artist "encuentro" to Sacacoyo projects n. 10ish

It has been a while since the last time I wrote and I am sorry to leave you all hanging on the edge of your seats as you wait eagerly for the next entry. So, without further ado I present to you the latest update of Art for social action with FUNDAHMER and ArtCorps in Central America.
During this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending an “encuentro de artistas” (the English words escape me these days), in Monte Rico Guatemala. Thursday afternoon Robyn Saxer and I had an official vacation countdown, as we decided that although we were headed to Guatemala to see and give presentations, participate in brainstorms and contribute to manual writing, we were also headed to the beach and that calls for celebration (and even if it is false information, the word VACATION)!
Getting to Monte Rico was a lot easier than getting back…On the way there we rode a direct bus to a little town called Taxisco and from there we took a bus to Las Avellanas and from Avellanas we took a long skinny boat to Monte Rico. This boat with a tin roof and wobbly wooden benches was an interesting change from the frantic, old American school busses that I ride back and forth in going between Sacacoyo and San Salvador. I certainly felt like I was on vacation when I didn’t even have to hang on to anything in order to keep myself from falling over. This public transport was smooth and relaxing and I imagine that the residents of this area are a lot more “tranquilo” if only for their mode of transportation, than those who ride the chaotic busses of San Salvador to and from work every day.
The “encuentro” was really enlightening and interesting. There was an incredible range of diversity to the experiences that people are having. And, the artistic initiatives varied from that of Alayna Wool, who is constructing a floor from local clay in a community center (my dream project), to Mike Kirby’s project of repainting an entire pueblo near Lago Atitlan with a team of local muralists. The space, the chance to get away from things, and the time to reflect allowed me to reground myself and get back to my original project ideas and evaluate what is working and what is not. I came back to El Salvador with a renewed energy to keep working and a new appreciation for my friends and community.
Since being back, and since my last blog entry, A LOT has happened. Here is the brief version…
I have started painting an environmental mural in the Sacacoyo High school with 21 students from the creativity class. The women’s committee card and basket sales are still going strong and we are really starting to analyze the quality of the work as well as trying to explore the value and rewards of the creative process. I have begun working with the education team, Cristina-the artist from last year and a few local artists to help been working to help develop the next FUNDAHMER arts and culture initiative. The new branch of art and culture is a diploma program/series of arts and popular education workshops that will involve youth from 9 different El Salvadoran communities with the goal of training them as young facilitators who will later communicate the content of the workshop to their communities enriching and implementing new elements of arts and culture in these 9 communities. As for the youth group of Buena Vista, my main project, we are continuing with our river clean up project and will be spending a full day Sunday repairing walls and designing murals which will add color and communicate environmental messages to the locals about the importance of taking care of their river and the environment. Right now we are waiting for a response from the local mayor to see if they will be able to support our efforts by providing trashcans and a trash pick up service. Collaborating with the local government is a bit of a new concept for the people in my community as well as for the other party, but hopefully this exchange will break the ice for more collaboration in the future.
Ok… My dear friends! I am off to buy materials for a banner we will be painting with the youth on Sunday. We have our first FULL day event with them in two days… I can barely believe it. Normally, we only meet two hours a week, but since they will be on vacation until the 6th, we will be taking full advantage of their time.
Sending lots of love from down south!
Laura