Thirteen children and youths from Tijuana, Baja California and members of the Cenzontle Semillero Creativo (Creative Seedbed) kicked off the activities of the folkloric dance and ceramics Semilleros in Los Angeles, California, which will be the first established outside of Mexico.
The event took place at the Plaza de la Raza and was attended by Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena Ibarra; Undersecretary of Cultural Development Marina Núñez Bespalova from the Ministry of Culture; the Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, Carlos González Gutiérrez, and the director of Plaza de la Raza, María Jiménez-Torres.
"This program is really dedicated to you, to the boys and girls of Los Angeles and Tijuana, where I believe that we are a great binational community, and that is what it is all about. We are a Mexican-American community and I want to say that I feel very happy and very moved by this event (...) All of you are exposed to violence, or have been exposed to discrimination, or have been exposed to violence, or have been exposed to violence in your schools. So what this program is about, is exactly the opposite: how to be included, how to be yourself; it’s about society," said Secretary Bárcena.
The Semilleros Creativos have existed in Mexico since 2019. They are community culture projects that promote artistic creation through dance, theater, music, and the visual and traditional arts, among others. In 2023, more than 15,000 children and youths participated in 443 Semilleros Creativos in 302 towns in Mexico. This has led to the children’s participation in festivals, competitions and local, national and international collaborations in countries such as Colombia, Cuba, France, Russia and the United States.
These two Semilleros Creativos are the first to be established abroad. Seventy children are already enrolled, and will receive, free of charge, Mexican folkloric dance classes and ceramics workshops.
In her remarks, Undersecretary Marina Núñez said: "This is historic; these are the first Semilleros Creativos to be held outside of Mexico. It is like planting a flag on the moon. That is why these 70 children who have enrolled in the two Semilleros that will be held in Los Angeles are very important."
She said that, in Mexico, the Semilleros are located in highly vulnerable areas, where children and youths work every day for four hours a day, with teachers and tools from the community. The connection that is forged can now be replicated in Los Angeles.
"We are in a place, in Los Angeles, where there is a fantastic Mexican community that, thanks to its dialogue, work, struggle and great strength over all these years, has a prominent presence that is an extension of our country here. You who have come in other years, who remain here, are ambassadors of our culture, you travel with your culture, because you bring the culture in your food, in your clothes, in your way of speaking … and, of course, it is transformed."
The Semilleros Creativos in this region are aimed at children and youths from the Mexican community. The goal is to promote the use of the Spanish language, but since there are participants who only speak English, the activities will be bilingual.
Registration began on January 19 and is still open so that more children and youths can benefit from the activities.
