Week Five: Voices of Cuernavaca and The Impact of Community

A highlight of this week was a delicious lunch with the Base Christian Community group, Luz y Libertad.

Members of Luz y Libertad included Teresa Andrade Garcia, Maria Alma Chaires, Victoria Maria de Leon Alvarado, Eustorqia Estada Saldana and Blanca (last name not available).



By Camille Hart



This past week was interesting and eventful. We had quite a few excursions that gave us insight on different aspects of Base Christian Communities (BCCs) and the people involved. Before coming to Mexico I had never heard of a Base Christian Community but what I have learned has sparked an interest.


What is a Base Christian Community? According to our Liberation Theology Instructor, Ann Lutterman- Aguilar, BCC’s are group meetings where people come and study the Bible through the view of their lives. The communities are most likely made up of poor people coming together to analyze their reality. We had the opportunity to meet with two base Christian communities. The first group we met with has not been around long but they carry on with the few people they have come, which can be as few as 5. The second group, Luz y Libertad, has been in existence for almost 17 years. These two groups had some similarities in their beliefs but their actions where different.


Tuesday evening we attended the bible study of the first community. There were about 10 people in attendance throughout the meeting not including our group. One of the first things we did was go around a home made cross made on a table with different pictures. Each one of us was to go around the circle and share which picture caught our eye. All of the pictures were of women. Many people pointed out the picture of the Virgin Guadalupe in the center. One of the few men there shared how important the Virgin is and that she is an example of liberation. That discussion was a leeway into the scripture for that evening. The passage of choice was Luke 1:39-56: Mary Visits Elizabeth and Mary’s Song of Praise. We discussed what Mary symbolizes to us. People shared that Mary was strong, a leader, a messenger, and obedient. A few women pointed out that they looked up to Mary for being obedient but the leader pointed out that obedience is not what Mary symbolizes because obedience can be a form of oppression, instead Mary was a symbol of courage.

Courage is a good way to view Mary. Another question we were faced with was: where are the Marys’ of today? It took me a couple of minutes to think about that question and by the time I was ready to answer a few other questions had been asked but it was important to share where they are. I said, “The Mary’s of today are right here”. I meant that in a number of ways. Earlier we had discussed the obstacles the group faced of getting more people to attend. One of them was that some women were not able to attend because their partners would not let them or they were afraid of retaliation if they did. So for those women who did come they displayed courage and the same went for the men who attended. The men displayed courage against the taunting they may receive by other males for being apart of the group. The people in attendance also demonstrated the courage of Mary by encouraging others to attend these meetings.

Thursday we met with Luz y Libertad. It is organized between five women, four which have been apart for over a decade.[2] They began as a base Christian community that reflected on the word of God but over time they have evolved into an organization that does much more. In addition to weekly bible studies, the ladies of Luz y Libertad facilitate workshops though out the year. The workshops cover three different subjects: Nutrition, Arts & Crafts, and Self Esteem. In the nutrition work shop participants are educated on how to make dishes with soy, gluten, and wheat germ. All the items they are taught to cook with are much cheaper than meat and can be sold to others. The Arts & Crafts workshops teach attendees embroidery and bag weaving. These skills can be used to bring more income to the women because it is difficult for people over 30 in Mexico to find work in factories or businesses. The third workshop on self esteem is a forum to make women aware of the social inequalities around them. It is an open discussion where everyone can learn from each other, there is no teacher. A donation of 10 pesos is asked for each workshop session but no one is turned away if they can’t pay. The members of Luz y Libertad also shared that Mary is important to them and is someone we should replicate (just like at the first BCC). By giving workshops the women of Luz y Libertad are imitating Mary.

Friday we met with other women that exemplified the same courage as Mary. All three women are associated with the Crossing Borders program. [3] They shared their personal stories of living in poverty and what that lead to. All three women have fallen victim of abuse by someone who abused alcohol but they were able to over come their past. One of the ladies got an accounting degree and is now working for a non-profit and taking care of her disabled son. One of the cooks for CEMAL who recently started elementary school to learn how to read was determined and successful at getting all of her children educated. A former cook for CEMAL overcame the abuse of her husband after attending BCC meetings that also taught her to read by using the Bible. Not only did she encourage her children to get educated because she had sacrificed a lot for them, she also encouraged us to appreciate the opportunity to gain an education.

To wrap up the BCC experience, Sunday we attended a remembrance ceremony/ market put on by the first BCC that we visited. A close friend of the group and former CGE employee, Felix Arines, passed away a few years ago and in celebration of his life the group has a market every two weeks. At the market people sell food, clothes, household items, etc. This particular Sunday was the anniversary of the passing and as a way to celebrate there was a service that had representatives from different religions backgrounds. The sense of community at the market is something that I can’t wait to experience again.



Professor Ann Lutterman-Aguilar speaking in memory of friend and colleague Felix Arines at the rememberance ceremony.


















By Emily Papke-Larson


At the beginning of our fifth week into the study abroad session, our group traveled to the home of Alejandro Gonzalez Aranda, a prominant graphic artist inthe community of Cuernavaca. We were warmly welcomed and given an interesting lecture using the art that he creates as a guide to the history of the Mexican Revolution. His talk was complete with old black and white photographs of manyof the key players in the revolution and it was interesting to finally havevisual images to go with all of the history we have been taking in. Alejandrohas a new art exhibit in the works which opened at Augsburg College in the Christensen Center Art Gallery on September 14th, and will be running through October 26th. This particular show is entitled: Una vision oculta de Mexico atraves de sus tejedoras de palma” or An unseen vision of Mexico through her women weavers of palm.

On Friday morning we were allowed a privilaged glimpse into the lives of three strong Mexican women during a round-table discussion about women’sempowerment. Xochitl Ramirez Velasco, Teresa Velazquez, and Loren Landa each told us their personal stories and gave us beautiful examples of what strengthand courage it takes to find your voice when faced with steep and oftendangerous odds. I truly believe that stories are the threads that bind ustogether and the words which have the most meaning to us, we weave together tocreate stories which allow us to more fully connect to others.

bell hooks writes that “Tension is alleviated by people speaking the truthof their lives, not just the truth of knowledge.” I believe this quote alsoholds much truth, for although being reminded of past hardships can beincredibly painful, it can also be very healing. By telling our own stories andsharing an intimate part of ourselves we all become teachers and a formaleducation becomes irrelevant. We provide others with the opportunity to learnfrom us and it is often the stories that are most quitely spoken which have themost impact on us. Xochitl, Tere, and Loren all told us incredible stories abouttheir lives and the three hours that we spent together were filled with bothlaughter and tears. I found myself pulled toward these women in a way in which Inever expected. These are the women who live with us, provide us with wonderfulmeals, share smiles and jokes with us and seemingly never stop giving ofthemselves. They are also women who have experienced more suffering than I canimagine.

Stories of liberation are often filled with pain and suffering but they arealso filled with selfless acts, brave decisions and courageous steps forward.These three women are among the most courageous I have ever met. They have leftabusive relationships, stood up for themselves and others when necessary,refused to remain stagnant and have continued growing through out their lives,and although they may not realize it, these women have provided inspiration forthe many students who have passed through CEMAL.

On Thursday night a group of students attended an optional discussion/question and anwser session on sexuality in Mexico led by Raziel Valiño, a former CGE intern who is now working on her thesis, studying bisexuality in the state of Morelos. The discussion was awesome, covering ground we were all wondering about, but hadn’t had the opportunity to learn about yet.

The LGBTQ movement in Mexico is quite large but also quite young, making itsfirst appearance in the 1980’s. Although it is a young movement, it has alreadyhad quite an impact on the culture in Mexico, especially in large cities such asMexico City, where the domestic partnerships law was recently passed. However,despite the size of the movement there is still a large social stigmasurrounding the LGBTQ movement in Mexico. The identifying term “Queer” is nonexistant and those who choose to support the queer movement often fall prey tosocial stigma. It is also acceptable for those who choose to identify LGBTQ tobe “out” in their small social circles, but sexuality is generally not spokenabout. The media, especially soap operas, play a large role influencing thedominant sexual identiy of the culture. Mexico has very heavily stereotypedroles for both men and women and because of this many young people often don’tidentify as LGBTQ.For those living in the indigenous communities the concept ofsexuality is different then for those living in urban areas. Women are often unaware of their bodies and as a result feel ashamed of learning about orshowing it. Because of this trend, sex is generally only for producing children,who provide an inexpensive (except for food, clothing. etc.) and large laborforce. This was one of our most enlightening discussions yet because of it’sinformal atmosphere. Overall, this week was one filled with great discussionsand lots of learning.