Red Stones: A Graphic Account of the Salvadoran Civil War

In 1981, the Salvadoran Civil War reached Miriam’s village of Santa Marta. After spending her days bringing tortillas to the guerilla fighters nearby, she watched government soldiers encroach on her town. Military intimidation turned to violence, and violence turned to the threat of a massacre. Miriam and the women of her town began a forced and desperate exodus.

In 2021, Ernesto Saade visited Santa Marta to hear Miriam’s story. The result of that in-depth conversation is this graphic account of conflict, displacement, and the Red Stones massacre. This event, not known by all even within El Salvador, is one part of the scar its civil war left behind—a moment of tragedy and resilience seen through the eyes of someone who lived it.