Susan Cruz

Eight-year-old Susan Cruz enjoying her first Christmas in the United States in 1978.

What does it take for a Salvadoran girl to make her way in America?

Conflict & Justice

Music was a lifeline for eight-year-old Susan Cruz, when she and her mother fled violence in El Salvador in 1978 and headed for California. In this next in our series on immigrants’ first days in the US, Cruz looks back on her tumultuous introduction to America. Music was a lifeline for eight-year-old Susan Cruz, when she and her mother fled violence in El Salvador in 1978 and headed for California. In this next in our series on immigrants’ first days in the US, Cruz looks back on her tumultuous introduction to America.