AI-generated image for Our Life in El Salvador inspired by El Zonte’s Pacific coastline, where El Salvador’s natural beauty is gaining new attention through international fashion.
El Salvador continues to appear in places where, not that many years ago, few people would have expected to see it.
This time, it is Vogue Latinoamérica.
The internationally known fashion publication has turned its attention to El Salvador’s Pacific coast for a new photographic project called “Paseo por El Salvador.” The first part of the project was photographed at Playa El Zonte, bringing international fashion together with one of the country’s most recognizable coastal settings.
When I first saw the story, what caught my attention was not really the clothing or the fashion industry.
It was the location.
Vogue could choose beautiful locations almost anywhere in the world. This time, someone looked at El Salvador and decided that our coastline was where they wanted to tell their story.
That says something about how the outside world’s view of El Salvador continues to change.
Vogue Comes to El Zonte
According to Diario El Salvador, Vogue Latinoamérica’s Head of Editorial Content, Karla Martínez de Salas, shared the first images from the project.
The production uses Playa El Zonte as its setting, combining fashion photography with the natural surroundings of El Salvador’s Pacific coast.
Brazilian model Paula Soares appears in the project, while James C. Turlington was behind the camera. Fashion journalist Sebastián Cabrices edited the feature.
The photographs appear designed to do more than show clothing. They also capture the ocean, coastline, tropical surroundings and atmosphere that make this part of El Salvador different.
One image even incorporates the blue and white colors associated with the Salvadoran flag.
But there is another part of this story that makes it even more interesting.
A Salvadoran Family Connection
James Turlington has his own connection to El Salvador.
He said that his grandmother was from El Salvador and that he grew up hearing her stories about the country. During the project, he expressed his appreciation for finally experiencing the land she had described to him.
James is also the nephew of Christy Turlington, one of the world’s best-known supermodels of the 1980s and 1990s. Vogue has previously documented James following his aunt into the modeling industry after an earlier career in professional baseball.
Christy Turlington also has a strong Salvadoran connection.
Her mother came from El Salvador, and Christy has spoken over the years about visiting the country when she was young. She has described El Salvador as a place she has always felt connected to.
That makes this Vogue project more than an international fashion crew simply arriving at a Salvadoran beach because it looked good in photographs.
There is a family connection behind it.
A grandmother told stories about El Salvador to her family. Years later, her grandson returned with a camera and helped present that country to an international audience.
I think that is a wonderful part of the story.
El Zonte Has Come a Long Way
El Zonte is especially interesting as the location.
For many years, communities along El Salvador’s coastline were known mainly by surfers and local residents. International travelers certainly visited them, but they were not regularly appearing in major international publications.
That has changed dramatically.
Today, beaches such as El Zonte, El Tunco, La Bocana and El Sunzal have become closely associated with El Salvador’s growing tourism industry and international surfing reputation.
Now El Zonte is appearing in Vogue.
Whether someone is interested in fashion or not, that kind of exposure matters.
Millions of people around the world form opinions about countries through what they see in magazines, websites, social media, television and videos.
One beautiful photograph may cause someone to ask, “Where is that?”
Then they discover it is El Salvador.
That person may begin searching for El Zonte. They may discover Surf City, Salvadoran food, volcanoes, Ruta de las Flores, archaeological sites and communities throughout the country.
That is how perceptions slowly change.
A Different El Salvador Reaching the World
For much of my lifetime, international stories about El Salvador were rarely positive.
People outside the country heard about civil war, gangs, crime, poverty and migration. Those stories became so dominant that many people knew almost nothing else about the country.
Some still have that image today.
But there is another El Salvador that those of us who live here see every day.
It is a country of beaches and mountains, volcanoes and lakes, archaeological sites, historic towns, family traditions, food, music and people working to build better lives.
Increasingly, that El Salvador is reaching international audiences.
We have seen international attention surrounding surfing and major sporting events. Salvadoran coffee is receiving recognition abroad. Archaeological discoveries are attracting interest. Tourism continues bringing more visitors. Cultural events are receiving more attention.
Now international fashion has entered the picture.
None of these stories alone will completely change how the world sees El Salvador.
Together, however, they begin to create a very different picture.
More Than a Fashion Shoot
I am not someone who follows the international fashion industry very closely, and normally a fashion photography story would probably not get my attention.
This one did.
What interested me was seeing El Salvador itself becoming part of the story.
The rocks, the ocean, the tropical landscape and the atmosphere of El Zonte are not simply sitting quietly in the background. They are part of what makes the photographs interesting.
That is important.
There is a difference between a country paying for a tourism advertisement and an international publication deciding that the country is interesting enough to become part of its own editorial work.
Vogue chose El Salvador.
That is why I believe this small story deserves some attention.
And This Is Only Part One
There may also be more to come.
According to Diario El Salvador, the El Zonte photographs are being presented as “Part 1” of a series designed to showcase and rediscover El Salvador for an international audience.
That leaves an interesting question.
Where will Vogue go next?
Perhaps we will see another beach. Maybe a colonial town, a volcano, a coffee plantation, one of our archaeological sites or another part of the country rarely seen by international audiences.
Whatever comes next, I will be interested to see it.
Because for me, the most important part of this story is not whether El Salvador is becoming fashionable.
It is that people around the world are being given another opportunity to see El Salvador differently.
And sometimes changing the way people see a country begins with something as simple as a photograph.
Source: Diario El Salvador, August 30, 2026; additional background from Vogue and interviews with the Turlington family.
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