Thanks for the parrots

Don Antonio Goicochea is a San Miguel teacher, a promoter of reading and good ways of teaching children in schools; he is also a producer of teaching materials. "El Antu", as he is affectionately known, is also a writer and, among his productions, a few years ago he published the book "My talking parrot", in which he narrates many stories that occurred in his native San Miguel and elsewhere. 

This entertaining book will soon be in our rural libraries thanks to a donation that Antu himself has made for our Network.

We are recognized for the valuable books we have received. We know that each issue will encourage reading in the communities where they will soon arrive.

Thank you Professor Antonio, for your contribution to our libraries.

Tribute to spirit and drive - 10

There are many women who light up the sky of the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca.

We want to praise the loving and constant work of Mrs. Laura Palacios, coordinator of a sector of rural libraries in the communities of the Condorcucho area, in charge of rural women and volunteers from the Cajabamba Network.

Also a recognition to the coordinators of the Rural Libraries in Educational Institutions such as Elizabeth Olano and Sara Moreno, from Jaén; Marleny Olivera, from San Ignacio; Soledad Álvarez, Nalda Malca and Carmen Malca, from Cajabamba; Manuela Vásquez, from Bambamarca; Flor Mendoza, from San Pablo. They represent the commitment and full affection of our great library family.

Fraternal hugs!

1971-2021: Tribute to our Network - 10

The Rural Libraries Network is considered by all its members as a great farm, for this reason it is cared for and respected, it is protected and surrounded.

Our beloved farm has allowed us to cement and relearn the practice of breeding. She has taught us to raise and be raised; through it we learned to recognize that we are earth and to her we go; we are seeds and with them we germinate.

We are hill, puquio and lagoon. We are sky, we are clouds. We are ayllu and full nature.

The Huamán brothers

Javier and Segundo, the Huamán Lara brothers, reaffirm the sense of the great family of the  Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca, a great family that goes beyond kinship, that appreciates and values everything that exists, that learns in community and who knows how to join forces in good and bad moments.

Javier and Segundo have been with us at the headquarters of the Network. They have come to accompany us, to encourage us, to maintain the little house. They bring us news from the countryside, from the libraries, pleasant folk and also the greetings and enthusiasm of Don Apolinar, Humberto, José, Marcial, Liduvina, Nancy, Elsita, Hernán, Manuel, Guido, Camila and all the members of their family.

Offering to the earth

Our grandparents had a strong connection with the Pachamama and nature. Over time we have learned to ask permission and to give thanks in a show of respect and affection, leaving our offerings. There is always much to thank Mother Earth and our Apus for: for life, for good harvests and for the joy of continuing.

We shared the offering to the land that brothers from Bambamarca made recently; thanks to Lino, who was the one who led the entire offering ceremony, remembering the customs of our ancestors.

From a distance

In the Community Program of the Rural Libraries Network, we usually meet from time to time to organize our activities, train ourselves, define what materials we need to better serve our “Juanitos” (a name that we lovingly choose to refer to children with projectable capacities whom we serve in the communities) and to see the needs that arise.

In these meetings we not only address aspects related to work, but we also talk about our families, the concerns we have, also the beautiful things that happen to us. That is why these meetings, more than work, are meetings to share, like all the meetings of the Network.

In the current context, it has been impossible for us to meet again physically. However, we have managed to find common spaces at the beginning of each month to share, do breathing exercises, read and continue learning.

We recognize the effort of the Community Program team: we all had to learn to use new technologies, many have to find a place for each meeting where there is a signal and we always miss giving each other a hug. But, although many times we have to turn off the cameras to prevent the internet signal from being cut, we know that we are there and we always listen to each other.

Akhulli - Debate: Liberating Reading Experiences in the Andes

A few weeks ago, the Simón Bolívar Andean University, from Ecuador, The Andean Oral History Workshop and the Literature Department of the Higher University of  San Andrés of Bolivia, came together to pay tribute to our Network of Rural Libraries of Cajamarca for the 50 years of its walk in the Andean communities of northern Peru, journeys that the great teacher Patricio Guerrero sums up in his song “Corazonando los Libros de Cajamarca”.

In the debate on the initiatives to rescue oral tradition, libraries and reading, various personalities joined to tell about the actions they carry out in their respective towns in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Our brother Alfredo Mires presented the experience of the Network and also recalled that, on this same date, 11th September, 1973, the coup d'état against President Salvador Allende took place in Chile, as well as the arrest of the Chilean singer-songwriter Víctor Jara, who days later was vilely murdered after cutting off his fingers and tongue so that he could not play his guitar nor sing his songs. Alfredo said: We must never forget where we come from, nor the legacy of our teachers, of these peoples who managed to survive everything. Bullets cannot destroy communities.”

1971-2021: Tribute to our Network - 9

We continue celebrating our 50th anniversary, remembering that the Cajamarca Rural Libraries Network includes also the active presence of animals. The variety of companions in the Andean world are many: the fox, the puma, the deer, the mangujo, the ulluay, the vizcacha, the eagle, the chilalas, the guyanas, the lic-lic, the guinea pigs, the sheep, the donkeys and the cows; just to mention a few. And how not to recognize and celebrate the presence of our winged god: the hummingbird, source of voices and secrets. We revere the life and the soul that is in our Earth.

Tribute to courage and drive - 9

 

A heartfelt tribute to the constant work of the Yglesias family, from the Hoyada Verde sector, Contumazá province. We are referring to Don Ramiro, his wife Isabel and their children. They, as a family, tend the library work at home. Ramiro Yglesias is a promoter committed to reading circles in the various communities of Contumazá.

Fraternal hugs!

First National Meeting of Peasant Libraries

The National Library of Peru and the Bartolomé de las Casas Centre, in Cusco, organized the First National Meeting of Peasant Libraries, on 14th and 15th September, with the aim of generating a space to share experiences and reflect on the role of reading and the library in rural areas.

Representatives of libraries from the departments of Lambayeque, Lima, Cusco and Ayacucho participated in this meeting, and a tribute was paid to the Rural Libraries Network and our brother Alfredo Mires, who participated by recounting the experience of the Network in the discussion “The role of the book and the library in the rural area.” At the thematic table: "Challenges and Possibilities of Peasant Libraries", our sister Lola Paredes participated.

At the end of his participation, Alfredo mentioned that "Respect and humility have to be components that mark coherence and consequence."

We appreciate these meetings and gatherings.

Afternoons of coffee and action

To liven up our afternoons, fill us with energy and enliven the conversation by recalling anecdotes from the great library family, or making plans for the future, coffee brings us together, another blessed fruit, cultivated with great dedication and commitment in Cajamarcan lands.

Thank you brothers, Aníbal Segura and Jorge Carrasco, from the community of San Juan, in Cutervo, for sharing with us. We not only enjoy the great taste of coffee and the pleasure of preparing it, but also your affection and, as someone says: "Who loves you, gives you coffee."