Almost 4,000 miles Apart…
From San José to Westbury
San José de La Fuente, ES
San José de la Fuente is located in El Departamento de la Unión in El Salvador. It is home to various tourist spots and renovated locations bringing in many visitors throughout the year. It is also my father’s home. During his time in El Salvador, his memories constituted the time he spent in San José. Among the favorite things my father enjoyed doing there was swimming in Rio El Zapote as well as visiting the site of fallen Pilot Reynaldo Cortez. Captain Reynaldo Cortez died during the War of 100 Hours between Honduras and El Salvador after being shot down by a Honduran aircraft.
Bienvenidos a San José de la Fuente
They now hold a celebration in his honor every 17th of July at a National Historical Park in the village . Along with the celebration, is a show with men parachuting from planes and aerial tricks done by a plethora of aircrafts. It is truly a site to see. My dad (José) spent twenty-two years of his life there before deciding to make his trip to the United States. San José continues to be a place close to his heart and remains the home to many of his family members.
Fiestas en Memoria del Capitán Reynaldo Cortéz
Westbury, NY
Westbury is located on Long Island, N.Y. in Nassau County. SInce 1985, it has been my father’s home from the moment he first arrived until present day. Regardless of the many years, he has not left Westbury rather has grown very attached to it. It has become his second home, while for my siblings and I it has been our first. With the nearby bodegas (grocery stores) and the Salvadoran restaurants it has been easy for my dad to adjust living here and it has enabled him to maintain his children, myself included, close to our Salvadoran roots. He is able to 
enjoy speaking to people who share similar customs and a similar language. While at the same time, he has been able to meet various people from other parts of Latin America. Westbury has been home to him for almost thirty years. Yet he continues to hold San José very present in memories and is able to look back on his time there with a sense of nostalgia. Despite the close ties he maintains with his place of origin, he cannot deny that Westbury has now become his home away from home.