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Besides organizing our own activities and events, we receive many visitors from all over the world who offer their artistic talents to the town of Copán Ruinas. We are more than happy to help them set up their act or workshop. Below a list of miscellaneous activities and events in which we've been involved. |
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We are members
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* Maya Cultural Festival
As every year we celebrated the closing of our Maya Project with a Maya Cultural Festival. This time we decided to do in the community of La Pintada with children invited from El Bonete, Nueva Esperanza, Copán Ruinas and obviously, those of La Pintada. At the school we mounted an exhibition of the results of our mapping, archeology and photography projects . We then divided the children into groups and under the supervision of one or two facilitators, the children had to do some fun tasks, all related to the Maya culture. The last task was to find a real treasure, a Mayan stela painted the colour of each group. Then the children enjoyed watching our Maya videos(in which some of them appear) and we finished the event with a snack for everyone. 10 December 2010
* Dental Circus Part III
For the last time this year we went to the communities of Choncó, Boca del Monte and New Armenia to apply fluoride. This time we prepare a song for the children and they themselves participated with maracas they made as a craft. Then it was time for a healthy snack, this time a fruit kebab in the shape of a face (with bananas, tangerines and strawberries). 27 and 28 October 2010
* Football Championship La Pintada
Los Pumas de Copán were invited to a championship in La Pintada and lost ... September 14, 2010
* Children's Day
We continued our tradition of celebrating Children's Day at Fort Cabañas in collaboration with Casa K'inich. First arrived the children from Choncó and Santa Cruz by pick-up. Next were the children from Nueva Esperanza and Carrizalito II who walked to the fort. We painted their faces with a simple design, not only because it looked good, also because it was easier to identify the children from the different villages this way. To begin the event, Londin led a fun, dynamic game. Next we offered a great variety of games and had also prepared enough materials so the kids could draw or make bracelets. Another option was a tour of the children’s museum Casa K'inich or watch the artist Marvin Mendieta making portraits of children. After more than an hour of games, it was time for a little snack. After that there were of course the traditional piñatas. We took advantage of the presence of the children from Santa Cruz to present an award to José Lorenzo Espino, the boy who won first place in a contest organized by our children's newspaper. A little later we said goodbye to the 168 children with some cookies and everyone went home happy. September 10, 2010
* Football Championship La Entrada Copán
Los Pumas de Copán were invited to a championship in La Entrada and lost with 7-2 ... August 28, 2010
*Dental Circus Part II
Yet again we went to the villages of Choncó, Boca del Monte and Nueva Armenia to apply fluoride. This time we applied the fluoride first and then had the kids participate in different games. We combines the craft with the snack this time, giving each child a plate with pieces of different kinds of fruit and some toothpicks. For once the children were allowed to play with their food before consuming this healthy snack. They loved it! July 19 and 26, 2010
*First Inter-Community Youth Soccer Tournament
On May 15th, day of our 11th anniversary, four soccer teams from the communities of La Pintada, Sesesmil I, El Quebracho and Copán Ruinas came together to compete in our first soccer tournament of the year. The team from La Pintada went home with the trophy while our “Pumas of Copán” made second. It was a fun event with game stations for the audience and kids who weren’t playing at the time. May 15, 2010
*Dental Circus Part I
Just like last year, we promised the Department of Dentistry of the University of New York to continue the fluoride applications in the communities of Choncó, Boca del Monte and Nueva Armenia. Although we’re not dentists and thus not “torturing” the kids, a fluoride application isn’t that much fun, so we try to make it as enjoyable and educational as possible. This time we set up different game stations for the kids before we made origami cups. Aunt Josephine’s “dentures” helped to remind the kids how to brush and the story about why frogs don’t have teeth made the message even clearer. And in the end: a healthy snack for all. Choncó and Boca del Monte April 19; Nueva Armenia, April 26, 2010
*Painting a School in El Triunfo II
We finished in El Triunfo! After yet another day of painting we can say we’re done. The walls now have different characters on it; we made some new furniture for the kids and handed over quite a variety of games and books for the library. Teachers Alba and Maritza were taught how to use the health methodology we donated them, so now they’re off on their own. Mission accomplished! April 26, 2010
* Painting a School in El Triunfo I
Packed with brushes, tools and paint, we went to the small village of El Triunfo to paint the "Carin Steen" kindergarten. We did some necessary repairs, painted all the walls and furniture and provided the school with handmade educational games and other supplies. Check out our Blog for a report and photos. March 16 & 18 , 2010
*Presentation for Girls "Yo Merezco "
Months ago we received a visit from Peace Corps volunteer Lena Lauritsen who works with a group of girls in Ocotopeque on thems as self-esteem, confidence, health, education and so on. Part of the program was a visit to Copán Ruinas and Lena asked us if we could offer some kind of workshop. We agreed and decided to use cultural identity as the main theme for the workshop/presentation.
That Saturday15 girls and 6 women accompanying them got together in our library. Elsa and Londi started with an introduction to the Mayan culture with a Power Point presentation. Then Carin explained about our Maya project, its objectives and results, as an introduction to the topic of cultural identity. Then it was time for some art: the girls and adults made a collective mural that represents a portrait of their community. They did it by drawing a piece of paper after another with things typical of the community: food, crafts, crops and so on. The result was very nice. It was a fun afternoon for all although maybe a little less for Londin as the only guy.... February 20, 2010
2009
* Excursion to Bird Park
For the very last workshop in 2010 with our Girls in Action, we decided to go to the bird park Macaw Mountain. When we walked into the enormous macaw cage, one of them hang upside down, spreading his wings and very conscious of having an audience. The girls spontaneously applauded him. After a tour for the whole park, each girl grabbed a notepad and pencils and went to draw her favourite bird. For about an hour they worked very concentrated on their drawings and they were not the only ones who seemed to enjoy it: the birds were parading up and down in front of the girls, as if they were modeling. December 19, 2009
* Maya Cultural Festival
For the third year in a row we organized a Maya Cultural Festival
as a closing ceremony for our Maya Project. This year, trying to cut down on
costs, we decided not to offer a program in general, but organize an event for
just 100 of the children who participated in our workshops. We invited children
from communities that hadn’t participated in any of our events before,
being kids from Choncó, Ostuman, Llano la Puerta, El Bonete and La Laguna.
After enrolling and receiving a nametag, the children all joined in some games
before we started a Maya ball game. Just as the ancient Mayas, the children
had to aim for two markers in the shape of a macaw head. Unlike the ancient
Mayas, they were allowed to use their hands, otherwise it would be a bit too
difficult. After the game was over, the children enjoyed a quick snack and then
busied themselves with the numerous games, art workshops, tour through Children's
Museum Casa K'inich and watching special Maya episodes of our television program
Mini-Mundo. Just before noon we wrapped the event up with some other group games
and handing out a small gift bag for each child. December 11, 2009
*Closing Ceremony Health Project: Sport Event
As a closing ceremony of our health Project we organized a sport event for all participants in the community of Sesesmil I. we started the day with some soccer game. The it was time to play at seven different game stations (badminton, sack race, hoola-hoop and others)- Each child received a coloured nametag with a list of the activities to participate in, on which the coordinators wrote down the individual scores. We finished the event with snacks and drinks; diplomas and medallions for each participants and trophies for each of the four competing communities. October 28, 2009
*Fluoride Varnishing
Yet another mission completed! For the second time we visited the three communities of Boca del Monte, Choncó and Nueva Armenia to apply fluoride varnishing to the kids of grade 1-3, sponsored by the Department of dentistry of NYU. Of course we combined this not-so-fun activity with an art workshop, games, juggling and acrobatics…September 29 & October 2, 2009
*Concert by Guillermo Anderson
His presence at the Conference on Honduras was an excellent excuse for Guillermo Anderson to play for the kids of Copán Ruinas. About a hundred children came to the park to listen to the songs they know so well. Pour own Girls in Action had prepared a choreography with flags, but unfortunately they didn’t start until the concert was over. Well, a good lesson for a next performance… September 26, 2009
*Peace
One Day
We were all set for our contribution (a film festival, poi show and drawing contest), to Peace One Day the international celebration of peace, when… Curfew at 4.00pm and riots in the streets of Tegucigalpa. So much for peace… It’s a shame Honduras didn’t participate in the world wide event…September 21, 2009
*Children’s Day
A bright blue sky and the blinding white walls of the Cabañas Fort formed the perfect background for the 110 colourfully dressed kids that came to celebrate Children’s Day with us. In collaboration with Chiuldren’0s Museum Casa K’inich and the public library, we offered 7 game stations, storytelling, a tour through Casa K’inich, piñatas and a snack. Everybody was exhausted by the end of the event, but it was great! July 1 & 16, September 10, 2009
*Workshops on Cultural identity in the Cangrejal Valley
The Un Mundo organization invited us to participate in a cultural festival in the Cangrejal Valley, near La Ceiba. Since cultural identity was the theme of the event, we send our facilitator Londin Velásquez to teach about Maya culture in Copán, accompanied by Dionicio Hernández. It was an interesting week and it turned out the children knew little about Maya culture. They very much enjoyed the art activities and daily film presentations of our Mini-Mundo program and learning about the Maya’s also helped them define their own culture. The week ended with a film festival and presentation of the crafts made during the week. August 31- September 5, 2009
*We’re going dental!
As a follow-up on the dental brigade of the University
of New York, we´re doing fluoride varnishing in three communities
(Boca del Monte, Choncó and Nueva Armenia), obviously combined with a
“dental circus” consisting of a puppet show, a film, art and
games. The children were excited to get their own toothbrush, paste and cup
and were actually disappointed that they were not allowed to brush their teeth
for a whole day after the fluoride varnishing.... July 1 & 16, August
7, 2009
*Ecological Youth Fair
To celebrate World Earth Day, OCDIH (Organismo Cristiano de Desarrollo en Honduras) organized an Ecological Youth Fair and invited us to participate. We decided to offer an art workshop in which we painted rocks. It was great fun and more than 120 rocks were painted! June 5, 2009
*Kids on Stilts for the First Ladies
While their husbands were caught up in important meetings (Organization Of American States), the First Ladies enjoyed a trip to Copán where they visited the archaeological park and were being welcomed by our Ángel and Darwin Fuentes who made their first money walking with their heads in the clouds! June 2, 2009
*Our
Tenth Anniversary!
Ten years have passed since we started our organization. We have
grown, become more professional, have improved our activities and expanded substantially,
but one thing has never changed: the enthusiastic participation of our students.
Whole generations have passed through our classes! It was fun and touching to
meet we so many young adults during our anniversary who expressed how important
the art activities had been for them when they were younger. And they were not
the only ones who enjoyed the photo albums and exhibition of ten years worth
of history, other adult visitors (from Copán, from t he villages and
foreigners alike) showed their interest and appreciation. It was a great day
and a true children’s party with art workshops, game stations and a talent
show. Our “Girl in Action” Cecilia Villeda (9 years old) won the
first prize with her heartbreaking song about her father who left her to look
for a better future in the US. Second place went to the folklore dance group
of the Amigos School and the third price was for the only adult contestant,
Belinda, who sang a Shakira song. During the event we also raffled off several
prizes and announced the six winners of the drawing contest. The park was filled
with colours and children of course, both from town as well as approximately
a hundred kids we invited from the communities of El Sinai, Barbasco and Santa
Cruz. We received support from many people and local enterprises and thanks
to their generosity, the event didn’t cost us a penny. We heartily thank
all volunteers and sponsors for their help and are already busy with yet ten
more years of art and fun! May 16, 2009
*Huron University College Volunteers
For the fifth time we have a group of students of Huron working with us as volunteers
for a three-week period. The volunteers, all girls this time, work in three
different rural communities, offering art workshop, sport, games and film festivals.
See also our Canada
Connection web log! May 4-24, 2009
*Dental Brigade University of Yew York
Our staff members helped out a bit with the dental brigade of the department
of Dentistry
and Nursing of the University of New York that set up clinic in town
and visited three rural communities for screening and fluoride varnishing. It
was a fun and interesting experience and our collaboration will result in a
“Health Circus”: Every three months Arte Acción Copán
Ruinas will visit the same three villages for a repetition of the fluoride varnishing
and all kinds of fun activities related to dental health. April 18-24, 2009
*Fair Fun in Copán Ruinas
The annual fair was in Copán Ruinas! As always the fair
consisted of some shaky Ferris wheels and shady tents where you can win, or
more likely lose money. For the girls we already have or weekly art workshops,
a good reason to invite just a group of boys to go to the fair. We left in the
afternoon, so not all installations were open yet, so the boys “just”
went into the small Ferris wheel, spun around by a guy with enormous arms. Not
as high as the big one, but high enough, although the boys would never admit
that. There was, of course, also time and opportunity to do some shooting, gambling
and ice-cream. What a wonderful educational event! March 17, 2009
*Workshops
at Huron University College, Canada
For the fifth time we’ll receive a group of Huron students who will conduct
workshops at three rural schools. It isn’t easy to organise a short term
mission (three weeks) that is interesting and valuable for all parties involved,
but over the years we have developed a program that allows the Canadian students
to truly emerge in Honduran culture whereas the children they work with learn
and all are able to establish a more in-depth relationship. To prepare this
year’s students for their trip, Carin visited the college in London, Ontario
where she conducted workshops on cross cultural differences, Maya Chortí
culture, preparing lesson plans etc. This year’s students are all girls
and all are very enthusiastic. It will be an interesting trip! February
23-28, 2009
2008
*Cultural
Fair 2008
Yet again we finished this year’s Maya Project with a
great festival. During the day we had an event for 120 children from the villages
we teach in with a full program: Londin and Luise conducted games, our colleagues
from Tegucigalpa gave the arriving a great welcome with their drums and then
it was time for the six different workshops we had organized for the kids: art
(making a royal Maya headdress), face-painting, games, acrobatics, juggling
and of course a tour through children’s museum Casa K’inich. Thee
was of course lunch for everybody and before we gave each child a gift bag with
candy, a flyer on Maya culture and a beautiful agenda donated by Casa K’incih
and Ma-K-Nudo. Then it was time for the cultural program for the whole town.
During the day we had information stands in the central park, an exhibition
of the art results of our workshops and there were local crafts for sale. At
dusk, Arte Acción
from Tegucigalpa and a group of local artisans filled the park with
music, juggling and a fire show. We presented a special edition of our children’s
TV program Mini-Mundo (all about the Mayas), followed by our documentary about
Maya culture in Copán. Then we had more music, acrobatics and stilts
(our students Darwin and Ángel did a great job as the jaguar and macaw!),
before the performance by Caja
Lúdica from Guatemala. They presented a theatrical Maya ceremony
as an offering to Life, the Arts and Dreams, called “four Elements”.
They presented it in the centre of the central park where the four cardinal
points are carved in the floor, surround by about five hundred people in the
audience. The performance ended with a Maya ceremony conducted by our friend
Aum-Rak. The audience was invited to light a candle and offer it to the fire
on the sacred spot in the centre of the cardinal points. Then the children,
many of them our students, started dancing around the fire. It was awesome!
December 20, 2008
*Chitic
Rabinal, Stilt Parade
Three of our colleagues participated in the Chitic in Rabinal,
an impressive parade of 300 people on stilts from all parts of Central America.
Our facilitators are no experts on stils (not yet!) so instead they brought
an enormous “puppet” in the shape of Copán’s famous
Rosalila Temple, and in doing so referring to the theme “Our Roots”.
Besides the parade, there were workshops, Maya ceremonies and many excursions
around the magical town of Rabinal, Guatemala. To see photos of the parade,
go to the Maraca blog
spot. December 4-8, 2008
*World
AIDS Day
This year World AIDS Day was celebrated on December 5th in stead
of the 1st, due to the internal elections the previous day. It has become tradition
to help organize this important day, so in collaboration with World Vision,
our colleague Luis Vado, as párt of his work for the Health Project we
develop with the Canadian Foudnation Jugamos,
helped organize activities such as information stands, a football tournament,
a motor-taxi parade and a walk around ton in remembrance of the AIDS victims
in Honduras. December 5, 2008
*Closing
Ceremony Photo-Story Project IV in La Pintada
The fourth edition of the Photo-Story Project has been completed
when all nine participants finished their texts and photos about their future
dreams. Time for a party! While Lóndin entertained the kids on the soccer
field with some fun games, the rest of the team set up the exhibition and decorated
the corridor of the school where it all took place. When we were ready, the
kids visited the exhibition and showed great interest in the beautiful photo
albums that were the result of the project. We honoured the participants with
a diploma and edition of their own book before we invited the kids the kids
to a drink and snack that was consumed while watching an episode of our children’s’
program Mini-Mundo on a big screen as well as the results of the Film-Story
project that we developed a few moths earlier in the same community. It was
a great event all together. The only thing that saddened us was to see confirmed
that one of the participants, a girl of only thirteen, was pregnant, although
barely showing. Even greater was our surprise to hear the very next day that
she already delivered a baby boy! Because he was born prematurely, mother and
son are still in the hospital. It is so sad to see children have children, but
there’s not much we can do now but helping the new mother as much as we
can. November 12, 2008
*Basketball
Court in El Quebracho
With funding of the Jugamos
Foundation, our instructor Luis Vado coordinated the construction of a basketball
court in the community of El Quebracho. October
27-29, 2008
*Conference
on Honduras 2008
The first day of the Conference on Honduras, Carin, together
with Sandra Romero de Thompson, gave a presentation for about two hundred attendees,
called: Twenty Pitfalls in Helping Honduras; Cross Cultural Issues. The presentation
addressed many mistakes frequently made by foreigners willing to help Honduras
and the Honduran receiving end, complete with suggestions on how to improve
communication, local needs assessment and sustainability. Although not everybody
in the audience agreed, the presentation did provoke some interesting discussions
and a lot of people thought it helpful. The day after, Sandra and Carin conducted
a workshop on cultural differences, using the Bafá Bafá game in
which the participants are divided into two groups, each with its own cultural.
It was interesting to see how uncomfortable people felt not knowing the rules
of the other group’s culture and the observations afterwards were interesting,
despite the limited time we had to debrief. October
2-4, 2008
*Regional
Cultural Council
It was quite a surprise when we received a phone call from René
Escalón, regional coordinator of the Secretary of the Arts, Culture and
Sport to invite us to become member of the regional council of culture with
the objective to facilitate the distribution of funds to local initiatives.
So of course, Carin and Lóndin attended the meeting in Santa Rosa de
Copán which in itself was quite boring because we did little but elect
(with much discussion!) the members for the provisional first council. Within
three months the council will meet again and hopefully then we’ll make
plans on how we can expand our network, work together and plan new projects.
September 30 , 2008
*International
Youth Forum Ignite
the Americas
Our instructor Londin Velásquez saw him dream come true
when he was invited to participate in an international youth forum in Canada
about the arts in community development: Londin on a plane! After a week of
tedious preparations (visa, permissions and such), Londin took off. A week later
he was back, exhausted but thrilled about his experiences at “Ignite the
Americas” and full of new plans and ideas. September
15-21 , 2008
*Good-bye
Lise Winters and Ronald Reinds
After almost four years of working wit Arte Acción
Copán Ruinas, our dear friends Lise and Ron have said goodbye and
left for Holland, together with their son Milan. It was a sad occasion, but
of course we were able to make a hell of a party out of it. We thank Ron and
Lise for all the work they have done, their passion both for our organization
and Copán Ruinas and of course we wish them all the best in the future,
in Holland. We hope to set up some sort of Arte Acción Copán
Ruinas in Holland too, so we haven’t heard the last of them!. September
19, 2008
*Children's
Day
Our instructor Londin Velásquez saw him dream come true
when he was invited to participate in an international youth forum in Canada
about the arts in community development: Londin on a plane! After a week of
tedious preparations (visa, permissions and such), Londin took off. A week later
he was back, exhausted but thrilled about his experiences at “Ignite the
Americas” and full of new plans and ideas. September
10, 12 &13, 2008
*The
circus is in town!
When we told our kids we were going to
take them to the circus, they went crazy! We invited them because we thought
they wouldn't be able to afford the 1-dollar entrance fee, but what a mistake:
most kids had gone already two or three times! But still, that’s not the
same as going all together as a party of 26. It was a good thing we were such
a big group, because that night we were the only people there! The circus people
were doubting whether to cancel or not, but we all were such an enthusiastic
audience, they gave us our own private show, including the anaconda that in
reality was nothing but a giant python. How the kids knew this fact? Well, according
to them, an anaconda eats people and a python just animals. Anyway, the show
was not the most sophisticated ever, but just as
impressive and both kids and staff had a great night out. August
9, 2008
* 1st Chess Tournament of Copán Ruinas “Raúl
Wélchez Vásquez”
Our video colleague Nilson Cárdenas’ passion is chess and a while
ago he came up with the idea to set up a chess club within Arte Acción
Copán Ruinas. Why not? Chess is culture too! So far, Nilson has
been teaching young and old and organized the first chess tournament of Copán
on august 3rd. Twenty participants enrolled, among them six English tourists
and some others from as far as Santa Rosa de Copán. Nilson had help from
members of the Chess
League in San Pedro Sula that provided boards and clocks, as well as a computer
program to help coordinate the tournament. There were three decorative chess
games to be won. The first place went to a player from Santa Rosa, number two
was from San Pedro, but fortunately enough, number three was a Copaneco. Hotel
Marina Copán provided the conference room and coffee break and many other
local businesses also chipped in. It was a great event uniting young and old.
But… where were the women? August 3, 2008
*IV
Maraca
Youth Camp in Copán Ruinas
Maraca stands for a network between our colleagues of Arte
Acción in Tegucigalpa, Caja
Lúdica in Guatemala and Tiempos
Nuevos Teatro in El Salvador. The network promotes community development
through the arts with young adults as active actors in the process. So far,
Maraca has organized exchanges between young facilitators and a number of artistic
youth camps.
A couple of months ago we were asked whether we were interested in hosting one
of those camps in Copán. Whereas the more adult part of our staff was
thinking of the logistic nightmare of hosting a camp for a hundred young adults
from three different countries, our younger colleagues were jumping up and down
from enthusiasm, so the answer was…. Yes!
Because of the criticism on the adults during the last camp, this time the young
adults themselves were in charge of organizing the whole event. And boy did
they learn a lesson or two! Not that they didn’t do a great job, neither
were circumstances very accommodating: Right that weekend Honduras was plagued
by two different tropical storms from both coasts that caused so much rain that
it washed away the entire tube system that provides Copán Ruinas with
potable water. Roads were falling apart, public transportation strikes made
things even worse and even the day before the event started we were still considering
cancelling it. Really: landslides everywhere, roads cut off and seven days without
potable water???? But the show went on and what a show it was!
The afternoon of arrival the rain came pouring down but that didn’t stop
the participants from enjoying the dynamic games that soon turned very muddy.
But the second day the sky was as clear as can be (so no rain water to fill
up the empty tanks and buckets!) and the young adults learned about Maya culture
through various workshops and an excursion to the archaeological site. In the
afternoon there was little time to prepare, but still, each cabaña and
its temporary inhabitants delivered quite a show that night: dance, music, theatre,
games. The mud and camp decoration turned into costumes and props, it was awesome!
Day three was for art workshops (costumes, face painting, theatre and painting,
all in the context of Maya culture) and resulted in a colourful parade in the
centre of Copán with catchy drumbeats, clowns on stilts and a great response
form the Copán public. The camp ended quietly with a beautiful Maya ceremony
before everyone climbed in cramped buses on their way home on Sunday. We were
the last ones to leave, tired but content. What an experience! For responses
of the young Maraca members, read their web-log!
July 24-27, 2008
*Participation in Seminar “Beautifying Honduras and Discovering
Talent”
In June of this year, two of Arte Acción Copán Ruinas’
instructors (Londin and Nilson) were invited to participate in a seminar at
the University of Pedagogy in Tegucigalpa called “Art at a Low Cost”.
The seminar was introduced with a lecture on prehistoric art by Rubén
Darío Salgado. Afterwards we learned to make oil pastels and watercolours
with cheap materials but of a high quality. June 26-27, 2008
*Scouts from Tegucigalpa visit Copán Ruinas
Arte Acción Copán Ruinas had the opportunity to share
its experiences during a short camp with scouts from Tegucigalpa. Our Maya project
facilitator Lóndin Velásquez was in charge of receiving and entertaining
the guests from June 13-15. They went to the archaeological site in Copán,
the museum and Lóndin also gave a presentation on Maya culture. The scouts
were very interested to hear about contemporary Maya culture and the project
we are developing in Maya Chortí communities. June 13-5, 2008
*Third National Rural Baseball Tournament
in Tegucigalpa
It rained and it rained, but that didn’t stop young baseball players from
all over Honduras to participate in the Third National Tournament of Rural Baseball.
Our team barely qualified, but what mattered is that they made it… So
on May 29th they got on the bus early in the morning, screaming, yelling, joking,
pushing and pulling and unfortunately didn’t stop doing that until the
got on the bus back home, when, for the first time in four days, they were actually
quiet. The first game against Siguatepeque was a close call but in the end an
8-7 victory. The second game was much harder and a disappointment when we lost
with 4-2. So no cup for the Jaguars of Copán, but the kids were excited
anyway to be in Tegucigalpa and to visit children’s museum Chiminique.
May 29-June 1, 2008
*Get-Together
to Plan Maraca Youth
Camp
The second weekend of May we received special visitors from three different
countries: young adults from Guatemala (Caja
Lúdica), El Salvador (Tiempos
Nuevos Teatro) and our colleagues from Arte
Acción in Tegucigalpa. These young adults came to organize
the art camp for 100 fellow adolescents planned in Copán Ruinas for the
end of July. The theme will be Maya culture and there will be a variety of workshops
for the adolescents to participate in. The camp will end with a festive parade
on stilts through town and a Maya ceremony in our camp. But we’re not
there yet. So far, the coordinating adolescents are busy planning the activities
and breaking their heads over logistics and budget. May 9-10, 2008
*Preparation
Third National Rural Baseball Tournament
With lots of extra training sessions, our baseball team is preparing for their
second series of national finals on May 30-31 in Tegucigalpa. The kids are excited
to go and proud of their brand new shirts and baseball caps. We played two games
against a team fronm the local bilingual school, and we beat then both times.
Go, Jaguars of Copán! May, 2008
*
Parade
Against Violence on Stilts
It has been an international tradition the last few years to organize parades
against violence on Labour Day (organized by the Catholic Church), but it was
the first time this happened in Copán. José David Rodriguez, who
has studied with us for years, asked if he and some of his fellow stilt acrobats
could participate on stilts. It was a bit short day, with only two days to practice,
but in the end they did participate and were proud to get on the front page
of the newspaper! … April 15-16, 2008
*
Presentation
for Group of International Press
As an indirect result of our performance during the opening of the Cabañas
Fort, we received a request from the Copán Association
who in its turn ad received a request from the coordinator for a group of international
press members who had been recommended by the personal assistant of the minister
of tourism to hire Arte Acción Copán Ruinas for some
entertainment. So on Tuesday April 15 we were all set, the kids were on the
way, when we heard that the visitor would arrive hours later than planned. So
we did a tour through Casa K’inich (the kids hadn’t seen
the new exhibits anyway), drank something and then sent the kids back home.
The next day our students sang the national anthem in Chortí, we showed
some of art our work, but weren’t able to sell them one of our Maya books.
Well, it was fun anyway. Sort of… April 15-16, 2008
*
Baseball
National Qualification Games, Santa Rosa de Copán
On a soaring hot Saturday and with ravaging nerves, we took off for the department's
capital for some serious baseball business. Our players needed to win both games
in order to be qualified for the finals later this year in Tegucigalpa. The
first game was played against a team from Santa Rosa de Copán and was
won with a glorious 14-0. The second game, however, was lost... So technically...
no national finals for us. But we might not have the best baseball team in Honduras,
we sure have the luckiest! Last year we were only allowed to play the finals
because another team was disqualified. we are the best of the losers and thus
qualified to Tegucigalpa! Our opponents better get ready, here come the Jaguars
of Copán! April 5, 2008
*
Opening
Remodeled Fort "Fuerte Cabañas"
Four of our students performed during the opening ceremony of the newly remodeled
fort and children's museum Casa K'inich. They were a bit disappointed
that the president couldn't make it (due to bad weather), but the show was a
success anyway. They danced till their legs hurt! March 25, 2008
*
Baseball
Game
Since our baseball team is the only one in town, our players rarely have the
opportunity to play a game. So they were happy with the visit of fourteen students
from New York who visited Copán with Sustainable
Horizon. These students were immediately nicknamed the Mini-Yankees,
and despite being much older than our students, the Jaguars of Copán
won! March 9, 2008
2008
*
Maya
Cultural Fair
A two-day cultural fair with art workshops for the 120 invited children form
Maya Chortí communities (all participants of our Maya project); a tour
through children's museum Casa k'inich; indigenous protest music; a stilts &
acrobatics show and the premiere of our Maya documentary. December 28-29,
2007
*
Baseball
Two games in Copán Ruinas against the kids' baseball team from Siguatepeque,
we won the first but lost the second. October 21, 2007
*
Children's Day
Celebration of Children's Day with 68 of our students and 180 children from
three rural communities in collaboration with the children's museum Casa K'inich.
September 8 & 10, 2007
*
Maraca Youth Camp
Participation of two of our instructors in the Maraca
theatre camp, organized by Arte
Acción in Tegucigalpa, Tiempos
Nuevos Teatro (El Salvador) and Caja
Lúdica (Guatemala). The camp ended with a massive
and colourful parade
on the streets of Tegucigalpa. July 4-10, 2007
*
Easter Workshops
It's becoming a tradition to organize a special Easter workshop
in the Central Park. This year we brought our handmade toys for the kids to
play with and we also made the traditional sawdust "alfombras", but
in a smaller size, on poster board. April 7, 2007
*
Baseball
Two games during the Second
National Rural Baseball tournament in Tegucigalpa, we lost both and ended on
the last spot. May 2007
*
Baseball
Since a year, Arte Acción
Copán Ruinas has its own baseball team! The 16 members played their
first real match on April 28 in San Marcos de Ocotepeque and a national tournament
in Tegucigalpa on May 24. February 2007- present
*
Trip to Canada
Carin spent a week at Huron University College (London, Ontario)
to prepare a group of students for their upcoming volunteer work in Copán
Ruinas, in May of 2007. January 22-29, 2007
2007
*
Circus Presentation
Acrobatics workshop, parade and circus presentation for
our students by our colleagues of Arte Acción in Tegucigalpa.
December 6, 2006
*World
AIDS Day
Celebration of World AIDS Day with a football tournament, information
stands and educational activities. December 1, 2006
*
Trash Campaign
Participation in campaign against trash, organized by the Municipality
of Copán Ruinas. October 25, 2006
*Maya
Area Cultural Heritage Initiative Conference
Participation in the MACHI conference (Yucatan, Mexico) on conservation of cultural
heritage through non-formal education. October 19-21, 2006
*
Participation in Conference
on Honduras
Presentation of Arte Acción Copán Ruinas' activities
during the Conference on Honduras. October 12-15, 2006
*5°
Children's Congress of Copán Ruinas
Annual Children's Congress with 85 children, representing their villages and
neighbourhoods. This year's themes were health and the prevention of natural
disasters. October 7, 2006
*
Art, Photography and Video Exhibition
Opening of an art show with work by Lise Winters, Carin
Steen and Ronald Reinds, all staff members of Arte Acción Copán
Ruinas. August 10, 2006
*
Artisan Fair Copán Ruinas
Participation in the Artisan Fair of Copán Ruinas with
an exhibition of children's artwork and photography; performance of the stilted
clown Alambrito; acrobatic show by students of our advanced course and sale
of products made by children of recycled materials. August 5, 2006
*
Final Event of Huron's Visit in Rincón del Buey
After three weeks of classes in three Maya Chortí communities,
the students of the Canadian Huron University organized a final event for approximately
80 children of all three schools in Rincón del Buey. There were games,
exhibitions, soccer, art workshops and of course snacks and drinks. May
21, 2006
*
Film festival, Art Workshop and Exhibition in the Central Park
As a contribution to the cultural fair during Easter week in Copán
Ruinas, Arte Acción Copán Ruinas presented two films,
an exhibition of our students' art work and an art workshop for all the children
of Copán Ruinas at the Central Park. April 12-13, 2006
*
Theatrical spectacle "Huellas"
Presentation of the multidisciplinary play "Huellas"
about violence in Honduras, by our colleagues from Arte Acción
in Tegucigalpa and Theatre
Embassy from Holland. February 24-25, 2006
*
Plan, II Conference for Young People Changing the World
Participation in the Conference "Young People Changing
the World", organized by Plan
International with violence as a theme. February 22-24, 2006
2006
*Christmas
Dinner
A Christmas celebration for 32 of our most loyal students with
story telling, a film presentation, tamales and a small gift. December 23,
2005
*Frida
Kahlo Workshops
A three day course for adults about the mexican painter Frida
Kahlo. The first night the eleven participants learned about her work and life
through a lecture, slide presentation and documentary. The next night we watched
the movie "Frida", followed by an analysis of the film. The third,
night the participants painted a self portrait in Frida's style. December
20-22, 2005
*World
AIDS Day
Arte Acción Copán Ruinas participated
in the organization of World AIDS Day in collaboration with the Youth Group
COMVIDA, the Honduran Red Cross and the Health Center. In the morning we held
a soccer tournament and mural painting activity for 120 adolescents. In the
afternoon there was a moto-taxi parade and an information campaign about HIV
/ AIDS. At night we showed two films about related themes. December 1, 2005
*Graduation
in Carrizalito
Arte Acción Copán Ruinas not only
sponsored the graduation of the first three sixth graders of this small rural
school, we were also able to find them scholarships to continue their studies
at high school in January. The graduation was a great party for which the children
made the decorations themselves. Afterwards we had drinks and lollipops and
showed two movies for the whole community. November 20, 2005
*Trash
Campaign
The students or Arte Acción Copán Ruinas
participated in a walk through town, organized by the local television channel
X TV, picking up trash and showing other people the right example. In a previous
art workshop they made banners and signs. November 20, 2005
*Art
is... 11.11.22
Exhibition and silent auction of works of art buy international
artists, to raise funds for Arte Acción Copán Ruinas,
organized by Daniela Bycoffe and Sowaila Zaida in Santa Monica, California.
November 11, 2005
*Inauguration
of our new office
Festive inauguration of our new office and exhibitions. September
2005
*Fourth
Childrens Congress
Annual congress. Theme: Tourism. August 20, 2005
*Excursion
to Butterfly
House Enchanted Wings
Excursion to the butterfly house for our students. July 2005
*Clothes
& Shoes Collection
Event at the Central Park to collect clothes and shoes for four communities,
organized by the Children Council. February 26, 2005
*Magazine
about Children's Rights
The elaboration and design of a magazine with a group of 21 adolescents
of the Plan Childpro group during a three day workshop in San Pedro de Tutule,
La Paz. June 24-26, 2005
*Huron University College, Canada
Yearly visit in May from a group of students to assist in projects
such as English classes, murals, art activities, dance classes, lectures
about AIDS prevention. May 2004, 2005 &
2006
*Children's Day
Yearly celebration of Children's Day on September 10 with games,
art activities and small treats. September 10, 2005
2001-2004
*International Day of Volunteerism
Cultural event in Tegucigalpa against violence, organized by the
UNV in which we offered an art workshop, making illustrations for two children's
stories against violence. December 4, 2004
*Third Childrens Congress
Annual congress. Theme: values and communication. August 21, 2004
* Art for All, Tegucigalpa
Carin Steen participated in this international mural and sculpture
event, organized by the UNV.
July 2004
*National
Childrens Congress
Participation in a national congress for children and adolescents, organized
by Plan Honduras and Arte Acción Tegucigalpa. May
2004
*Circus Workshop at Central Park
As a contribution to the Festival of Copán Ruinas, we offered a circus
workshop for children in the central park. March 2004
*Trash Campaign at Copán River
Children picking up trash and placing handmade signs to prevent
contamination at the Copán River. March 2004
*International Day of Volunteerism
Cultural event organized by UNV at the border between Honduras
and Guatemala with an exchange of portable murals and a performance by the youth
theatre group"Cristal" about Children's rights, produced and directed
by Arte Acción Tegucigalpa. December 4, 2003
*Excursion to Bird
Park Macaw Mountain
Excursion for our students to the bird park. November
2003
*Second Childrens Congress
Annual congress. Theme: protection of the environment. September 27, 2003
*Mini-Copán Pinta
A mini art project run by one of our students. With a little
help, 12 year old Karla Pontaza taught weekly art classes to children from her
neighborhood, until she went to high school. February-December 2003
*Workshops
for the Childrens Council
Monthly workshops for the Childrens Council about community development, how
to write proposals and letters etc. January 2003 - 2006
*Christmas Workshops in Hacienda
San Lucas
In 2002 and 2003 we made a nativity scene at Hacienda
San Lucas, combined with a nature hike and story telling. December
2002 & 2003
*Memory of Fire, Play by TNT
"Memory of Fire", based on a book by Eduardo
Galeano, performed by Tiempos
Nuevos Teatro from Chalatenango, El
Salvador. December 20, 2002
* First Childrens Congress
Annual congress. Theme: family, municipality and childrens rights. October
19, 2002
*Yax Ché Nature Trail at Archaeological Park
Interpretation, design and production
of a series of artistic and informative boards about Mayan culture, placed along
the nature trail at the ruins of Copán, in collaboration with Chris Mayer.
August 2002
*Visit from the Mime & Clown School from Granada, Nicaragua
Performances at Hacienda San Lucas, Central Park, Tunkul Restaurant, Pizza Copán
and the Mayatan School. December 2001
*Art Classes at the Mime & Clown School, Granada, Nicaragua
Series of art activities for the
students of the Mime and Clown School in Granada.
July 2001
*Trash Campaign in La Ceiba
Series of art workshops, including
painting trash cans at 2 schools in La Ceiba.
June 2001
*Excursion to Butterfly
House Enchanted Wings
Excursion to the butterfly
house for children from the nearby located village Nueva Esperanza.
May 2001
*Cultural Encounter
A cultural encounter for artists,
musicians, actors, dancers and anyone else involved or interested in culture
at Hacienda San Lucas. The event
included a tour to the ruins, lectures by archaeologists, concerts and poetry
reading. April 7-8, 2001