Grupo Aguacero, planting a Seed and watching it grow

If you look at my earliest entries in this blog you will see that I have been working with Grupo Aguacero for about 6 years now. Most of them started out as 15 or 16 year olds in high school and now most are graduating college already. It was always my intention to keep working with them until they reached the point where they were self sufficient and could go on their own. Well, it looks like that time has come, my kids are all grown up. The entire project in Cartagena, Soñando ser Fotógrafo, was planned and carried out by the members of the group. I hardly had to do anything. The students have now become the teachers. It gives me such a sense of pride to see the seeds I helped plant 6 years ago now blossoming.

Process in La Boquilla

Here is a slideshow showing the process of the 4 workshops in Soñando ser Fotógrafo (Dreaming of Being a Photographer) in La Boquilla, Cartagena in Colombia.

Click on YouTube logo to see video larger directly on YouTube.

Arriving at La Boquilla, Cartagena

After getting into Cartagena late last night (after a 26 hour bus ride) today is our first workshop with Los Reporteritos de La Boquilla and Organicación Fundación Proboquilla. I am here as a member of Grupo Aguacero, comprised of my students from Cali's Aguablanca District that I have been working with for the past 6 years.

La Boquilla is located right on the water about 20 minutes walk from where we are staying in my Aunt Jenny's Apt. These 18 students, aged 10 - 16, have received workshops in the past on topics ranging from web design to journalism. We spent our first day getting to know each other and outlining the rest of the workshops. The people in this community make their living from the sea and the tourists who make Cartagena Colombia's #1 tourist attraction. The overwhelming majority (like 90%) of the residents are Afro-Colombian.

Devoción a La Vírgen del Carmen (Devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)

This video was created by Grupo Flormorado and explains the significance of their very important celebration of La Virgen del Carmen (our Lady of Mt. Carmel). I was really intrigued by how little I knew about it and what a big deal it is for the residents of La Florida as well as the rest of Colombia. I have been teaching the students digital video this summer along with traditional and digital photography, and this is just the first in a series that the students will be making about their traditions.

Adios a La Florida

 Tonight we had a small exhibition of the students work at the town hall where many in the community got to see how much Grupo Flormorado has accomplished this past month. I am sad to be going but know that I am leaving the group in good hands with Padre Angel, professor Camilo Arango, and the parents of the students. They now have in addition to a darkroom a computer lab with 3 Macintosh computers, a scanner/laser printer, and Internet access. I can't wait to get back to Philly so that we can start our cultural exchange with my Stetson Shutterbugs!

First Photograms

These are the first photograms my students in La Florida have created. A Photogram is a simple photographic process of basically collages on top of photographic paper in the darkroom that is then exposed by the enlarger. The students were asked to use items of personal significance in their photograms.

Photogram by Brayan

Photogram by Jaimer

Photogram by Lorena

Photogram by Miguel Angel

Photogram by Nelly

First Pinhole Photos!

Here are some of my La Florida students' first pinhole photos. These images were taken with recycled cans that we transformed into cameras. These images depict the students and areas of La Florida that the students feel connected to.

Photo by Catherine 

Photo by Erick

Photo by Johan

Photo by Maria Jose

Photo by Miguel Angel

La Florida-getting back to business

The primary goal of my trip to Colombia this summer is to get my project in La Florida off and running. Last year we made a good start but we had a problem getting a teacher to keep the project going when I was gone so things have moved slowly. My students are still excited, however, and ready to get busy! Our first week has been devoted to Pinhole Photography and Fotograms. Check out some picts of our first week below.

Gravy and Meatball with Grupo Aguacero

I am so excited to be back in Colombia for the summer, working with my students, taking photographs, and doing what I love. My first stop is Cali and my students from grupo Aguacero. They are always cooking for me, showing me dishes from Colombia, so this time I wanted them to experience something from Philly. I'm not much of a cook (but I can boil water!), so I brought down gravy and meatballs from renowned Vill di Roma Restaurant in South Philly so they could experience spaghetti like I did when I was growing up. Colombians' and many Latinos' idea of spaghetti is pasta with ketchup mixed with rice. Yuck! This time they got to try the real deal!

Reception in La Florida

Wow. It felt like the whole town was there to welcome me to La Florida today! It was amazing to see the enthusiasm and support that the community has for this project. I can't wait to get started with the students tomorrow!

Meeting my New Students

Today I met with my new students for the first time at La Javeriana University in Bogota. I was a little surprised when instead of the 15 students I expected I saw almost 40! It seems Padre Angel from Fundación San Martín de Porres has a tough time saying no. :-)


I discussed what we will be doing over the next few weeks and looked at what our goals and expectations will be. Then we broke up into groups with the help of Jenny Paola from Grincol Communications and Pillar from La Javeriana and worked on the name for the group, as well as mission and vision statements for our project. 

FLORMORADO (Purple Flower local to La Florida where it gets it's name)

Fotos por descubrir… de la florida para el mundo entero

Photographs to discover  . . . from la Florida and the entire world.

Mission: 
Mediante la fotografía sesibilizarnos y enseñar al mundo nuestras costumbres campesinas, con la participación activa de la comunidad de La Florida en su diario vivir, aprovechando nuestros propios recursos.


Using photography to better understand and show the world our rural customs, with the active participation of the community of La Florida in their daily lives, using our own resources.


Vision:
Consolidarnos como un equipo de fotógrafos, multiplicador, que construye conocimiento y opera trabajando la problematica social que vive nuestro pueblo, para mejorar la calidad de vida y la conservación del medio ambiente.


Consolidate as a team of photographers that builds a working knowledge of the social problems facing our people, to improve the quality of life and environmental conservation.


What a great start, I can't wait to go to La Florida tomorrow and REALLY get this project started!

Reunited with Grupo Aguacero

Today I was finally reunited with Grupo Aguacero after three long years. I am so proud that the group continues to do great work in Aguablanca. We will be continuing to work together even as I begin the next phase of Cameras for Colombia next week in La Florida.

New Project!

Here I am meeting students from Fundación San Martín de Porres at a computer lab at La Javeriana in 2009.

I am so happy to announce a new outreach project I will be doing in Colombia working with a group of students from Fundación San Martín de Porres, located in a farming community outside Bogotá. In collaboration with La Javeriana in Bogotá, one of Colombia's most respected Universities, I will be embarking on a two-year project with a group of students from the Fundación. Much like my previous group in Cali, these students will learn to use the camera as a tool to explore their culture and share their stories. In addition, I will be building a darkroom for them similar to the one I just recently completed at Stetson Middle School in Philadelphia. In fact, an integral part of the project will be a distance learning program where both groups of students will learn about each other's respective cultures using photography as well as video. Details are still being worked but the project could start as early as this coming September.

Mexican Night

I have many good friends who are "undocumented" and mostly Mexican that work in restaurants and other businesses throughout Philadelphia. Because of the long hours they work, they can never make it to any of my shows so I decided to have a "Midnight Reception" for them. It was also my amigo Mexicano "Pedro's" birthday, so we combined it into one big party where Colombia met Mexico. I was happy that my buddies finally got a chance to see my work and that of my students, and even happier that so many other people came out as well.

Below is a pic of me and "Pedro" as well as one of me with my brothers of Gamma Phi Sigma, Hermanos Unidos, Fraterity, Inc. Plus the dancing queen, my mom, was back in action as you can check out in the video clip.

My Show Opening

My opening on First Friday was amazing with hundreds of people coming through Third Street Gallery. There was authentic Colombian snacks provided by Colombian Bakery as well as lots of cumbia and vallenato, traditional Colombian music. I was happy to see so many people come out and support my students and me. What made my night, however, was having my mom in town to be there with me. Below is a pict of (from l to r) my aunt Lucy, me, my mother Amparo, my cousin Lydia and my cousin Gilberto.




Below is a little low-rez video clip showing the crowd that was going through the gallery all night long.

Getting Ready for My Show

Now that my students from Grupo Agua 0 have had their show in Colombia, it is time for me to get ready for my show next month at Third Street Gallery in Old City, Philadelphia. I'm excited to be showing all new work from my last few trips to Colombia. Also, these are black and white traditional silver prints, most of which were printed by renowned master printer Robert Asman. In addition to my work there will be select images from Grupo Agua 0, the first time their work will be displayed outside Colombia. The title of our show is Colombia: Nuestro Pueblo or Colombia: Our Home. It demonstrates the different perspectives my students and I have when we look at the city of Cali, Colombia: a place we all consider home.

Exhibit Time!

Last week the students had their culminating exhibition titled: Miradas Pacíficas (Pacific Views) in conjunction with La Festival de Patronio Alvarez. This festival celebrates the culture and particularly the music of Colombians from the Pacific coast. The photographs dealt with that theme and we took a few trips to places with strong Pacific influences, Los Hormigueros and San Cipriano. Anyway, the exhibition was a huge success. Here are images from the opening. I'll post images from the show directly.


We served Arechón, a drink from the Pacific, at the opening. It reminds me of Puerto Rican Coquito, which is like egg nog but with a serious kick.


Astrid shows off some of her photographs.


There was also an awesome dance performance by a local group.

Below is a photo of me along with Hermán and his wife Claudia representing Foto Ackermann, one of our sponsors. For the 2nd year they donated the printing of the photographs for the exhibition.

ESPERA/Waiting by Lisseth

Esta foto fue tomada en la galeria santa Elena ubicada al sur oriente de cali, ella es una señora que vende gallinas. Me gustaba la expression de la señora, se ve pensativa.

This photo was taken at the Geleria (Market) de Santa Elena located in the southeast of Cali. She is a woman selling chickens. I liked her pensive expression.

A LA OREDEN/At Your Service by Lisseth

Ella esta organizando las frutas que vende, me gusto el color y la composicion. Es un trabajo arduo inicia desde la madrugada.

This woman is organizing the fruit that she sells. It is an arduous job beginning very early in the morning. I liked the color and composition of the photo.

EL CARNICERO/The Butcher by Anna Christina

Me impacto la sangre que tenia el señor en su ropa.

I was impacted by the the blood this man had on his shirt.