La Bloga: Axolote

Xánath Caraza

Guest Columnist Denise Oyuki Castillo

Axolote is a multicultural student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that was created in the fall of 2014 in an effort to raise awareness and bring visibility to current political issues in Mexico. The desire of forming an organization was always present, but it was not until after the violent events that occurred on September 26th 2014 in Ayotzinapa, that this group was formed and became active in Madison.

One of the first projects was a bilingual edition of “Ayotzinapa. Desaparición política/ Forced Disappearances.” This is the first of the collection “Libros sobre la Marcha” and is available online through Pensaré Cartonera. This book collects the testimonies of some of the survivors of the violent events in Guerrero, where three students were killed and the state police in an alliance with drug cartels kidnapped 43 students. These testimonies deny the official version that the Government gave about the incidents that occurred in September 26th. The book includes a brief history of Guerrero and their problems with drug cartels. It also gives information about the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers College of Ayotzinapa and their political views. Throughout the pages of this book we can also find the voices of the protesters in México, voices that demand the safe return of the missing students from Ayotzinapa. These documents were gathered during the protests in Mexico in October 2014.

Axolote, as a group and with the consent of Pensaré Cartonera, started the translation and organized two Cartonera workshops in April. The money collected from these two events was sent to the families of the victims. Since all of the books were distributed, we are planning on organizing another workshop to create more. The bilingual edition is available online, and the Cartonera books can be created anywhere. In this way, all of the valuable information found within can be easily disseminated.

On May 2nd 2015, we participated in Strut! - a community procession planned by Mexican artist Laura Anderson Barbata that brought together different cultural organizations in Madison.

Right now, Axolote is organizing an exhibition for the main library of UW-Madison to take place during the months of September and October 2015. This exhibition “Ayotzinapa: Seeds Don’t Burn” will present two timelines of the drug war in México and the United States, as well as literature about Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, México and the United States, and ephemera collected from the protests in Mexico, such as posters and fliers. The objective is to show how these two countries are tied together through this situation. The exhibition will be available online as well.

Axolote is a small group that is trying to do its part to help alleviate the current situation in Mexico. We know that indifference kills. We are happy to see that this small group is growing, and we want to create awareness in our community because the violence in México has to stop, and we need to help this happen.

Denise Oyuki Castillo

Denise Oyuki Castillo holds an MA in Hispanic Literature from the University of New Mexico and is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with an emphasis in Colonial Spanish American Literature.

Denise y Pablo

La Bloga

Monday, June 15, 2015

Axolote

No comments:

Post a Comment