SPECULUM {sk+en} 1/2015
manifested in surrounded villages and neighborhoods in the outskirts of Oaxaca (Santo 2013). 2012 marked the completion of the El Pocito, where Estación Cero project is now located. The space, situated on the top of the hill above Pueblo Nuevo, gives the impression of a watchtower overlooking cultural activities and community development of the village. Aside from workshops, lectures, and other cultural activities, where people from Pueblo Nuevo are primarily involved, Estación Cero also hosts politically-oriented artistic workshops. Workshop topics usually relate to the engagement of civic policymaking and to autonomous, local community-building16, both of which could be perceived as antitheses to neo-liberalistic practices. In such projects, participating artists and social scientists from Mexico and other Latin American countries come together. Although these projects are rather artistic and theoretical, some of their findings become practice in the functioning community of Pueblo Nuevo, which makes Estación Cero a real neo-liberalistic laboratory. These projects mostly consist of artistic interventions in public space, accentuating the importance of community cohesion and contributing to community life by organizing workshops and by creating public art with community members. The majority of such Estacion Cero workshops are held in spacious garden, usually surrounded by exposed frames with plastic foil, (spray) painted by workshops participants. Artists teach anyone in the neighborhood interested in improving art skills, mainly in graffiti and other forms of street art. Workshop attendees, who are mainly youths, are taught to better articulate their needs, life experiences and express themselves through art. It helps improve not only the style of public art emerging in the community, but also the art content. Such focus encourages the youth’s curiosity to further learning about public art and artists, e.g. about the Mexican tradition of Muralism, which is very influential and inspirational in Mexico, even in unofficial public art. This focus helps workshop participants appreciate their culture roots, become more interested in education and make the neighborhood visually a more pleasant place. At the end of the day, community members (usually parents of participating youths) come to see results of the workshops, have dinner together, share a bonfire and enjoy community life. 16 The community is perceived as a self-creating art piece (similarly to Duchamp’s concept of readymade and contemporary conceptual art) in some of these projects.
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The last time I was in Pueblo Nuevo (November 2013), new roads were made in the village as the result of community planning to improve life conditions of Pueblo Nuevo. The main point of community meetings (mostly held in Estación Cero and organized by the Santos brothers) was to seek solutions to dangerous night crimes. Since the government of Oaxaca was not reacting to their repeated complaints, the community decided to arm themselves in defense of the entire village.17 The case of Reynosa Tamaulipas: No debe decir
Halloween18 Author/ Year/ Author of the picture: Unknown, 2012, archive of Díaz family The barrio (Spanish for neighborhood) of Reynosa Tamaulipas is situated in northern Mexico City, in the Azcapotzalco district. There, art as an agent of community collaboration and identity building vehicle of the barrio is expressed visually, taking the unusual form of car décor reminiscent street art. The neighbors of this barrio meet for the decoration of their cars, covered by mud and then spray painted with nationalistic, local and religious symbols and icons. The peak of this activity is the celebration of the Day of the Dead when the “Monster cars” show, as the community calls them, moves to Mexico City center. 17 The phenomenon of militia is increasingly occurring throughout Mexico, especially in areas where narcotraficantes (drug cartels) have more power than forces of the Mexican state (e.g. in some parts of the state of Michoacan, in northern areas etc.). 18 „It can’t say Halloween“is written in Facebook page of “Moster cars” (cars from Reynosa Tamaulipas discussed in following pages) as one of the requirements for participation in the initial stage. – see https://www.facebook.com/ MonsterCarsHnosDiaz/info, 1/20/2015