Harry Cruz, Regis House

Aileen Sanchez, FAVA/CA

On

Introduction:

FAVA/CA, the Florida International Volunteer Corps, contacted Regis House to help La Cruz Blanca Panameña promulgate its drug prevention and treatment strategies through a series of training workshops and arts-based drug prevention activities. These efforts which included a week-long seminar, an art exhibit of paintings on substance abuse, and the creation of a collaborative mural were collectively organized under the project title of "Compartiendo con Panamá"

Activities:

Regis House, a Florida non-profit agency incorporated in 1984 under the leadership of Fr. Francisco Perez-Lerena, S.J., volunteered two consultants to implement the "Compartiendo con Panamá" project: Miami-based artist and prevention specialist Xavier Cortada, M.P.A., J.D. and Nicaraguan-born therapist and drug educator, Dr. Danilo Pozo, P.A., C.A.P.

The Conference

On September 6, 1999 at 9 a.m., Mr. Cortada and Dr. Pozo joined officers of help La Cruz Blanca Panameña and diginitaries (including the Vice Mayor of Panama, and the Vice Minister of Health) in a press conference and launching of the "Compartiendo con Panamá" project at the hotel El Panama in Panama City.

At 10:00 am, Mr. Cortada presented the conference's first workshop, "Art-based Prevention Strategies," which included a video and slide show presentation of successful art projects he had conducted. Starting at 1 p.m. that after noon, Dr. Pozo presented lectures on prevention and treatment. They continued from 9 am to 4 pm on Tuesday, Thursday, and ended on Friday morning.

The Collaborative Mural

Mr. Cortada also facilitated the creation of a collaborative mural, Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 48" x 108" (1999), which was donated to the "people of Panama" on behalf of FAVA/CA's and Regis House, and La Cruz Blanca Panameña. La Cruz Blanca Panameña, which hopes to use this mural to launch a cultural program that will commission, exhibit and grow a permanent collection of other collaborative community art pieces, is the organization charged with fiduciary and custodial responsibility over the mural.

The collaborative mural creation process included sessions with youth in three Panamanian provinces. These youth were convened by the regional offices of help La Cruz Blanca Panameña that had previously provided prevention services to these adolescents. As such, some of the sessions focused not only on a prevention activity aimed directly at the participants but also as a training workshop on art-based strategies which these youth leaders could implement in their communities

 

City		Date		Number of participants
David, Chiriqui		9/4/99		40
Colon		9/7/99		40
Panama City		9/8/99		50

During the three sessions Cortada lectured on prevention, and facilitated a group session that ended with each youth drawing or writing a drug prevention message on a small piece of paper. This along with the input/messages Cortada received from 20 conference participants during his presentation/workshop on September 6, 1999, yielded 200 images that were incorporated into the collaborative mural.

Cortada began creating the mural on Wednesday and completed it 24 hours later. The mural was created on four three foot by four foot canvas panels, for easy transport and handling. The mural's central image was Cortada's composition of Panamanians reaching out to and supporting one another as family; it was surrounded by a collage of 200 anti-drug messages and drawings that were glued on with the help of art students and select La Cruz Blanca Panameña volunteers. The mural was titled: Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 48" x 108" (1999).

The Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas mural captures the individual and collective resolve of the people of Panama with respect to one of the biggest problems they confront. It serves as a testament to their commitment, courage and creativity as they collaborate with one another to create a drug-free nation. Decades the same school children who created the mural can return with their children and grandchildren and demonstrate how they worked through La Cruz Blanca Panameña to build them a country free from the scourge of drugs.

The Unveiling

Panama's First Lady, Panama City's Mayor, the country's Eduaction Minister, the nation's Procurador, and La Cruz Blanca's President, joined artist Xavier Cortada in unveiling the Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas mural at a special luncheon on September 10, 1999 in the El Panama Hotel. Invitees included over one hundred people representing many of the nation's governmental, international and non-profit anti-drug organizations, as well as media, conference participants, and artists. The luncheon also featured a privite showing of Cortada's anti-drug exhibit which was to be opened later on that evening at the University.

 
The Art Exhibit

Mr. Cortada, who designed the overall program, presented "Compartiendo con Panama" , an exhibit of his anti-drug paintings, at the El Panama during the length of the conference before transporting the works to the the Simon Bolivar Library of La Universidad de Panamá for the opening of the exhibit on the evening of September 10, 1999. The exhibit consisted of eight drug-prevention themed paintings created by Xavier Cortada and a six panel photo-reproduction of a mural created in the Washington DC MADD National Youth Summit. These paintings/photos will remain in Panama for several weeks, with planned exhibits in the Municipal Palace and Chase Manhattan Bank, before being shipped back to the US.

The exhibit also included another piece, which is to remain permanently in Panama. That is the 4-panel collaborative mural created with drawings and messages created by 200 Panamanian youth during the "Compartiendo con Panamá" project.

10. Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas Mixed media on canvas 1999 48" x 108"

The Website

Non-programmed Accomplishments and Conclusions:

The "Compartiendo con Panamá" project exceeded all expectations of success. Media exposure in newspapers, radio, and television was astounding, covering the project from beginning to end. Impromptu meetings with interested parties, including University art students, high school art students, and prominent local artists, provided opportunities for further dissemination of the collaborative art construct.

The Colon prevention sessions yielded the planning of a community mural for the Colon community. Using the lessons learned in the prevention sessions, youth decided they wanted to create a drug prevention mural for their community. Cortada facilitated a meeting where three youth leaders were selected by their peers to lead them in finding siting, developing a theme, designing the composition and painting a mural in the city.

La Cruz Blanca should, reach out to artists' group and link with regional offices to develop similar murals in Panama. The organization's technical staff already benefited from Cortada's conference presentation on this mural creating process. Similarly, along with many professional artists and art students, they witnessed and/or participated in the hands-on mural creating process. It is only a matter of linking them together before this art-based prevention activity can spread throughout the country.

The impact of our work also moved others into action: The US Narcotic Affairs Section Director in Panama was present at the unveiling luncheon, and pledges to underwrite the costs of creating life-size photo-replicas and traditional posters of Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas mural. Two of these life-size replicas are to be placed in Chiriqui and Colon, and the posters are to be disseminated to the 200 mural collaborators as well as schools, governmental institutions, parks and other areas that would benefit from the prevention message. Naturally, after it travels to cultural centers and municipal palaces in other provinces, La Cruz Blanca should keep the Pintemos un Panama Libre de Drogas mural in Panama City, safe and secure for future generations.

Recommendations for Regis House and FAVA/CA:

This art-based effort has a remarkable appeal and should be an obvious choice for replication in other sites. Indeed, there is already support for it: Two of the conference participants were from Casa Abierta in the Dominican Republic--they are eager to host a FAVA/CA-Regis House sponsored "Compartiendo con La Republica Dominicana." The program is ideal because it uses art as a universal language to help coalesce others in delivering a very important message. It also sets a pace for the conference, building to a crescendo as the mural is completed and unveiled. And naturally, because it is visual and gradually builds on itself, it is a natural for media attention. Lastly, long after the program ends, it remains as a conspicuous reminder of all the things that were resolved and accomplished during the process.

Regis House and FAVA/CA should explore a more permanent partnership to replicate this program in various other sites. A weeklong program like this can be easily replicated on a quarterly basis. From an artistic point of view, Cortada is willing to participate, loan his anti-drug exhibit to local cultural institutions, and on the agencies' behalf donate the collaborative murals to established museums and cultural institutions for the enjoyment of future generations.