SUMMER PROGRAM 2021: THE ART OF WELLNESS AND AGROECOLOGY
We expanded the Educa Cortés program: The Art of Wellness and Agroecology for 41 scholarship students during the 4 weeks of July 2021, integrating the Carnegie Library of Old San Juan as a third educational space. The La Perla Farm School, the Carnegie Library and the exhibit halls of Fundación Cortés received participants between the ages of 5-18, who received a La Borinqueña comic book, art materials, gardening materials, among many other things.
Reading and the values of Fundación Cortés were actively integrated as they had the opportunity to attend the following workshops:
Wellness and Mental Health, by Stephanie Rivera, our Program Manager, facilitated in our Focus Hall: Pedro Cortés Forteza, where students practiced mindfulness, identified emotions, and channeled them through creative expression through comics.
Agroecology, by Jerome Zayas, community leader, plastic artist and cook, held at La Perla Farm School. The students worked on the land while learning about food safety.
Art and Nature, by the plastic artist and professor at the School of Fine Arts and Design of Puerto Rico, Angélica Rivera, facilitated at the Carnegie Library. The students created their own self-portrait inspired by nature and drew with leaves that they harvested themselves. We thank the municipality of San Juan for giving us the opportunity.
We had the honor of being part of the workshop "Activate the Power of Touch to know the trees" facilitated by the ethnobotanical researcher María Benedetti, to learn to know the trees of the community in Old San Juan. In addition, she taught the students a new song to honor Mother Nature.
We are honored to have received the young entrepreneur Pedro Carlo Crespo Rodríguez, founder of the company Terra Industries LLC and creator of the "Terra Box", who was given to students to start their own gardens and thus promote sustainability practices in their homes.
During the fourth week of the Summer Program, the participants virtually met Edgardo Miranda-Rodríguez, creator of La Borinqueña. They learned about the creative process and upcoming adventures of La Borinqueña and, in addition, they shared their reflections after reading comic #1 throughout the month of July.
During the month of August 2021, in the Focus Hall: Pedro Cortés Forteza, the results of these workshops and experiences were presented. Each participant had the opportunity to present their drawings and paintings along with the works of the exhibition "La Borinqueña in San Juan".
We thank the Chocobar Cortés team for providing snacks and always supporting us in our projects. All this was possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Peter Alfond Foundation.
