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Who we are
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This
web site is designed by Arte Acción in Copán
Ruinas, Honduras. Arte Acción is a social-cultural
association with offices in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras,
and Copán Ruinas. In Tegucigalpa, our partners organize,
among other things, theatre and circus projects. In Copán
Ruinas we work more with the arts, photography and video. We're
all good friends and we work together as much as we can, but our
work is also very different. Tegucigalpa is a big and dangerous
city where the children and young adults have very different problems
from the ones in Copán. In Tegucigalpa there's a lot of violence
that seriously affect children's lives. Copán Ruinas is a
small town on the countryside where violence isn't such a big problem
yet, but there are many others. There's a lot of poverty and a lot
of children don't go to school, nor can they get good healthcare.
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Arte
Acción brings a bit of fun and laughter to the children
in Honduras. In Copán Ruinas we do that through art workshops,
games and sport. If you want to know more about our projects, click
here. If you want to know what our friends in Tegucigalpa do,
click here!
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Why teaching art to people so poor?
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A
lot of children in the rural area of Honduras have nothing but the
clothes they wear. No toys, no shoes, not even their own bed to sleep
in. Sometimes they have a low self-esteem. They think that because
they're poor, or because they can't write very well, they're not as
smart as other children. Sometimes children don't finish elementary
school and have for that reason little confidence in themselves. But
in the arts that doesn't matter! Every child can make a beautiful
drawing or sing a song! You don't need to be rich or educated to be
able to enjoy the arts, And while children draw, play, sing or act,
their self-esteem and confidence grow little by little.
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At the
same time, children learn to see the World with different eyes.
The leaves of a tree are not just one shade of green. There are
so many different shades and each leaf is different! Just like the
children themselves: they're all just as worthy, but each child
has its own special abilities.
Through the arts children learn that the world is not just black
and white. The world is full of colours, just like life is full
of opportunities, for everyone!
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Our Maya project
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In
Copán Ruinas, Arte Acción teaches children
in town, but also in the small village in the area. That's where
a lot of Maya Chortí children live. They are the descendents
of the Mayas who left the fabulous ruins of Copán. But a
lot of children are not even aware that they themselves are Mayas!
That's why we started a Maya culture program in these villages.
Our instructors Lóndin Velásquez, Moisés Mancía
and Elsa Morales visit once a month a total of 24 villages to conduct
an art workshop and talk about archaeology and conservation. Conservation
of the Maya culture is very important so these children's sons and
daughters will also be able to feel proud of the rich Maya culture.
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We started
our Maya Project in February of 2007 and we keep on going. Each
child receives a copy of an activity book and for the smaller children
there's a colouring book with a short text in Spanish and Maya Chortí.
The text of this web-site is based on the text of the activity book.
Whenever we can we take children on excursion to the Archaeological
Park so they can see the buildings and statues with their own eyes.
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In February
of 2009 we started a small archaeological project with a group of
children from the village of La Pintada. The site the children are
working at is a recently abandoned Maya house, but not an official
archaeological site, of course. The children are learning how to
clean a site, to excavate, to measure and map, top draw artifacts
and how to take technical photos. Every little thing they find is
labeled and stored in our "lab" (a big plastic container).
The funniest piece of evidence found so far: a pair of ladies' underwear!
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How can YOU help?
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Because
Arte Acción works with children who are mostly pretty
poor, we never charge for our classes. All our activities are freely
accessible. But the problem is that these activities do cost money!
We have to pay for the supplies, the transportation to the villages
and our instructors receive a salary. So somehow we have to find
the money to pay for that all. We are lucky enough to have found
an organization in the US that supports us. It's called MACHI
(Maya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative) and is directed by archaeologists
who are very interested in the conservation of Maya culture. Not
just ancient Maya culture, but also language, art and traditions
of today's Mayas! MACHI also support projects in Belize, Mexico
and Guatemala. Of course we are very happy that MACH sponsors our
Maya Project. But we can always use more money!
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And
you can help! What do you do by the end of the school year with
your left over art supplies? Into the trash can? Why not sending
them to Honduras! If you don't have a lot to give away, why don'
t you consider organizing an event at school to raise money for
Arte Acción and the children in Copán? What
about a cultural event about Maya culture? You'll find a lot of
information on this web-site that can be helpful. Think about
it! Every bit of support, no matter how small, is very welcome!
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Contact us!
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If you
want to learn more about Arte Acción Copán Ruinas,
visit our web-site or send us an email.
Arte
Acción Copán Ruinas
Avenida Sesesmil,
Barrio El Centro
Copán Ruinas, Copán
Honduras, C. A.
Tel (504) 651-4838
arteaccioncopan@yahoo.com
www.arteaccionhonduras.org
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Credits
Most
of the text and illustrations on this web-site appear in the book
La Cultura Maya en Copán, written and illustrated
by Carin Steen and financed by MACHI.
The photos are by Lise
Winters and Carin Steen except the ones of the archaeologists
that were found on the Internet without credits.
We'd like to thank MACHI for making our Maya Project a reality;
Argi Diez for editing the Spanish text, Christine Hughes and Ilke
Schaart for the translation into English; Nina du Mée for
the Dutch translation; Ronald Reinds for technical support; Londin,
Elsa and Moisés for being such fabulous instructors of the
Maya Project and of course the children of Copán Ruinas who
always participate with such enthusiasm in our activities!
Web-design: Carin Steen
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