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Daniela A. Mr. Watts World History 2B May 26, 2009

The Weight of All Things

=**Authors Background**= Author Sandra Benitez was born Sandra Jeanette Ables in Washington D.C., on March 26 1941. Parents James Ables and Marta Benitez Ables, moved often because of her father’s diplomatic job, living for periods of time in Mexico, El Salvador, and Missouri. Beitez also had a sister, Anita. Witnessing the differences between the privileged and the poverty-stricken as well as the social unrest in El Salvador, which resulted in the civil war. She observed first hand the realities of life on each side of the financial divide. Benitez’s brother-in-law, a surgeon in El Salvador, was kidnapped by guerilla forces during the war and was released only after his family paid what Benitez called a “war tax”. After returning to the United States permanently as a young adult, Benitez enrolled in college at Truman State University. Benitez earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1962, and a masters in comparative literature in 1974. Benitez married for the second time, in 1980 to James Kondrick. From her first marriage, Benitez has 2 sons, Christopher, and Jon Title, born in 1963 and 1965. After finishing her education, Bentiez worked at a variety of jobs. After publishing her first book, A Place Where the Sea Remembers in 1993, when she was 52 years old, Benitez remarked that she “came to writing late.”([|Disheroon-Green]). She suffered from Ulcerative Colitis, a disease that causes inflammation and sores (ulcers) in the lining of rectum and colon. Soon she had an ileostomy surgery to help ease the disease. Not only did she suffer from a disease, but she also suffered from losing those close to her. Benitez lost four friends during the time in Mexico and El Salvador. She also lost a family member who was exiled after being kidnapped then released by a guerilla after which they left in search of hiding.

=**Author’s Personal Connection & Motivation for Writing**= From the stories of women that have worked for her, Benitez’s motivation is found within them. Having been moved a lot while young, Benitez writes about her experience in different countries and to what happened in those countries. Benitez connects with what she writes and how she writes through the terrain of El Salvador and the things she sees going on while she is there.

=**Historical, Cultural, Geographical and Political Context of the Novel**= Various indigenous tribes that migrated over from Mexico, in 3000 BC to 1500 BC, which was around the time of the Spanish Conquest, inhabited El Salvador. In 100 AD, the Mayans settled in the area. They left limestone pyramids in the western part of the country and built monuments to their civilization. In 1524, the time of the Spanish arrivals, El Salvador was under the control of Pipil Indians. The Pipil Indians were descendants of Mexico’s Toltec & Aztec people. In 1525, Spanish Lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado conquered the region. Alvarado held power for 300 years under the Spanish rule. On September 15, 1821, they declared independence from Spain and briefly became part of the Mexican Empire of Augustin de Iturbide. In 1823, the empire collapsed. In the early 20th Century, coffee became the primary crop. In 1931 Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez seized the opportunity by collapsing coffee prices. Martinez led a coup d’etat and seized power, which he held until 1944. The relationship between Honduras and El Salvador became sour due to a border disputes. The Honduran government passed a land law discriminating El Salvador. A war broke out between Honduras and El Salvador in July 1969, and was contained after 4 days. The Organization of American States declared a cease fire. Over population, extreme poverty, and social inequality led to political unrest. By 1979, a civil war started between the right wing government and FLMN. In 1980 Oscar Romero was killed because he witnessed something he shouldn't have and was thought to be an act of death squad by the government. Three American nuns and a social worker were killed in El Salvador, as a result President Jimmy Carter suspended all aid to Central America. El Salvador is located on the Pacific Coast of Central America and is the region’s smallest country. El Salvador has a mixed climate. Its population is 6.8 million people. 94% of those people are Mestizos, which is mixed races. The other 6 % of those people are indigenous or white. The primary language spoken are Spanish and the indigenous language Nohualtis.

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