These photos were taken in El Salvador during 2007-2008. The ideas behind these photo essays revolved around published photos, stories, or photo essays, but the majority of these photos have not been seen.

El Salvador is an incredible country, with tremendous natural beauty and some of the kindest people in the world. It is some 15 years after the Salvadoran Civil War, and the country is still finding it's way through democratic political processes and the challenges of the modern economic landscape.

The three faces of El Salvador that most visitors will see are typically the beach, the Zona Rosa, or the very modest standard of living in the countryside. The Zona Rosa is a very modern, westernized, safe section of El Salvador with shopping, restaurants, and relatively expensive hotels.

Apart from the tourist zones and visible countryside, however, there is a hidden El Salvador. From this hidden El Salvador come the aspects that make up contemporary Salvadoran society, both good and bad.  Crime is epidemic in the cities, and this influences every aspect of daily life. Most houses have walls and razor wire, and every business needs a man with a shotgun.  El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world, if not the highest.  Crime has closed their society both to outsiders and amongst themselves.
Likewise, extreme poverty is also endemic, with people living in cardboard shacks within 100 feet of the largest shopping malls in Central America.  

I am interested in the hidden El Salvador, and I hope these photos shed some light onto some of the more obscure, sometimes dark, corners of this amazing country.