weave the fabric emerging in the image’s center.

A woman is seated at her desk, labeling the latest fabric she received from the loom workers with price tags. Her desk doubles as a cash register and a workstation for managing the shop’s social network and store operations. In the background, numerous Catholic references, including pictures and sculptures, are displayed.

Once the fabric has been made and processed into clothing, tablecloths, or hammocks, it is sold in shops like this one. 

A classic street scene in El Salvador, seen here outside the market of Santa Rosa de Lima: narrow streets are shared by street sellers, pedestrians, and buses or cars.

A shoeshiner is polishing his client’s boots.

Street sellers are set up outside Santa Rosa de Lima’s market, among them those cheese vendors. HACCP principles are not being respected. Given the sheer number of sellers, everyone must find a spot, even if it means placing food on wet cardboard over a soaked and filthy road.

Two tortilleras (people who make tortillas) are working. In the background, on the left side of the photo, we can see their kids waiting patiently for them to finish their workday.

Inside Santa Rosa de Lima’s street market, which is very similar to other markets in El Salvador, we can find a variety of goods besides food, including football jerseys, clothing, imitation jewelry, and kitchen utensils.

Santa Rosa de Lima, a city near numerous active gold mines, has a unique market feature in El Salvador: the sale of gold.

An old lady is watching her stall at Nahuizalco's market

Two ladies selling fruits at Nahuizalco's nightmarket.

A colorful scene unfolds inside Santa Rosa de Lima’s market, where many people are purchasing food, especially vegetables and fruits in this section of the market. In the background, a statue of Jesus Christ watches over everyone.

A meat stand inside Santa Rosa de Lima’s market displays guts that are drying and will later be prepared. In the background, a woman is at work.

A meat seller is standing behind her stand at Santa Rosa de Lima’s market, surrounded by a wide selection of meats and cuts.

A man is selling various goods inside the Santa Rosa de Lima market. Stands like this one are common because they offer everything people might need, from caps and watches to electronics, boots, and bags, as shown in the picture.

The pupusera hands pupusas to the waitress. On the left side, pupusas are being cooked on the iron. On the right side are all the fillings used in the pupusas.

A cook is grilling meat and tortillas at Asados Trinidad restaurant in San Miguel. In front of him are two plates that he is garnishing with the meat he’s grilling.

A street vendor is about to sell some ice cream to a client at the first demonstration against Bitcoin in San Salvador on September 7th, 2021.

Another street vendor is also taking advantage of the demonstration against Bitcoin to sell caps. Fortunately for him, it was a sunny and hot day.

Scenes like this are common in El Salvador: streets serve as vast marketplaces where vendors sell everything from chewing gum and junk food to face masks and tobacco, often relying on these sales as their sole source of income.

A woman is waiting for a drink at a sales stall that the seller is retrieving from a cooler.

A man sells bread in San Miguel after the flood, braving the rain at night. He looks exhausted, but he must sell his bread to earn enough money to meet his and his family’s needs.

My driver encountered a car issue, but fortunately for us, that lady had all the necessary items for us to resume our journey.

Sales stands were on the streets outside Club La Dalia and all over the historical city center of San Salvador. However, those places no longer exist since President Bukele made cleaning and rearranging the city center one of his priorities, which resulted in the street sellers being removed from the streets.

Even before the legal adoption of Bitcoin in El Salvador, some storekeepers and residents of El Zonte Beach (also known as Bitcoin Beach) were already using Bitcoin as a currency. Here’s a small store that accepts BTC.

A customer is paying for her purchase with her Bitcoin wallet.

An excavator is positioned on top of a rock pile, collecting rocks that will later be sorted and processed into various types of grit.

Piles of grit that have already been extracted and processed from the quarry are shaping the landscape. On the left side of the piles, two conveyor belts carry grit from the processing machines to these piles.

Quarry workers are having a lunch break on a rainy day. A man is cooking tortillas while his co-workers in the background are waiting for the food.

A man in a construction site is putting a whole pile of grit in the back of a truck with the help of a shovel only.

This man is laying out wet bricks to dry naturally. Prior to this, clay was cast into molds to shape the bricks. Subsequently, they will be placed in a large open-air kiln to fire for the next 12 hours.

Two laborers are working without any protection or safety measures, while their supervisor is standing next to them.

For some, beaches are places to relax, lay under the sun and do nothing. For others, as the laborers pictured here, it's their workplace. These workers are part of a team renovating beachfront houses and their surroundings.

To eradicate violence and make the country safe, current President Nayib Bukele deployed military troops in some of the most dangerous parts of the country.

A policeman is guarding the entrance to a hotel and restaurant. He is holding his gun, ready to protect the people there. "Servir y proteger ante todo" (Serve and protect first and foremost) is the National Police of El Salvador's motto.

A traffic police officer is guiding vehicles and ensuring that everyone follows the driver’s manual.

UMO (Unidad de Mantenimiento del Orden which is the Riot Squad Unit) is getting ready to engage against demonstrators if they trespass over the Palacio Legislativo's fence.

Some demonstrators were not afraid of any fence, barbed wire, or the presence of the UMO units that day.

Reporters are finding the best angles to take better pictures of what was going on at the demonstration. Some are also using drones, like the one pictured in the upper right corner of the image.

A news reporter standing in front of San Salvador's cathedral during the September 15th, 2021 demonstration against the actual Government.

Not all roads are asphalt made in El Salvador, thus some can be very narrow and full of holes. Those unlucky water delivery guys got stuck trying to deliver water to the most remote communities.

A man is delivering some drinks to a nearby shop in Ilobasco city as a bus passes by.

A high voltage power line technician is working up on an electric pole located in a remote and rural part of the country.

Electricity is important even in the most remote parts of the country. Here, two coworkers of the high voltage power line technician are waiting for him, securing the area and supervising his work from the ground.

A municipal officer is taking a break from his work, which involves picking up garbage strewn across the streets.

Players from the Professional Salvadoran Women’s Beach Soccer League are competing in an official match at Barra de Santiago. As seen in the background, locals always gather to watch the matches taking place in the town's stadium. In El Salvador, soccer is considered a religion, and this sentiment extends to beach soccer. Especially since the country secured the 4th position at the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

After his performance at the Transformers Circus, Chonito the clown goes back to the caravan he lives in, sits on his sofa-bed, takes off his wig and make-up before going to bed. He looks exhausted and not as happy as he seemed to be on stage.

An almost empty circus show in San Miguel didn’t stop the performers from giving their best for the few spectators present that day. In the foreground are three spectators. In the background, the stage where are the ringmaster and Chonito the clown playing trumpet.

El Salvador is a predominantly Christian country, home to both Catholics and Protestants. Sundays are dedicated to attending church. People are attentively listening to the priest during a Sunday service. Santa Lucia church, Suchitoto.

People are playing snooker in one of the oldest institutions of San Salvador historical center: Club la Dalia.

Club La Dalia is a popular gathering spot where many people, especially men, come to drink, play snooker, gamble at poker (as shown in this picture), or try their luck at slot machines.

Two old men are playing cards at the side of the street, using a wooden bench as a table. One of them is sitting on a bucket, and the other on a stool

The front of a bar, with an artisan selling his creations to a lady on the left side of the picture. On the right side, a DJ is remixing music live, in El Tunco Beach.

A match from the National Kids League, held in the town known as the cathedral of Beach Soccer in El Salvador: Barra de Santiago.

A surfer pictured at El Sunzal beach.

In the foreground, people enjoying their afternoon ashore, while in the background, far away in the sea, surfers are waiting to ride the perfect wave.

A singer is performing live music for all the customers of a restaurant. In the foreground, a lady is looking at him.

A helpless driver gets out of his car, which has been trapped in the floods that occurred in San Miguel and the entire Eastern region of El Salvador in September 2021. Such floods could have been avoided if not for the trash thrown in the streets, which eventually obstructs the drainage systems. Since El Salvador has grappled with significant violence over the past three decades, ecological concerns have not been a priority for the country. Now, with violence being curtailed, El Salvador must shift its focus to new challenges including education, infrastructure reorganization, environmental issues, and economic development.

Sixth grade students attending class in a rural school, in Suchitoto, El Salvador

Posters about ecological consciousness are displayed on the walls of Suchitoto Public School. A new hope for the future generations of El Salvador?