On the 27th of October of 2024, I was honored as both the director and ceramic teacher of Taller Guaguarey and received two major achievement awards. The first from Rolando Velázquez, the mayor of the municipality of Cayey and the second from Gretchen Hau, who is a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representative from the 29th district. The event was organized to acknowledge the teachers of Bellas Artes Municipal de Cayey (School of Fine Arts of Cayey) for outstanding commitment, passion and dedication.
I consider this a very special award. During the event, the mayor shared with the audience that he was surprised how quickly we set up Taller Guaguarey, a fiscally sponsored program. Without a doubt this period was full of many challenges. For instance, in August of 2017, Bellas Artes Municipal was forced to close its doors. This had never happened before. The Fiscal Control Board drastically cut the municipal budget leaving the school without operating funds. One month later two major hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico.
I am proud to affirm that Taller Guaguarey has been an example of resilience, the power of thinking outside the box and finding and connecting with donors who believe in our mission. Not even two major hurricanes or Covid 19 stopped Taller Guaguarey. We continued providing classes and assisting our students in many ways.
As a pottery teacher, I am heartened by the positive effects upon my students when they work with clay. I clearly see how adults and children gain the freedom to express emotion and work through feelings in a non-verbal way while pottery making.
The following photos are a testament of the joy, pride and sense of accomplishment the student feel when they create a pottery piece from scratch and seeing it through the entire process.
Thank you to our donors! Your donations make it possible for the continuation of a community of potters and the promotion of self-esteem, stress free and a safe environment for all my students.