This story is in our first edition of Elevé, Anchor’s lifestyle magazine celebrating the people behind the profession.
Elevé features long-form stories about identity, passion, and life beyond work, told through the voices of firm owners, accountants, and leaders across the community.
Subscribe to Elevé to stay up to date on new issues and future releases.
The Journey Back to Herself
“You cannot eat a pupusa with a fork,” Astrid Galvez says with a laugh, her voice as warm and rich as the Pacific waters she loves to surf. “It just doesn’t work that way.”
In one sentence, she captures the essence of her life where she’s grounded in tradition, full of joy, and never far from family, community, and a good meal.
Astrid, a quietly magnetic force in the accounting world, was born in El Salvador, spent two decades in Los Angeles, and now calls Washington home. But no matter where she lives, her heart always carries the colors, flavors, and spirit of El Salvador.
A Slow and Beautiful Transition
Astrid’s American story began in 1997, when she arrived as a teenager. Her sisters followed years later, each step a slow layering of their shared journey.
“It was a slow transition,” she says, remembering those early days with a reflective grace. “We faced barriers we didn’t even know existed, the language, the system, the culture. Everything was new.”
Landing in Los Angeles cracked her world wide open.
“Back home, we all looked the same. In LA, every face, every street corner was different. It was overwhelming, but it was a beautiful shock.”
In a city filled with contrasts, Astrid found expansion instead of erasure. She learned how to hold her heritage and her future in the same hand. Over time, that balancing act became a rhythm.
A Return to Where it All Began
Every spring, after tax season winds down, Astrid and her sisters head home to El Salvador, where coconut trees lean lazily in the sun and where the soul breathes differently.
“We made it a tradition,” she says. “It’s not just a vacation. It’s a reset.”
Days start with fresh coconut water. Afternoons hum with the scent of grilled pupusas, hand-pressed and filled with pork, beans, and cheese, topped with bright pickled cabbage and ladles of tomato salsa.
“You have to eat them with your hands,” Astrid says, smiling. “It’s messy. It’s perfect. It’s life.”
There’s no rush, no fork, no need to explain. Each bite tastes like home, like memory, like restoration.
Surf Lessons, Volcano Hikes, and a Full Heart
Adventure is woven into every trip home. Some years, it is surfing lessons, Astrid’s sacred ritual. Other years, it is hiking volcano peaks, ziplining through lush forests, or wandering the misty highlands.
“El Salvador may be small,” she says, “but it is packed with magic. One morning, you’re hiking a volcano. That afternoon, you’re surfing world-class waves.”
Her favorite kind of day begins barefoot on the sand and ends with fresh seafood eaten as the sunset melts into the Pacific. There’s salt in the air and nothing on the agenda but joy.
And no matter the plan, one tradition never changes.
“The first thing I do when I land? I book a surf lesson,” she says, grinning.
The ocean is not just a playground. For Astrid, it’s a place to release, to reconnect, and to remember who she is outside the pressures of work and expectation.
Family, Business, and the Art of Trust
Running a business with your sisters sounds dreamy, and most days, it is.
“There are challenges,” Astrid says. “Especially when we are exhausted at the end of the season. But we trust each other. We communicate. We are honest.”
The firm they run is more than an accounting practice, but it embodies a bridge for Hispanic entrepreneurs. A place where stories are understood, and dreams are translated without explanation.
“Our work is deeply personal,” Astrid says. “We know the barriers because we lived them.”
Clients do not just drop off forms. They share stories. They find comfort. They find community. And sometimes, they find strength in hearing that the woman behind the spreadsheet has walked a path that looks like their own.
A Homeland Stitched Into the Soul
Ask Astrid what she wishes people knew about El Salvador, and she answers without hesitation.
“The warmth you feel when you land, it’s not just the tropical air. It’s the people. They welcome you like family.”
Her top five musts for first-time visitors? Eat a pupusa with your hands. Surf the Pacific. Hike a volcano. Drink coconut water straight from the source. Leave room for surprise.
“El Salvador fills you up,” she says. “It reminds you who you are and why you started.”
For Astrid, every trip home is a full circle, a reconnection to purpose, a renewal of spirit, and a reminder that sometimes, the truest version of yourself is waiting right where you began.
And sometimes, it is folded into the soft, sizzling warmth of a pupusa, eaten by the sea with salt in your hair and gratitude in your hands.
Elevé is brought to you by Anchor. We believe in elevating people beyond their lives outside of work. If you want to be included in the next issue, please send an email to [email protected].
