Port of Call LAST UPDATE February 6, 2010
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November 15, 2009 Calloa, Peru – Renewing Hope Through the Arts
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Arenas y Esteras jugglers perform in Villa El Salvador.
It took hours for friends of Maria Elena Moreno to collect 2 kg of her body. The deputy mayor of Villa El Salvador and outspoken human rights activist, Ms Moreno was shot and her body blown apart by dynamite on February 15, 1992, during widespread civil conflict in Peru. The death of the community leader cast a long shadow over Villa El Salvador – a shadow that a young Ana Sophia Pinedo Toguchi felt compelled to resist. One month after the assassination, Ana Sophia and her friends founded the performance troupe, Arenas y Esteras (Sand and Rush mats), with the goal of bringing back smiles to Villa El Salvador.

In 1971, overcrowding and poverty in the Peruvian capital, Lima, prompted residents to start looking elsewhere for housing. 81 families moved onto desert land given by the Peruvian government. Today, 400,000 Peruvians live in Villa El Salvador. The community is a model of civilian pro-activity and is highly regarded for the success with which residents implemented political and infrastructural plans with minimal assistance from the state. Beginning in the late 1980s, Villa El Salvador became the battleground for a struggle between the Peruvian military and Shining Path rebels. Maria Elena Moreno had just led a rally against the rebels when she was killed.
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Ana Sophia introduces Peace Boat participants to indigenous Peruvian instruments.
Ana Sophia said that during the conflict Villa El Salvador residents were abused by both rebels and the military, and lived in fear for their lives. Everyone was suspicious and on edge. She felt community members needed to be reminded how to enjoy themselves. Colorful parades of clowns, acrobats and jugglers began to weave themselves through the sandy streets of Villa El Salvador followed by crowds of delighted adults and children. For Ana Sophia, such pleasure was the first step to rebuilding the morale of the community. In the years that followed the end of the civil conflict, Arenas y Esteras would play a key role in reconstructing the social tissue of Peru and shaping a positive outlook for the future.

Seventeen years after its inception, the entertainment aspect of Arenas y Esteras remains intact but the group is now equally focused on developing positive values among youth. Villa El Salvador today struggles with high unemployment and crime rates. 50% of the population is under the age of 30 and many young people in the community do not complete their education. Arenas y Esteras recognizes that the youth of Villa El Salvador are at risk. The group is actively involved with schools in and around the community and also hosts a series of art workshops throughout the year targeted at youth.
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Youth comprise the largest section of the population of Villa El Salvador.
Along with training in visual and performing arts, Arenas y Esteras works to develop a healthy sense of self among the youth and inspire them with hope. The group makes presentations on the indigenous heritage of Peru as well as the history of Villa El Salvador. Ana Sophia says that by increasing awareness about the past, Arenas y Esteras helps shape identity and build confidence in the younger generation. She says that ultimately the goal of programmes implemented by the group is to develop leaders who understand the importance of happiness, self-respect and community and who will work to preserve and develop them.

Close to 100 participants on the 67th voyage visited Villa El Salvador and the Arenas y Esteras center when Peace Boat anchored in Peru. Tomine Kiyoko spent two days in the community and compared the effect of Arenas y Esteras to that of the fabled Pied Piper of Hamelin. Ms Tomine said it was wonderful to see children pour out of their humble dwellings to watch the performers marching through the streets. She said that for a short time adults and children alike seemed to forget their cares and abandon themselves to the color, music and comedy of the moment. Ms Tomine was also impressed by the level of professionalism and expertise displayed by members of the troupe.
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Arenas y Esteras is a bridge across generations in the community. Here youth and senior citizens enjoy a lively dance.
Ana Sophia says she is proud of the way the Arenas y Esteras has endured for nearly two decades without losing its commitment to positive values. An organization that began as an effort by teenagers to make people laugh has grown into a major social actor in Peru. While Arenas y Esteras is now recognized by the Peruvian government as a special art institution, Ana Sophia envisions an official school for the arts operated by the group in the near future. In Villa El Salvador, she hopes that Arenas y Esteras will help rebuild solidarity and renew the pride residents once felt for the community built with their hands.

For Ana, music and laughter indicate the health of a community. She says that silence after a conflict is not peace but death. Governments and civil society should not take for granted the importance of pleasure and expression to the well-being of a nation. She says an emphasis on promoting joy is particularly important to healing a community and nation in the wake of conflict.