We have now been traveling to San Miguel for a month. We spend Monday evenings through Thursday or Friday afternoon in San Miguel teaching in the schools, coaching soccer practice, doing individual research, etc. This past week was our second teaching in the school and this coming week I will be beginning my own project “El Taller;” a series of workshops focused on art, theatre and storytelling. As some may know, being a part of SMOT (San Miguel Outreach Team) each intern is to develop a project of their own creation. As a community organizer from multiple communities, I had a hard time creating momentum in my project. I didn’t want to begin a project as an outsider, and since I can’t avoid the outsider aspect- I didn’t know how to begin my project.
What I ended up doing was talking with Maestros Teddy and José at the school in San Miguel and a friend Kathy whose son attends the school. What I finalized last week was that I will be facilitating workshops in San Miguel every Wednesday from 3:00-5:00pm. There is no age requirement or limit and I honestly hope to draw folks of all ages. I will be inviting young people from all of the schools of the San Martín county this coming week and I will also post flyers at bus stops and chinitos in hopes of making more than just young people aware of the talleres.
In the seven week series we will cover bookmaking, poetry, puppet making, music, and theatre. At the end of the series we will also have a presentation in which we will invite all familiares and friends of those involved in the talleres to the space for a sharing. The objective of the talleres is to engage young and old people alike through arts and storytelling. The purpose is to share something that has the ability to serve as a tool for self-expression, creative growth, and the creation of safe space.
Originally I was just going to try working with young people, but I quickly realized that all folks can benefit from the above. Thus, we will keep an open invitation for everyone in the area and see where it takes us.
PEACE
Alida