Monday, February 19, 2024

Social Inclusion in Guatemala Part 2

 

Mural by Carin Steen

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!

Mural by Carin Steen
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!

Mural by Carin Steen

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.

Mural by Carin Steen

Mural by Carin Steen

Mural by Carin Steen


Friday, January 12, 2024

Social Inclusion in Guatemala

Mural in San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala

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.

Mural in San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala
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!

Mural in San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala
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.

To be continued!

 

Mural in San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala


Friday, March 17, 2023

You can’t have enough colour on a wall!

 

MuralArte Guate

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.


MuralArte Guate

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!

MuralArte Guate

This project (the two murals and the workshop) was sponsored by the Dutch Foundation Colour4Kids.

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate


Wednesday, March 8, 2023

After School Fun

MuralArte Guate

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!

Mural 6.75 x 2.75m

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate

MuralArte Guate


Sunday, February 26, 2023

Agua es vida, Water is Life…

 

MuralArte Guate

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.

MuralArte Guate
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.)

MuralArte Guate
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.)

MuralArte Guate
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!

 

MuralArte Guate

This mural was made in collaboration with Urban HeART and sponsored by Dutch Foundation Colour4Kids.

MuralArte Guate


Thursday, December 22, 2022

A Mural with Volcano View

 

Community mural in El Hato

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!

Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala

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.
Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala

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…

Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala

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!

Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala

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.

Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala

Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala

Community Mural in El Hato, Antigua Guatemala


 

 

Monday, December 5, 2022

A Jungle for Special Children

 

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque
Tepezcuintle (detail)

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.

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque
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.

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque
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.

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque
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.

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque

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.

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque

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!

Community Mural San Martín Jilotepeque