Up before dawn
and on the road at 5am. The things we do for the arts! Also to beat the blazing
sun later on, as well as the traffic. Although, driving in the pre-dawn dark
wasn’t much fun. Plenty of traffic already with many cars outfitted like
Christmas trees. In Guatemala there is no middle way: people drive without any
lights at all, or they pimp their vehicles till they look like the tandem bicycle
in Men in Black II.
We made it to
San Martín Jilotepeque and at 6.30am on the dot we were at work. As soon as we
got out of the car, we were warmly greeted by two street dogs who stuck with us
during the day. Despite of their heartwarming hugs, it was COLD! Something like 12°C. But we knew it wouldn’t last for long. An
indeed, as soon as the sun made it over the mountain tops and then over the buildings
in our street, it was HOT. From 12°C to 28°C in two hours’ time, WOW!
We were back in
San Martín Jilotepeque to finish the mural we had started last month. It wasn’t
an awful lot of work, but the details that were pending were important ones. Such
as the name of the school and the symbols that represent different special needs.
Now it’s all done and finally the mural, with social inclusion as a theme, makes sense!
It won’t be our
last time in San Martín Jilotepeque. With the Dutch Foundation Colour4Kids we’re
still raising funds for the construction of a second level for this school for
children with special needs. Another level means more walls, so hopefully more
paint projects in the future!
This mural is
sponsored by Colour4Kids. Many thanks to Catherine Corry for driving (again!)
as well as doing a terrific paint job. And thanks to our friend Cristy Velasco
who brought us coffee and her delicious carrot cake.
It was
cold, that chilly kind of cold before the sun announces its appearance with bleak
streaks of light. Dressed in sweaters and scarves, our all-girl team of four
set out for San Martín Jilotepeque. We left this early to beat the traffic and
to have an early start because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.
The wall at
the Escuela de Educación Especial (School for children with special
needs) was ready for us. The cinder block wall was neatly stuccoed and ready
for some colour. In accordance with the director of the school, I had made a design
about social inclusion with a focus on respect and acceptance, something that persons
with special needs still struggle with in rural Guatemala.
It was a
tough job! Despite January being the coldest month of the year, the heat was
relentless. The white wall reflected the fierce sunlight and heavy traffic was
thundering along, right behind our backs. The cones that the friendly traffic
police had placed on the road helped a bit to keep us safe but didn’t do much
for the exhaustion fumes. It was so bad, we all opted for a facemask, despite the
heat! And to top it off, some workmen started opening the road right next to
our wall. The noise, the heat, the dust and dirt made it a tough day’s work.
The next
day we left even earlier. Sunrise over the mountains of San Martín Jilotepeque
was a treat. It felt as if the temperature had slightly dropped and even the traffic
seemed to have slowed down a bit. Ten more hours of painting and the wall was
completely covered in paint. But alas, we couldn’t finish it completely. Some very
important details still need to be painted, such as the name of the school and
the symbols for the different abilities that go on the blue squares at the top.
I also want to paint the small part at the very right of the wall. So, I’ll
have to go back.
Going back
to San Martín Jilotepeque was in the planning anyway, because with the Dutch
foundation Colour4Kids we’re fundraising towards the construction of a much
needed second level at the school. As soon as we’ll have raised the needed
funds (donations are very welcome!), the construction can get started. The
first thing to be built is a ramp leading to the first floor. In order to do
so, the outside wall will be raised a bit and this part needs to be painted
too, so I’m going back no matter what. Hopefully sooner rather than later!
This mural
would not have been possible without the help of Catherine Corry, Gaby Rodriguez
and Diana Hernández, my fantastic painting crew. Thanks also to Elmer Hernández
Lara, director of the school for helping with the logistics and the parents who
volunteered to stucco the wall. Thanks to Cristy Velasco for the delicious lunch and snacks. And of course, a big shout-out to Colour4Kids for
sponsoring this mural.
Blazing sun, tuc-tucs, school kids, roaring
motorbikes, street vendors, debt collectors, drunkards, goats, housewives,
workmen, more kids, fire truck, stray dogs in all shapes and sizes… To say the
street leading to the Vista Hermosa neighbourhood is busy, is an understatement…
This was community mural painting at its best, with children who gave a willing
helping hand, lots of appreciative feedback from neighbours, drinks being
offered and happy teachers at the school we were painting at.
Little by little Vista Hermosa in
Jocotenango, Guatemala, is being transformed from a dangerous and ugly barrio
into a colourful, much cleaner and liveable community. Thanks to the UrbanHeART collective, an initiative from young people from this community, murals
keep popping up. In November 2021 we painted a 12-meter-long mural at the
public wash basin at the entrance of the neighbourhood. This year we continued
the collaboration with Urban HeART with a workshop for a group of young painters
and two murals, one at the side wall of the public wash basin, the other one at
the wall of the kindergarten, along the street that leads into Vista Hermosa. The
surface was a bit rough, but the dimensions nice and big (26 meter long!) and also
very public. It was a pleasure to work with Denilson Larios and Gustavo Illescas of
Urban HeART!
This project (the two murals and the
workshop) was sponsored by the Dutch Foundation Colour4Kids.
I like nothing better than when you meet someone on Friday to discuss a possible mural and the very next Monday the mural is up on the wall already! That happened when I met Lynn who is setting up an after school literacy program in San Lorenzo El Cubo, a small town not too far from Antigua Guatemala. We quickly agreed on the design and I happened to have time to go paint the next Monday, so here it is!
The program (ALAS, in collaboration with FFF Finding Freedom Through Friendship) officially starts today, so the timing was perfect. Congratulations and good luck with the project!
In
November 2021, I painted water in many of its facets on a 12-meter-long wall
along the public wash basin in Vista Hermosa, a neighbourhood in the town of
Jocotenango, Guatemala. The young people who set it up and helped paint, are
members of Urban HeART, a grassroots initiative to make their neighbourhood
more liveable through cultural activities. The transformation is clearly
visible after two years and the area has become considerably nicer and safer,
not only because the neighbourhood looks more cheerful, but also because people
are more united, are now proud of their community and keep the streets much
cleaner.
Nevertheless,
the living situation is still difficult and sometimes even dangerous. A second
mural had to be postponed. First because of COVID, then because of serious death
threats towards people in the community. Tragically, the brother of one of the
Urban HeART leaders was killed and a week later another (ex) member. The night
before we started painting, two brothers aged 14 and 18 were shot dead when
leaving the local cinema. (These deaths are unrelated to the mural initiative. But
unfortunately, this is the reality children and adolescents in this community have
to face every day.)
But
the kids from Urban HeART don't give up and still believe in art as an
alternative to a future full of drugs, gangs and violence. And that's why we
just keep painting!
This
time around, we painted the side wall of the pila or public washing area. Although
not very big (4 x 5 meter), It was a tough wall to deal with, made of adobe, quite
deteriorated and with lots of damage. It had to plastered first, then primed,
to be followed by a base colour. I painted two giant water birds (egrets), based
on ancient illustrations from ancient Maya codices. My colleagues painted the
background, combining spray paint with brush work. I varnished the birds, but
not the background, so the difference between shiny and matte background helps
the optical solution of seeing reflection on the water. (Unfortunately, hard to
see on the photos.)
And
while prepping the wall, I touched up the big mural there where it was somewhat
damaged by moisture. Now everything looks like new again, just in time for the
opening of the new soccer field right across the street. A little bit of colour
can make a big difference!
This
mural was made in collaboration with Urban HeART and sponsored by Dutch Foundation
Colour4Kids.
I can’t complain about my “office”! This time I
was working high up in the mountains above Antigua Guatemala, with a terrific
view of the Fuego and Acatenango volcanoes. The village of El Hato is a far cry
from the prosperous colonial town of Antigua. In El Hato, most people live in humble
circumstances. Many of them grow flowers (mostly cala lilies, agapanthus and carnations)
which they sell at the market of Antigua. The village just got a much-needed
brand-new school building with plenty of blank walls. A perfect spot for a
mural!
About two weeks ago I went up to meet the director
Patricia Toledo to hear about her ideas and have a look at walls. Initially her
idea was to have a mural painted around the sports court, but unfortunately that
wall was in a rough shape (lots of humidity) and would need lots of repairing
without the guarantee it would hold up a mural. In the end we decided on a
wall next to the director’s office, at the entrance of the school, quite visible
from the road. A perfect spot! The wall is 7 meters long and 3 meters high, a
nice size to work at. Theme? Something positive, something colourful and with
the flowers they grow in the community. And, as a special request, could we paint
the school’s emblem on the wall too? Well, why not.
The whole project got delayed a bit because
Covid finally caught up with me, but once recovered, Elio (AKA Henry) and I
went up the hill and up the ladder. We didn’t involve any kids this time
because of possible lingering Covid. The teachers had just started their
holiday, so we had the place to ourselves.
The painting took a little longer than I had
expected. Elio worked on the emblem, just needed me for the letters, that was
all. Then he helped me with the background of geometric shapes that just take
an awful long time to paint. Although the wall was brand new with a fresh coat
of paint, it required no less than three layers to nicely cover up. Oh, and it
was HOT! Freezing cold in the mornings, but as soon as the sun started peeking
over the mountain, it was just blazingly hot with a blinding reflection on the
white wall. But, a few days of hard work in and the mural was done…
When I sent pictures of the result to the
director, she said she loved the mural, but when would I finish the school’s
crest? I was like: Excuse me? It’s already finished!
No, she said, it’s missing the school’s name!
One of those facepalm moments. No one to blame but
me… So soon I’ll make another trip up the hill… But, for now the work is done.
I hope the kids like it too!
This mural was generously sponsored by Dutch
Foundation Colour4Kids. (Thank you, Jos Ruijs!) Many thanks to Catherine for the
ride and to David Dean for the contacts.
Sixty
square meters, thirty children, twenty litres of paint, five long days and lots
of jungle. That basically sums up the mural project in San Martín Jilotepeque.
It
has been almost a year since I visited this school for children with special
needs for the first time and met director Telma Calan. It’s thanks to her that
children with all kinds of special needs receive education at a place where
they are treated with love and respect. Not an easy feat because all her
students have very different needs and range in age from four to twenty.
The
school is located in the centre of the buzzling town of San Martín de
Jilotepeque. It’s a bit of a concrete jungle there, with lots of traffic, stray
dogs, dirt and noise. The children are from the town itself and its surrounding
villages, many of them from low-income families. They’ll likely never go on a
trip and are rarely surrounded by soothing nature. That’s why I decided to
paint them a jungle in their schoolyard. To have a bit of green in their yard,
even if it’s just paint, and of course plenty of animals.
Of
course, the children were going to be involved in the process. The problem was
that I didn’t know them, so I had no idea about their abilities. With that in
mind I made a design in which they could help paint the background on which we
would add details later on.
The teachers had arranged for the children to come in small groups which worked
out quite well. Dressed in old T-shirts we had brought for the occasion, the
children happily grabbed brushes and rollers. Minutes later everything was pale
blue, yellow and green, including the floor and the children’s faces. It was a
lovely mess and the kids clearly had a lot of fun.
The next group of kids was a bit older and quickly finished the rest of the
wall, even the highest parts. We could barely stop them from painting the rest
of the wall which we need to keep blank for the children who’d come the next
day.
While
the children painted their hearts out under Catherine’s supervision (some parts
of the wall received no less than three generous layers of paint!), Elio (aka
Henry) and I worked on plants and animals. I had planned to work from left to
right, but upon arrival, the director told us they were having a graduation on
Friday and planned to do it in front of the right side of the wall. So that’s
where we started in order to have it ready for the grand finale.
I
made the mistake of cramming too many things in the first section of the wall which
left us with barely enough time for the rest of the wall. It turned out that
with this kind of design, five long days of painting were scarcely enough. To
be honest, I would have liked to have painted more animals and specific plants,
but alas, we could only stay so long. But since we are already making plans to
paint the outside wall next year, I might be able to add a few critters then.
The
last day was a big one! It was the celebration of the end of the school year,
the graduation of kindergarten and sixth grade students as well as the
inauguration of the mural. The ceremony included the usual prayer, oath to the
flag, national anthem and the official entrance of honour roll students. Very
cute but a little bittersweet for the sixth graders who will now leave this
special place in order to continue their education at a regular middle school.
I
have never officially opened any of my murals in such a festive way! It was fun
to cut the ribbon in front of all the students and their parents. Then it was
time for a delicious lunch and afterwards a few more hours of painting for us.
Night was falling when we packed up and headed back home to Antigua. Exhausted,
stained, stinky and dirty, but quite happy.
This
mural is a true community project. Not just because it was designed for all the
students, their parents and teachers of the school, but also because it would
not have been possible without the help of a LOT of people.
In
the first place, thanks to Elio Navarijo and Catherine Corry for joining me on
this venture and working their butts off! Many thanks to director Telma Calan
and staff of the school for receiving us so warmly and for providing labour for
plastering the wall. Of course, may thanks too to all the students who helped
paint. So much fun! A special thank-you to Cristy Velasco, our friend in San
Martín Jilotepeque who introduced us to the school and who kept on spoiling us
with delicious snacks. And many, many thanks to all the people who helped
sponsoring this mural! The list is long and for privacy reasons I’ll just
mention first names:
Peter, Fredy, Argi, Wendy, Katie, Pilar, Ria, Casey, Jeroen, Linda, Bonnie,
Tamra, Indara, David, Cathy, Dana, Frank, Maureen, Kimberly, Ana María,
Patricia, Judith, Jeff, Chris, Maite, Debra, Buddy, Christine, Shoshi, Suzanne,
Rokus, Paulina, Judy, Liza and Catherine. Thank you all so much!
But
it doesn’t end here!!! We have been asked to come back to paint the outside of
the school… The wall already has a mural, quite cute in its own way, but my fingers
are itching… I’m thinking social inclusion as a theme… Can’t wait till next
year!