The Torogoces of Morazán

Sonic Rebellion in El Salvador

published with Alma de Izote

The “musical expression of the Salvadoran revolution,” Los Torogoces de Morazán were born in the mountains of Morazán in eastern El Salvador. Comprising oral testimony from Benito Chica Argueta (Sebastián Torogoz), a founding member of the group, in addition to firsthand accounts by others who collaborated with the collective, Sonic Rebellion in El Salvador is a compilation of historical events transformed into songs which filled people in struggle for liberation with hope. In parallel with Radio Venceremos, the clandestine radio network operated by Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), the group gave a voice to the voiceless during times of great adversity throughout the armed conflict in El Salvador. Using historical memory as a tool against forgetting, and by intertwining music and moving testimonies, the Torogoces’ songbook rebels against a politics of forgetfulness—one which seeks to impose silence and the denial of liberation and peace, both past and present. In solidarity, organization, and struggle from Morazán to Chicago: it is forbidden to forget!

With contributions by: Benito Chica Argueta (Sebastián Torogoz), Pilar Vázquez de Prada, Paco Fernández Segura, Rogelio Ponseele, Domingo Tobar Ramírez (Melo), Paolo Lüers, José Márquez, Marcelo Cruz Cruz, Editorial Revolucionaria del Pueblo “Ernesto Amaya”, Jesús Orta Ruiz (El Indio Naborí), and Jacob Lindgren. Published by Alma de Izote and Other Forms. Portions of the book were originally published in Spanish in 2024 as * La Onda de los Torogoces de Morazán* by Editorial Universidad Don Bosco in El Salvador, with proofreading by Juan Vicente Chopin and editing by Nelson López.

2025
6.5 x 9.5 inches
120 pages
designed by Jacob Lindgren
printed in scarlet, blue, and black on risograph SF 5130 by Jacob and Jack
edition of 300
ISBN 978-1-7340943-6-7