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The Rays of Light Youth Art Project, operating since August 2002, provides youths with an enriching alternative to being in the streets. Students of the project, like Santos, take weekly classes in drawing, painting, silkscreening and more.
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Name: Santos Age: 22 years old What kind of work do you do? I don't have a full-time job. From time to time I repair auto bodies and do paint jobs. |
 Santos, a former gang member, is now a student of the Art Project |
Why did you choose to
participate in this project, and when did you do it?
I remember that in August 2002 when the project got started, I was one of the first students who came here. I became aware of the project because Jose Alberto García -- who is both an artist and architect -- approached me and a group of gang friends when he saw us on the street one day. He greeted every one of us with a handshake and started to tell us about the "Rays of Light" project. It caught my attention because a bad experience within the gangs, which almost ended my life, had prompted me to slowly but surely get out of that scene. These classes were a good thing for me. I also joined the project because I've always liked drawing; even though I didn't know anything about painting, I figured I could learn. At the beginning I didn't like the classes as I was used to doing other things with the gangs, but as I slowly quit smoking marijuana and the gang, I enjoyed the drawing and painting classes more and more. From that point on, I have missed very few days of class.
Have there been any
changes in your life as a result of participation in the art project?
How have these results benefited your family?
Yes, I have seen lots of
changes in my life since I started with the project. People trust me
more now. I have quit using marijuana and left the Mara Salvatrucha
gang. Now, people look for me when they need small auto repair jobs
and car painting. I have also sold some of my art works from the painting
and drawing classes. The other day, a friend of mine whose father is
a pastor saw me drawing on my pants, which I often do, and asked me
if I could draw. I said yes, and this guy told his father who later
asked me to paint a mural at a church. I made $60 for that job. I spend
the money that I make on my personal expenses.
In a Tierra Blanca church they know I can paint, and they've asked me to paint some murals, one close to the pulpit and the other mural in the entry way. The mural will have the symbol of flowing water. Just like that job, I have others. For example, the other day, a friend from school was looking for me so I would help him with one of his assignments that involved a drawing. There is also a man who I helped recently to fix his car and since he liked the way I worked, now he wants me to paint it too. There are several opportunities that are coming up, but I know that if I still were involved with street gangs and not with this project nobody would look for me, nobody would trust me. They would fear me. With this project I feel that I am becoming more a part of society. I'm respected and I know that if something were to happen to me in the streets today, nobody would turn their back on me.
What are your plans for the future? How have these been shaped by the art project?
| I would like to continue learning to be an auto mechanic and do body work and paint jobs even though I don't have the money to do that. I plan to continue with the art project for as long as classes are offered. That is, for as long as the professor can come. |
 Santos with one his paintings |
What is the significance
of this project for your community?
Just like I have changed
and found help, I believe that many more people who truly want to change
can do it and feel supported. This kind of project encourages young
people to be saner. For instance, when see my friends on the wrong path,
I advise them to stay away from drinking, drugs, and street gangs because
they don't get you anywhere meaningful. It is precisely because I have
experienced it, that I know that such things only lead to conflict and
problems. I think that for many young people I'm seen as an example
of change as they have seen my rebirth come about because of the project.
Proof of this, is that now I'm not only involved in the Art Project
but also in the Tattoo Removal Project.
Would you like to add any comments or share an experience about yourself
or the project?
When I was 11 years old
and in third grade I stopped going to school because a few of my friends
taught me how to smoke marijuana, to pick fights, to believe I had power,
to get into trouble, and so on. I spent eight years smoking dope. Because
of a friend I got deeper into trouble caused by the Mara Salvatrucha
gang, to which I belonged. We used to get together every day from 6pm
to 2am and plot what we would do to the rival street gang. I came close
to losing my life many times when they attacked us. Once, I remember
that I almost died when they attacked us with guns. Of the 30 people
that were there, two came out severely injured, one of them being me.
I almost lost my life, but in the end it was very useful because I realized
that none of my gang buddies defended me. We were left alone, and unlike
what I used to do when somebody was in trouble, nobody came to help
me. I felt alone, and I told myself that it was not worth continuing
in a group in which you think you have people who support you, but at
the moment of truth they don't.
From that moment on, I
decided to slowly get out of the gangs, and to try to live a better
life, free from trouble and hiding. I have distanced myself from the
group and it has been two years since I quit smoking marijuana (I quit
because when I smoked I used to get into deep trouble and I couldn't
even remember why on the next day).
I have learned a lot, although I still live a somewhat unstable life
as a result of my troubled past. For instance, I don't sleep in the
same place every night because I want to avoid being found and hurt
by people who still want to take revenge against me. This situation
is a bit difficult, but I realize only now that these are the effects
of my past behavior. I feel happy; and because I see that people in
the community trust me as a result of my involvement in the art and
tattoo projects, people know that I have changed and that I want to
make a good life for myself.
However, because of my
new life, a while ago I was attacked and left on the ground. I couldn't
move. A woman from the community, who didn't like me in the past because
I was a gang member, saw me and decided to help me and call the cops.
None of this would have happened if I were still with gangs, but since
people are aware of my positive change, now they don't fear me. The
lady who helped is proof of that.
In my recent past, I was learning to do body work, auto repair and paint jobs at a shop. I didn't get paid but it was useful because I learned a lot of good things. I know a bit about electric systems and electronics. I know how to fix small appliances, like recorders. Some times people call me to do auto repairs, bodywork or paint jobs. People look for my help whenever they have minor car trouble. I enjoy the painting and embossing classes so much because I relate them to the bodywork and paint jobs for cars. If you think about it, bodywork almost has the same steps as embossing, is just that in the latter there are more detailed drawings. I've always liked to draw. Even before coming to drawing classes and having little skill, I was looking for landscapes in the newspapers so I could draw them. What I didn't know very well was how to paint, but now that I consider I can do it successfully, I can see how much I've learned in the painting and drawing classes.