Somos Hijos de La Revolucion, Nuestra Almas Gritan Revolucion (We are Children of the Revolution, Our Souls Scream Out Revolution)

By: Deivid Rojas

Before I start make sure to listen to the following song while you read my blogpost. The following song is what is probably the most classic/famous Colombian song---enjoy.

El Camino de La Vida.mp3

These last three weeks we have been extremely busy with the program, as Cami wrote (which explains the lack of updates on the blog). We finished the end of the curriculum based program, sad I know, but before I talk about that I will give a quick recap of things that have gone down the last three weeks.

Taller de Tecnologia/Fotografia:

The taller that I have been facilitating with Andres (El Taller de Fotografia y Tecnologia) has gone pretty well. The kids have really enjoyed it. The first week was more technological based, teaching the kids how to use the basic camera and computer functions. While the second week we focused more on the ability to tell stories through pictures. However, through out the whole program we have focused on individual expression through photography.

Some of the activities we have done are:

Mixing identity through pictures:

Making stories out of pictures:

Creating a comic book story

Connecting multiple pictures through stories

For the final project, which is a culmination of everything we have learned, the groups are created a digital presentation using iMovie. They went pretty well. The older groups had the choice of either pretending to be the president, doing a self-portrait, or choosing a problem facing Colombians.

We had a variety of topics chosen. Everything from garbage problems to the poverty problem in Colombia. This presentation has given the kids a great opportunity to use technology to explore these topics. During the whole last week, the kids had the opportunity to interview government officials, talk to the police, and start conversations with regular Colombian citizens on the streets. This was a great moment for our taller because it is where eventually we wanted to arrive at--using technology to explore issues and problems that affect the kid’s lives.

& Now, the Unscripted Colombia:

La Universidad Nacional:

A week and a half-ago the group ventured into the unknown, otherwise called La

Universidad Nacional branch in Bogota (La U, La Nacho). We were lucky that Camila had a connection there, otherwise we might have never gone. Once inside the sprawling campus, we met with some very kind and energized group of students who were nice enough to show us around. I had been to two of the most prestigious universities in Bogota, La Javeriana and Los Andes, indeed very nice. Nevertheless, as I walked around La Nacional, there was more to this University than ‘nicety’. La Nacional smelled like the sweat of revolutionaries, it looked like a passionate, flame-hearted mosaic of quotes where many of the walls were tagged, drawn

on, and muralized. For a moment there I imagined myself drawing on Swarthmore’s walls, but then I realized I would probably be tazered. Perhaps the coolest thing was walking through a campus so filled with history. Thanks to our student-guides, we got a glimpse of the complex/violent/exciting history of La U. The massacre of 1984, Che speaking at La U (the space where he spoke is now called La Plaza Che), and los piedrasos (consisting of students throwing bricks at the police)

This speaks to the kind of student activism that is experienced here and in other parts of Latin America. Not that there has not been such experiences in the U.S., but even currently many students in Colombia fight (literally) against the government while students in the U.S. have shifted to a more "cause activism".

Misc. Pictures: