About “Creaciones”
“Creaciones” or, in English, “Creations” is a youth theatre group that draws its members from small, poor communities in El Salvador—places where there are often too few recreational alternatives or educational opportunities for young people. It was founded in 1996 by APRODEHNI, a grassroots nongovernmental organizations, whose name translates from the Spanish to the Association To Support Human Rights for Children in El Salvador. At that time, shortly after the peace accords that settled a long and bloody civil war in that country had been signed, the organization noticed the growing influence of drugs and American-style gangs in even isolated rural communities. Along with other arts and recreational initiatives, the program was launched to let children and youth in these communities know they didn’t have to go down those paths.
Since it began in the community of San Martin de Porres, just outside of the capital city of San Salvador, the program has helped numerous young people find a better direction for their lives. If “Creaciones” was only helping these young people exercise their creativity and imaginations, and keeping them away from violence, drugs, and gangs, it would be a valuable enough service. But the group offers them a lot more—a chance to build their self-confidence, to confront their problems head-on, and look for solutions. Their original plays are developed through group discussion and improvisation, and always take as their themes issues directly pertinent to the actors’ lives and experiences. “Creaciones” shows have tackled the problems of homeless youths, poverty, and the economic issues that often cause Salvadorans to emigrate illegally to the United States—as well as the dangers those would-be immigrants face in the crossing—and the hopes and dreams that keep the poorest children and youths going in the face of adversity. One of their more acclaimed plays deals with the life and legacy of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the quiet, scholarly priest who, when elevated to the position of Archbishop of El Salvador, became an eloquent, relentless voice for the poor in his country until he was assassinated on March 24, 1980.
The creative thought process embodied in building and developing a character or a play is something that can be applied to a host of other situations as well. And, the group believes the intellectual and emotional tools it receives through the program equips the youth to realize they do not need to settle for a limited future. Members of “Creaciones” who keep their grades up and are active in their communities can be eligible for scholarships, allowing them to complete their education and, in some cases, to move on to the national university.
“Creaciones” performs their plays regularly in rural communities and within the city of San Salvador. Through the Presbytery of Long Island Youth Theatre Workshop El Salvador Partnership, and through the efforts of the Aquinas Newman Center at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, “Creaciones” has also performed several plays in the United States.
If you would like to learn more about the work of “Creaciones,” contact its director, Gil Pintin, at aprodehn@navegante.com or by calling (011) 503-2100- 7674 or (011) 503-2100-7675. In the U.S., you can contact the Long Island Project Coordinator of YTW, Lois Anne DeLong, at betwink13@optonline.net or by calling 631-398-1191.