Nunez is the director of the Ollin Tlahtoalli Language and Cultural Center in Oaxaca. The organization was founded in 2007 and exists to serve indigenous communities near this southern city.
"All schools use the word culture constantly because it sounds good in a language program," Nunez said. " But I wanted students to experience Oaxacan culture in a bit of a different way rather than just going to the market. That is, of course, culture, but I wanted to do something different."
Nunez's different approach intertwines language, art, photography, videography and oral history. He travels to rural schools to work with at-risk elementary and secondary students in projects ranging from community murals to student-directed videos.
Language
Recently Nunez arrived to a rural school and announced that he and the students would be exploring three different languages: English, Spanish, and the local indigenous language of Chinanteco, long forgotten by most families. The students were immediately excited about learning English. After all, most have aspirations to work in the United Sates. But it wasn't until days later that a student named Rigo whispered to Nunez, "I speak Chinanteco."
The students are shy about it, Nunez said, ashamed in some cases of their indigeneous heritage. Nunez later capured video of the student teaching his classmates simple words from the native language: mama, papa, milk, and tortilla. The children struggled to pronounce the words from the tonal language, but Rigo was a patient teacher, timid but beaming as he repeated the words for his friends.
"It just empowers him so much," Nunez said. "That's what we try to do when we go into the schools. We turn the students into the actual teachers."
Art
Vilma, a student who lags behind academically has benefitted, Nunez said, from another of his programs that provides art education to rural, at-risk students.
"She is actually dislexic and struggles so much with school," he said. Art became her way of expressing. Art became a way of connecting with her mother. Art became a way of connecting with her teachers. She became empowered."
Vilma began to paint stories, using text, paint, even bracelets that she made by hand.
"Most of these kids had never even had paint in these communities," Nunez said. "They are just amazed to see how they can combine colors to make a new one."
Nunez brings the student artwork from the villages to Oaxaca to exhibit in an art show for parents and members of the community. Funds raised from an auction at the art show go back into the education programs for indigenous communities.
Nunez also incorporates art education through the creation of murals. The students discuss their communities and design murals that depict the most important aspects of the village, often sparking greater dialogue. For example, students wondered if they should depict more women in their mural and which denominations of local churches should be included.
"We are creating spaces to negociate in terms of what is happening," Nunez said.
Adult members of the community would also join the discussions as they watched the painting progress. They pointed out inaccuracies and offered suggestions, sparking new conversations between generations.
Photography
In two separate projects, Nunez provided students with cameras and video cameras and instructed them to document their community.
"They are really good with the cameras. They are amazingly good," Nunez said, pointing out that working with photos and videos falls beyond the normal range of opportunities to which these young people have access.
"When you ask them about their future they say, 'Well, I'm going to migrate to the United States,' especialy the boys. They don't really have a lot of resources. The aspirations are really, really narrow because of that."
Nunez gathered Flip cameras, laptops, even his own personal camera for a group of secondary school boys to use to make their own documentary videos. They made short videos about the tortilla-making process and about a boulder in their village that is marked with prehistoric symbols.
But the most prevalent movie theme was that of unrequited love. Jorge, 15, a gifted artist who had always been good at drawing and painting, joined two classmates to create a video that portrayed some of his most private feelings.
"It's a story really about Jorge, about him being in love with his cousin," Nunez said. "But it's his cousin."
Nunez recorded the boys as they watched their movie for the first time. Present at the viewing also was Jorge's cousin. It was the first time Jorge was able to tell everyone how he felt. Jorge viewed the movie with a mix of trepidation and pride, glancing from his classmates to his cousins, and joining the applause at the movie's end.
Programs like these are almost non-existent in Oaxaca and surrounding areas. Nunez dreams of making these opportunities even more accessible by opening a place in the mountains for kids to go to after school to experiment with art and photography.
For more information about Ollin Tlahtoalli Language and Cultural Center, visit www.ollinoaxaca.org.mx.
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