“There is a war here in the Aguán,” says Juan, surveying the distant fields of African palm from the vantage point of his recently planted field of beans and corn. A young Honduran farmer, wearing a beaten cowboy hat and a bandana bearing the name “National Front for Popular Resistance,” Juan lives in an encampment…
Popular Theater Takes on La Quesera Massacre in El Salvador
I came to El Salvador as a volunteer with Art Corps, an organization that places artists in residence with Central American communities. Art Corps’ mission is to share art as a tool to engage participation and raise awareness of social and environmental issues. Using theater to restore historic memory affirms the dignity of personal experience,…
There is No Poverty in a Mother’s Heart
Women actors name their mothers, one by one, to initiate their performance of “¡Somos Mujeres, Somos Madres!” (We are Women, We are Mothers!), an original, collectively-developed theater production based on their personal and ancestral stories. At Somos Mayfair–a community-based organization located in the low-income, immigrant neighborhood of Mayfair in east San José, CA–cultural work and…
Reclaiming Culture: ¡Que Viva la Posada!
Twelve immigrant women stand in a circle, holding hands, reflecting on why it is important to organize an annual Posada and Pastorela event in the Mayfair community of east San José, California. The women are members of Familias Unidas (United Families), which is dedicated to raising awareness and analysis of issues facing this small barrio…