So I went to Mexico

And living Mexico has all the magic that the Mexico of my dreams has. The smells, the sounds, the colors, the food! I love it there. Though, as much as I do love it, when I was there I missed Cusmapa. I don't think anywhere, no matter how magical, contains the magic that Cusmapa does for me. This place is my home, and how lucky I am to be able to say so!

Guadalajara is a lively and fun city, all the old is mixed in with the new, I could live there I think. Unfortunately, it seems that lithography does not exist there outside of a very basic undergrad program at the University of Guadalajara. Though, if I were going into my undergraduate studies again, it would be an amazing place to study...the fine art center there is incredible! And the art of Mexico! I miss art when I am here in Nicaragua.

We're Really Shaking it Up

In Casa los Mangos we recently hosted the first, of what will hopefully be many, Fiesta de Mujeres Libres. Its a small group of women, half Nica, half American, that get together and have drinks, snacks and talk, dance, have fun. We made a big sign declaring: "Arriba las Mujeres del Mundo!!!" that is taped to our kitchen window. What we didn't anticipate, but really love, is that since its on the window (it was the only place the tape would stick) people that walk by the house outside can read it too. Now we've got passers-by hollering: "Arriba! Arriba las mujeres!" "Arriba todo el mundo!" or, "Arriba las mujeres del mundo????" Either way, it's out there.

Saturday we dressed up with fifteen kids and marched through the Cusmapa streets with home-made instruments and signs declaring "Viva Cusmapa" "Celebramos Alegria!" and other banners of the like.
Sunday we took a group of women to the park at the center of town to knit in public.

In both occasions the people passing by were very surprised. People stared at us in the park. People rushed our of their homes to see what the noise was passing by.

We're going to do it all again this weekend, and we're hoping to double our numbers.
Ooooooo what fun and ruckus!

It's a Craze!

When I started our women’s knitting group once a week I never imagined knitting would be so popular in Cusmapa. Our group that meets every Wednesday evening for two hours started a couple months ago as three women, it is now about 15. There are also a handful of sisters and cousins and nieces that come those evenings. The women bring many knit squares every week to contribute to the blankets we are making to donate to the Casa Materna. One girl in the group, who is actually a high school student of ours as well, has begun to make little hats to donate. I love that the women are all positive about the community side of this project.

Even more incredibly, all the little boys in our neighborhood are knitting now too, them and many of their cousins and siblings and friends, maybe twenty kids all around the age of eleven. Now that they have all gotten into knitting, the word is really spreading fast. Everyday kids I’ve never seen before come knocking at the door asking to learn. Students come to me asking to learn, or to inform me that some friend or cousin or sibling of theirs wants to learn.

There are too many requests now for me to fulfill them all. I’ve asked that all the more advanced knitters teach the new knitters so that I only have to teach more difficult stuff. Little Memo, who lives across the street, is happy to help and yesterday taught four little girls the basics. I think this will work out great, it makes it all more community oriented, which was part of my initial goal.

So, now that you all know how this project of mine is succeeding, that it is inspiring and teaching so many kids in Cusmapa, that it is snowballing quickly, I will tell you I am almost without supplies. I’ve told all the kids they have to knit with pencils as needles, which works great in the beginning until they become more advanced and want to make bigger things, or more complicated things. Our supply of yarn is quickly depleting and the people here have no money to buy such luxuries on their own.

ANY money or supplies you or someone you know would like to donate would be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Callie will be in the States in a month, so she could carry supplies back with her when she returns to Nica. Monetary donations can be wired here to me, or sent to my parents who can deposit them directly in my bank account. Needles can be made from dowels, a pencil sharpener and some sand paper, and it is much cheaper. Plastic needles are fairly inexpensive especially if large sets of multiple sizes are purchased. Sometimes yarn can be found at second hand stores, garage and estate sales, and craigslist is a good place to look too.

I have to say, I think this knitting craze in Cusmapa is one of the most important things I’m doing here. I think my classes are super important, but the people involved in the knitting are INTO it. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a small cooperative grow from this that can help provide a little income to some families. That would be absolutely incredible.

I arrived back Managua yesterday. I can not get back to my happy mountain home, however, because there is a national transportation strike. No buses are running in the whole country, the non-union taxis take you on these crazy back-alley routes to avoid union taxis throwing rocks through their windshields. A Fabretto truck was going to take me up but during strikes they don't take the vehicles out in the Managua area because cars get set-fire. So, here I am, stuck in the capital, and I miss Cusmapa. Oh well, asi es, as they say.

In other news, I have a new piece of body art that I love. It is a tree as seen by my friend Marlon in Cusmapa, he is nine years old.

I'm in the States

It's a little weird. I miss this guy------>

Well, I miss them all, I've gotten used to all the unpredictable energy. I've fallen in love with all the color and light and dust and dreams.

It HAS been a long time

I know, its has been. And I have wanted to write, and I 've tried to write. I must have gained the confidence of more people here because the stories have been spilling and overflowing and I'm brimming, all with ideas and emotions to express, but I think its just too much. I feel overwhelmed. I can't get them in order to tell. Maybe you don't need all the details, maybe just knowing I'm learning and loving is enough. And I am.

The Men They Honor in Cusmapa....

Father Rafael Maria Fabretto is considered a saint in this little pueblo. His picture hangs in every house, and his memory is honored on multiple occasions throughout the year. The celebration of his birthday includes burning a candle continuously the entire month in front of a shrine made to him complete with the very robe he wore in his lifetime, wrapped in cellophane.

A well meaning man to be sure, who did more to help a poor community in his lifetime than most of us can ever dream of. He was an amazing man with a giant heart who surely saved the lives of many. We should honor men like him, we should remember them always for their hard work and compassion. But we should remember them as the men they were.

We should remember that men are not perfect, and like any man, Father Fabretto was not perfect. In his lifetime he owned this little pueblo, he bought up all the land and helped it to grow from just a couple families to the several thousand people that live here now. Today, legal property ownership can be a challenge to arrange as deeds and distribution of land are mingled still in his memory. There are alliances and obligations among the people here as many are “old” Fabretto people; who as children grew up under his wing, watch, and guidance in education and spirituality. In the community now, these people are honored; they are the community leaders, regardless if they are doing their jobs at the Fabretto school well, or if they even have good intentions.

I can only imagine the power of influence Father Fabretto must have had in his lifetime over these people. I wonder perhaps if he, as the man he was, pressured more of himself onto the people here than we know; if he had relationships we do not know about and that those who do know - don’t talk about. I wonder if this community is his beyond mere ownership of the land.

Almost twenty years later, after Max’s death, the people here are beginning the same practices of honor for him. His photo hangs in the Oratorio, on welcome signs for visitors. He is remembered in prayers beginning the day, meetings, and blessings for the new year. Max was a good man as well, he worked hard for his community and for Fabretto, and he was a happy man, friendly and welcoming to all. Max should be remembered for these positive qualities, however, he should not be turned into the saint that they paint him as. The man had twelve children with almost as many women, seven on which are in Cusmapa. He left behind burdened mothers and abandoned children, who in his lifetime he certainly could not have afforded to support even had he wanted to.

Last week Fabretto fired one of the school directors in Cusmapa after finding out he has two illegitimate children in town that he is not supporting. Fabretto decided they can not have anyone like this on staff when we are trying to teach values to children; that our employees are obligated to always be positive examples for the entire community. So while we are honoring one man for this behavior we are casting another away. I suspect, also, that if we began investigating into the personal lives of all our employees we would find similar faults in many of them.

If we honor a man like this, turn him into a saint after his death, what are we teaching the young men here? How can we expect men here to change when they see machista behavior celebrated?