In Solito, a memoir by poet Javier Zamora recounts his harrowing and heartfelt journey as a nine-year-old traveling alone from El Salvador to the United States to reunite with his parents. Through vivid detail and deep emotion, he captures the fear, hope, and resilience of migration through a child’s eyes.

Donna McCarthy is a retired high school special education teacher who’s been happily retired for seven years. She volunteers as a Friend of the Newburgh Free Library and leads a book club for fellow retired teachers. Donna loves spending time with her grandson, she’s a proud bi-coastal grandma often traveling to visit him in California from her home in New York, and she never passes up a chance to travel, whether it’s exploring somewhere new in the U.S. or heading abroad. Also, she is my aunt!

Our drink this week is Horchata, a drink well known in Central America and one that Javier drinks in the book. A classic rice drink, I linked below a recipe from El Salvador, but you can also try it by using this mix or purchasing one at your local Pollo Campero!

Horchata Salvadoreña

4oz morro seed

2oz peanuts

2 oz de sesame seeds

1 tbsp of coaca powder

1 oz pumpkin seed

1 oz cinammon

1/4 tbsp Vanilla or to taste

2 oz dried corn

2 oz rice

Sugar to taste

1 - 1 1/2 gallons of Water - this can be subbed with any milk you'd like or split.

In this Episode

American Dirt by Jeanne Cummins

Salvadorean Civil War

Coyote (Colloquial for human smuggler)

Javier Zamora’s Website

Second Attempt Crossing Poem

Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora