El Anticéntrico by Carti
“Coming out of the darkness is a painful process, but you change little by little, until you become like the butterfly in the mural. That's how it was in my case.”
The idea of creating a mural in the two sites where the Anticéntrico project took place emerged as the conclusive piece to the creative workshop. This is the story of how Creamos participants manifested their artistic expression of past struggles and their path to freedom at the Creamos headquarters in Guatemala City.
It’s midday, a Friday in early October and the sun is burning, but that doesn't matter much. After several weeks of gray and rainy skies, the heat and dryness are a welcomed change for the women of Zone 3 and Zone 7 in the Anticentrico Group. At least for today, the weather has allowed for participants to get together and give life to the mural that they had imagined for the last few months.
During the workshop when the idea for the piece was developed, it was decided that the mural would be on one of the white walls surrounding the Creamos nursery. The creation of the mural relied on a clear sky and maximum sun illumination so that participants could paint without the risk of rain.
The women arrive at Creamos. After organizing jars of paint, taking out brushes and arranging their supplies, they agree on the most practical way to manifest the design they have chosen to depict on the wall.
Their work consists of a perpendicular triptych that reveals three scenarios. The first depicts a small dark triangle floating within a square of jumbled lines. Next to it, a larger triangle is shown hovering over water, while a pair of birds perch on a nearby branch. The third part boasts a butterfly spreading its immense wings, created from a weft of embroidered lines.
"The whole mural speaks of the freedom and the desire we have after overcoming past struggles and anguish," says Helen Rodas, as she arranges several sheets of paper in one of the Creamos classrooms.
On the classroom floor, more than 20 rectangular sheets are spread out, and when grouped together, give shape to the central image showing the triangle surrounded by birds.
Outside, near the nursery, the rest of the participants follow the same plan for the three parts of the mural: spread out the leaves, number them, stir the colors and paint them. The sheets remain under stones to prevent them from flying away and find their transformation as the brushstrokes of color dance over their surface.
The paints determine the colorful canvas and how the butterfly changes from a dark hue to a vibrant red that dominates its wings, as well as the green, yellow, blue and orange that outline its silhouette.
The decision to give life to the butterfly was not by chance. One of the most beautiful insects in the world turned out to be a metaphor of excellence, aligning with the sentiments of Creamos participants as they bring the mural to life in front of their eyes.
Vilma López, 51 years old, through her own struggles was able to understand what freedom really means. The typical act of the butterfly resonates with Creamos participants, from an innocent and peaceful gesture, it emerges from the ground and flies to its freedom. While she talks about black colored triangles on the mural’s wallpaper, Vilma tells us that darkness has always been present in women's lives. She tells us that it is also no coincidence that this mural pays attention to this stage of grief.
With a calm tone and conscious of the weight of her words, Vilma also tells us: "Coming out of the darkness is a painful process, but you change little by little, until you become like the butterfly in the mural. That's how it was in my case. I could not go out in the street because I would run into my children's father and he would be violent towards me. I couldn't go out because I was afraid. But then I freed myself from his grip and decided that this would not happen again, and I would not suffer any longer. With this newfound courage, I reported him. This was about twenty years ago. Now when I see the butterfly, I identify with it a lot, because they begin small and then fly far away".
Next to Vilma is 21-year-old, Astrid Jocol. She is attentively painting yellow on a leaf, not letting herself be distracted until she decides to pause. She turns and allows us to ask her, "What does this mural mean to you?". "For me, it represents strength. I feel that I have been able to express myself in this creative space. I like the butterfly because it speaks of transformation and liberation. I think there are people who are oppressed by fear and don't have the courage to express what they feel," she shares, while seated on the ground in front of the left wing of the butterfly.
As the figure takes on new colors, the small lines that border the silhouette of the winged insect are also visible. Some strokes are straight and others follow a dispersed path, almost like a stitch of thread. What else could this evoke but the mending of something that was once broken?
For Vilma, the threads can be something else: "I think it means that we can bring women together, those who may feel abandoned. It's like finding each other. Many times, as women, we women are deprived from this interpersonal connection and made to feel that we are not valued," she notes.
At this point, the sheets of the three sections are ready to be glued together. The scraps are transformed into one whole, reflecting the desire to heal collectively. As the sections are united, the words of Alejandra Ramirez, 19 years old, resound with the group. The sheets begin to take on new form, portraying the young woman who said she was afraid to grow up. "It is complicated to grow up in an environment where there is a lot of fear. Being a woman can already generate fear because we are in an environment that encloses us more and more in different aspects. But in the end, I think these feelings are shared amongst many many of us women," she added.
As one experiences and shares in a collective act — like creating and papering an image — there is always the opportunity to bring to light what is hidden from us by our own vulnerability.
"How do you feel knowing that other girls have also experienced those same fears of growing up?" Alejandra is asked. Without thinking much, she alludes to a feeling of power, and above all, "feeling at peace and accompanied".
Taking into account her experience within the creative space, Alejandra shares her thoughts on the figure on the wall: "When we worked on the mural I felt solidarity with the other women. Precisely because many of us here identify with the butterfly. At first, we felt small like the caterpillar, that we had been in our comfort zone like the cocoon, but we emerged from the cocoon and flew towards our freedom".