Courtesy photos. Photo credits: Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior SRE) Binational Congress Dic 5, 2019, ClaryArts – Clara Victoria Martínez Rojas
Courtesy photo. Photo credit: ClaryArts – Clara Victoria Martínez Rojas
SANTA MARIA — The bilingual poetry of Santa Maria High School Spanish Teacher Enedina Castañeda was recently selected and remains on display at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico City.
Castañeda, one of 43 artists chosen nationwide and a member of the 1st Binational Congress for Mexican Artists Residing in the United States, were invited by the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) and by the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME, Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior). Her category was the poet and spoken word artist.
The three poems are entitled “Presencia” (about being present through poetry once the poet is no longer present), “Inner Power” (we all have the power within to achieve goals) and “La Tierra Distante” (nostalgy felt for the distant land left behind). Her work will stay on exhibit until January 2020 at the Mexican Embassy in Mexico City.
The purpose of the congress is to establish connections between Mexican artists in the United States, cultural institutions, artists in Mexico and to strengthen a network between them.
“I’m honored to represent my community at an international level and to give back to my community,’’ said Castañeda, adding she believes in the preservation of native and indigenous languages and the acquisition of second languages. We should maintain our cultural roots and embrace new cultures as well. We are establishing a bridge with Mexico to preserve the Mexican heritage, the Spanish and native languages and the arts in the United States.’’
The Mexican Consulate of Oxnard sponsored Castañeda.
Castañeda, who has been an educator for 25 years, is originally from Sinaloa and Jalisco, Mexico. She has been an active poet for 43 years, creating and writing poetry initially in Spanish, and now bilingually in Spanish and English.
When Castañeda first arrived in Santa Maria, her first full-time job was picking strawberries. In the past, she had picked chilies, tomatoes, and cotton in Sinaloa.
She attended SMHS where she struggled as a student due to her limitations in English. Then, she attended Allan Hancock Community College and transferred to the University of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
She added, “I’m a proud Saint, as the motto says, “Once a Saint always a Saint.”
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Santa Maria High School Spanish Teacher Enedina Castañeda
WHAT: 1st Binational Congress for Mexican Artists Residing in the United States were invited by the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) and by the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME, Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior)
WHERE/WHEN: Mexico City, December 5th and 6th, 2019 at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs
WHY: A congress with the purpose of establishing connections between Mexican artists in the United States and cultural institutions and artists in Mexico and to strengthen a network between said artists. This will allow the artists to continue with cultural projects in their communities. The alliance will facilitate collaboration among the artists to continue serving their people and communities.
The invitation was sent through the 50 Mexican Consulates in the USA to invite migrant artists of Mexican heritage to attend the congress. More than 80 artists responded, and finally, 43 artists were selected, all coming from 35 cities of the USA. The artists attended informative conferences and they met with officials and diplomats who promote the arts in Mexico. The artists visited cultural venues, such as El Palacio de Bellas Artes, la Fonoteca and la Cineteca Nacional, among other places. The multidisciplinary arts were represented by the artists attending the congress; for example, theater, music, graphic and fashion designs, plastic arts, dance, filmmaking, literature, poetry, and more. Every artist had a unique and outstanding background; however, they all had a common passion to promote and diffuse the arts in their communities. The purpose of the congress can be summarized as “to connect, to collaborate and to reinforce.”
There was also an art exhibit featuring the art of the migrant artists on the third floor of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE). 60 pieces were exhibited, from paintings, ceramics, graphic and fashion designs, to poetry and more. As of now, many of those pieces remain on exhibit, including the poetry of Castañeda. Fernanda Alva Ruiz was the curator of the art exhibit. She is the Director of Artistic and Cultural Heritage in Mexico. In addition, during the reception, music, dance, and poetry recitals were offered to delight those attending this special event.
WHO: Enedina Castañeda, poet, spoken word artist, and visual artist, from Santa Maria; Juan D Mendoza, multidisciplinary artist, from Ventura. They both were selected from our area.
Castañeda said “the Mexican Consulate of Oxnard submitted nominations of artists from the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. I would like to thank the Consulate for sponsoring my work as a poet. All nominations were sent to Mexico City where the final selection was made. My colleague, Juan D Mendoza and I were selected among the 43 artists.”
Juan D Mendoza is a multidisciplinary artist in fine arts, music, and theater. He is originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, and currently lives in Ventura. His artwork is in the private collection of Luciano Benetton in Italy, and it’s also in the collection of Ashida in Mexico. Currently, Mendoza performs in several musical plays and comedy shows in Hollywood. He has worked with children and youth, promoting the arts and culture.
Castañeda is from Sinaloa and Jalisco, Mexico, and lives in the Valley of Santa Maria, California. She has been an active poet for 43 years, creating and writing poetry initially in Spanish, and now bilingually in Spanish and English. She takes her poetry beyond just writing, from the written pages of her book to the stages where she performs her poetry with passion. Her spoken words can take her audience to another state of being. She also handwrites her poems and frames them because she perceives handwriting as a form art.
In addition to being an artist, Castañeda has served her community as an educator for 25 years. The journey was not easy: when she arrived in Santa Maria, her first full-time job was picking strawberries. In the past, she had picked chiles, tomatoes, and cotton in Sinaloa. She was given the opportunity to attend school and she entered Santa Maria High School (SMHS), where she struggled as a student due to her limitations in English. Then she attended Allan Hancock Community College and transferred to the University of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She encountered obstacles, and it took her many years to complete her education. Castañeda specializes on bilingual education and Spanish. She has taught multiple subjects at all grade levels. She currently teaches Spanish at Santa Maria High School, where she once was a student. She is a proud Saint, as the motto says, “Once a Saint, always a Saint”.
Castañeda advocates the preservation of native and indigenous languages and at the same time the acquisition of second languages. She strongly believes that we should maintain our cultural roots and embrace new cultures as well. She continues promoting education, culture, and arts.
Ambassador Iván Sierra, Executive Director of IME in Mexico, the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, said, “The Binational Congress of IME offered the opportunity to get to know the work and careers of 43 Mexican artists who live in 35 cities across the United States. All with the purpose of being united, collaborating and promoting Mexican arts and tradition.”
Retired Professor Margarita López López, from California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) stated, “I’m happy for the many opportunities poet Castañeda and I collaborated in bringing the arts to students and the community. For instance, our annual event Noche Literaria, in which the local and international communities participated along with faculty and students. Also, the International Women’s Day, with a poetry recital and interactive creative writing workshops with students’ writing as part of the CSUCI Broome Library exhibit. In another event, CSUCI students and faculty shared a night of reading, performance, and a poetry recital by Castañeda at the Rudy Acuña Gallery in Oxnard with presenters from the counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles. An ongoing project was El Canto de los Delfines, Multilingual Creative Journal, where Castañeda and her students, from Santa Maria High School, published original poetry, narrative, drawing, and photography.”
John Van Wie, Guitar and Choir Director in Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) department of SMHS, said, “It has been an honor to perform with Enedina Castañeda and to have the opportunity to compose guitar music to complement her poetry. We have been collaborating for the past couple of years and have received very positive responses from the students and faculty.”
Enedina Castañeda concludes by saying that she thanks all the people and many organizations that have supported her art throughout the last decades. Special thanks go out to director Karen Evangelista of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center; Castañeda’s art was welcomed permanently when it needed a place to be, and the venue was used for numerous poetry recitals. Castañeda thanks the Migrant Education Program for offering help when she struggled as a migrant student and for hiring her when she needed a job as an educator. She also thanks Professor López López for the many opportunities provided to her to share her poetry. Thanks to her colleague, music teacher, Richard Hernández for his continuous encouragement and collaboration with her. “I’m honored,” says Castañeda, “to represent my community at an international level and to give back to my community.”