http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/pcap/
ARTE EN PRISION
El arte hace libre a un hombre que cumple cadena perpetua en Michigan Isabel Conde Washington (EFE).
Mientras se enfrenta a una cadena perpetua, el tejano Martín Vargas, que lleva 35 años en la cárcel, confiesa que "su amor por el arte le hace sentir libre" y que entre rejas, "disfruta de libertades que no podría tener en la calle". "Cuando pinto siento una paz que no puedo describir" confesó el preso en una entrevista exclusiva con Efe. Llegar hasta él en la cárcel de Alta Seguridad de Michigan fue posible gracias a la Universidad de Michigan, que colabora con un proyecto para exponer en estos días obras de artistas en prisión. Vargas estaba esperando la llamada de Efe, concertada previamente con la cárcel. Tardó poco en ponerse al teléfono. Si voz sonaba profunda y tranquila. "Mi arte me permite entrar en un lugar al que la gente de fuera, siempre con prisas y distracciones, no puede llegar", explicó Vargas.
Una vida tras los barrotes puede cambiar la vida a cualquiera, así que no es de extrañar que la vocación artística de este preso surgiera mientras cumplía su condena a cadena perpetua, con posibilidad de libertad condicional, tras haber cometido una violación cuando tenía 17 años. El no habla de su delito. Se considera totalmente rehabilitado. "Al entrar en la cárcel me di cuenta de que era capaz de hacer cosas que otros no eran capaces de hacer, así que utilicé mi habilidad artística como moneda de cambio para conseguir tabaco, café y demás cosas cotidianas", dijo Vargas.
El texano explicó que hacía dibujos para amigos y familiares de sus compañeros de prisión y que también los incluía en las cartas que enviaba a su novia, Bárbara Levin, a la que conoció en 1975, cuando llevaba tres años en la cárcel. Levin, que es su esposa desde 1994, le animó a que explotara su parte artística de una manera más exhaustiva y dos años depués, Vargas fue instruido en prisión por el profesor Herschell Turner, que fue toda una influencia para el preso. "Me enseñó a utilizar la luz y la ocuridad, me instruyó en la técnica del pastel que nunca antes había utilizado, pero sobre todo me proporcionó la confianza en mí mismo necesaria para tratar diferentes temáticas", explicó Vargas.
El estilo del artista, que se confiesa influido por pintores como Botero, Diego Rivera o Degas, comenzó siendo muy realista y detallado, pero ahora parece evolucionar hacia otro "más personal", según el propio Vargas. "Me gusta más pintar lo que siento que lo que veo, porque en la expresión de los sentimientos demuestras capacidad artística y no sólo técnica", aseveró el artista. Sus sentimientos ante la espera de la revisión de su sentencia, que tenía que haber sido revisada hace cerca de 20 años, le han llevado a la culminación de obras que cada año, desde hace 12, presenta en la Exhibición de Arte de los Convictos de Michigan. "Vargas es uno de de los mejores artistas con los que contamos, su trabajo es honesto y habla sobre su experiencia propia y la humana en general, se nota que tiene visión de artista", dijo de Vargas Alexander Buzz, comisario de la exposición. "Si estuviera fuera de la prisión, podría dedicarse al arte como profesional sin ningún problema, realmente es un pintor de calidad", añadió Buzz, que además es fundador del Proyecto de Artes Creativas en Prisión (PCAP).
La 12 edición de la Exhibición de Arte de los Convictos de Michigan se organiza cada año con el PCAP y la Universidad de Michigan y cuenta con las obras de más de 220 hombres y mujeres que cumplen condena en las prisiones de Michigan. "Se trata de un puente entre las personas que están dentro de la prisión y las que están fuera para así acabar con los estereotipos que rodean a los convictos", explicó Buzz. Para Vargas la exposición es "una oportunidad en todos los sentidos que me pone en contacto con el mundo exterior y tras la cual he recibido incluso varios encargos". Su sueño como pintor "es que nunca me abandone la pasión por el arte, no por el mío, sino el arte en general que me ha enseñado a darme cuenta que hasta en la peor de las situaciones la vida está llena de belleza", explicó Vargas. "El arte para mí es como un viento, que lleva de un lado a otro, a donde quiere llevarme, el viento me lleva", añadió el artista que aseguró que cree que no hubiera desarrollado su lado artístico de no haber sido condenado. "Si hay algo que debo agradecer a mi tiempo en prisión es mi amor por el arte porque fuera hay muchas distracciones, el mundo fuera es demasiado caótico para mi sentido artístico", aseguró Vargas. Como ser humano, sin embargo, el sueño de este artista entre rejas es la libertad.
No existe condena en el mundo que acabe con la esperanza de Vargas que, a pesar de tener la posibilidad de libertad condicional, aún no ha visto esa posibilidad realizada. "Las condenas se revisan cada cinco años, por su delito tenía que haber pasado cerca de 15 años en la cárcel y luego optar a la libertad condicional, pero todavía no hemos conseguido nada", dijo Levin que, además de su esposa, es abogada. Ambos mantienen la esperanza de que el año que viene la condena de Vargas sea revisada para darles de la oportunidad de vivir juntos por primera vez desde que se casaron y al mismo tiempo, demostrar a todo el mundo que la rehabilitación es posible. EFE
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/pcap/
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
The days of IMAP on the lake...
As I put on my third layer of clothes I started having flashbacks of Michigan winters with the fierce cold and spine-tingling winds, but as the first drop of sweat across my brow turned into a flood, reality set it - I was on a remote mountainside in the sweltering Guatemalan sun with Genaro about to harvest honey from 18 colonies of very territorial bees. I made it out without a sting, and as you can imagine, I smother everything I can with fresh honey thanks to our little friends.
When I arrived at IMAP, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I walked into a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, inter-generational atmosphere of perfect proportions. We are a team of about 10-12 people between 14 and 40, and all of the folks at the center speak in Kaqchikel first, one of 26 Mayan languages in Guatemala, and Spanish second. Here, I have continued learning a tremendous amount about the complicated, often sad, and just as often beautiful history and culture of Guatemala. The patience and willingness to share that Genaro, Ramiro, Ronè, and Chus have shown me is not something I will ever forget.
My first few days I was relegated to the top bunk in a house full of volunteers, which kept me safe from finding any scorpions in my bed, but of course, this didn´t stop me from getting zapped by one when I got out of the shower the other day. I had to cut off the third toe on my left foot to stop the venom from ascending my leg. Alas.
Here, the stories and traditions abound. For example, if you come across a hidden tunnel into one of the mountains, of which there are many, be careful because the elders say that time passes much quicker beneath the earth. 15 minutes below may cost you a day above. Ramiro passed on a trick from his grandfather about how to find a beautiful woman - something about braiding the hair of an ear of corn and reciting an old saying. I still have to sure up the details on this one. But there is certainly a pulsating current of old traditions and new, originated and imposed, and the obvious mix of them all. Stories of magic and folklore contend with those of strict religious observance, and everything inbetween.
To sum things up, the lake is the type of clear you hear about in distant lagoons, the food titilatingly fresh, and the air as crisp as a tortilla chip. Estoy contento aqui, muy contento.
When I arrived at IMAP, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I walked into a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, inter-generational atmosphere of perfect proportions. We are a team of about 10-12 people between 14 and 40, and all of the folks at the center speak in Kaqchikel first, one of 26 Mayan languages in Guatemala, and Spanish second. Here, I have continued learning a tremendous amount about the complicated, often sad, and just as often beautiful history and culture of Guatemala. The patience and willingness to share that Genaro, Ramiro, Ronè, and Chus have shown me is not something I will ever forget.
My first few days I was relegated to the top bunk in a house full of volunteers, which kept me safe from finding any scorpions in my bed, but of course, this didn´t stop me from getting zapped by one when I got out of the shower the other day. I had to cut off the third toe on my left foot to stop the venom from ascending my leg. Alas.
Here, the stories and traditions abound. For example, if you come across a hidden tunnel into one of the mountains, of which there are many, be careful because the elders say that time passes much quicker beneath the earth. 15 minutes below may cost you a day above. Ramiro passed on a trick from his grandfather about how to find a beautiful woman - something about braiding the hair of an ear of corn and reciting an old saying. I still have to sure up the details on this one. But there is certainly a pulsating current of old traditions and new, originated and imposed, and the obvious mix of them all. Stories of magic and folklore contend with those of strict religious observance, and everything inbetween.
To sum things up, the lake is the type of clear you hear about in distant lagoons, the food titilatingly fresh, and the air as crisp as a tortilla chip. Estoy contento aqui, muy contento.
Harvest of Shame: Child Labor and Free Trade in Guatemala
(http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/13/1335259)
President Bush traveled to Guatemala on Monday and said free trade can spread opportunity, provide jobs, and help lift people out of poverty. But according to a new report, there is a food processing plant less than 10 miles from where Bush spoke where children as young as 13 years old are working under deplorable conditions. We speak with veteran anti-sweatshop activist Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee about the report. [includes rush transcript]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the past week on his trip through Latin America President Bush has been praising U.S. efforts to end poverty in the hemisphere and promoting the benefits of so-called free trade agreements with Washington.
President Bush, speaking in Washington DC:
On Monday, President Bush traveled to Guatemala and said free trade can spread opportunity, provide jobs, and help lift people out of poverty.
But there is a darker side about U.S.-Guatemalan trade relations: less than 10 miles from where Bush spoke there is a food processing plant where children as young as 13 years old are working under deplorable conditions.
According to the New York-based National Labor Committee, the children, working at a factory owned by Legumex, harvest and process vegetables and fruits exported to the United States.
The National Labor Committee has just published a report on the conditions at the Legumex factory. It is titled "Harvest of Shame."
Charles Kernaghan joins me now. He is a veteran anti-sweatshop activist and the executive director of the National Labor Committee.
Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee:
The vast majority of the exports at the Legumex factory in Guatemala are sold to Superior Foods, based in Watsonville California. We invited a representative of Superior Foods to join us on the program but the company declined.
In an emailed statement, Marco Cruz of Superior Foods, wrote:
"We are committed to ensuring that all product purchased, sold or distributed by our company is produced with ethical labor practices and in strict compliance with local labor law. At every facility we work with in the U.S. and abroad, we conduct periodic audits and inspections to validate critical issues as food safety, food security, product quality and working conditions. We are surprised and concerned about the labor violations alleged in the NLC report and will immediately investigate these serious allegations in that particular facility.
"We outspokenly do not support producers who cannot clearly demonstrate that they abide by local labor laws, and we will discontinue working with this processor if abuses are evident and not entirely and satisfactorily resolved. Meanwhile, we will exert our influence to see that these allegations are addressed openly and soon, and that remedial action is taken if and wherever necessary.
"Our hope would be that fruit and vegetable production in Guatemala is ultimately sustainable and that it can and will help create the best possible opportunity for the workers and growers in that area. We'd much rather be an agent for constructive change and improvement than simply be one of a number of buyers who can even more easily simply discontinue business in this region. As a matter of policy, we continually pressure all of our suppliers to encourage progressive labor practices that advance productivity, better pay and better working conditions."
(to read the complete interview, go to http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/13/1335259)
President Bush traveled to Guatemala on Monday and said free trade can spread opportunity, provide jobs, and help lift people out of poverty. But according to a new report, there is a food processing plant less than 10 miles from where Bush spoke where children as young as 13 years old are working under deplorable conditions. We speak with veteran anti-sweatshop activist Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee about the report. [includes rush transcript]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the past week on his trip through Latin America President Bush has been praising U.S. efforts to end poverty in the hemisphere and promoting the benefits of so-called free trade agreements with Washington.
President Bush, speaking in Washington DC:
On Monday, President Bush traveled to Guatemala and said free trade can spread opportunity, provide jobs, and help lift people out of poverty.
But there is a darker side about U.S.-Guatemalan trade relations: less than 10 miles from where Bush spoke there is a food processing plant where children as young as 13 years old are working under deplorable conditions.
According to the New York-based National Labor Committee, the children, working at a factory owned by Legumex, harvest and process vegetables and fruits exported to the United States.
The National Labor Committee has just published a report on the conditions at the Legumex factory. It is titled "Harvest of Shame."
Charles Kernaghan joins me now. He is a veteran anti-sweatshop activist and the executive director of the National Labor Committee.
Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee:
The vast majority of the exports at the Legumex factory in Guatemala are sold to Superior Foods, based in Watsonville California. We invited a representative of Superior Foods to join us on the program but the company declined.
In an emailed statement, Marco Cruz of Superior Foods, wrote:
"We are committed to ensuring that all product purchased, sold or distributed by our company is produced with ethical labor practices and in strict compliance with local labor law. At every facility we work with in the U.S. and abroad, we conduct periodic audits and inspections to validate critical issues as food safety, food security, product quality and working conditions. We are surprised and concerned about the labor violations alleged in the NLC report and will immediately investigate these serious allegations in that particular facility.
"We outspokenly do not support producers who cannot clearly demonstrate that they abide by local labor laws, and we will discontinue working with this processor if abuses are evident and not entirely and satisfactorily resolved. Meanwhile, we will exert our influence to see that these allegations are addressed openly and soon, and that remedial action is taken if and wherever necessary.
"Our hope would be that fruit and vegetable production in Guatemala is ultimately sustainable and that it can and will help create the best possible opportunity for the workers and growers in that area. We'd much rather be an agent for constructive change and improvement than simply be one of a number of buyers who can even more easily simply discontinue business in this region. As a matter of policy, we continually pressure all of our suppliers to encourage progressive labor practices that advance productivity, better pay and better working conditions."
(to read the complete interview, go to http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/13/1335259)
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