Margarita SeptiÈn Ludic Center

In rural Nogueras, the primary occupations are subsistence farming, bricklaying, and working in the fields. Consequently, local children have limited opportunities to travel outside their small community in western Mexico. However, the art that they create through Margarita Septién Ludic Centerís innovative programs is exhibited all over the world.

Because the children of Nogueras are expected to cut their education short and find jobs at an early age, the Centerís programs bridge the studentsí educational needs with their familiesí economic realities. The program instructors value the young peopleís innate creativity and goodness, and view the artistic process as a way to prevent and treat aggression and other antisocial behaviors.

Through workshops in music, storytelling, writing, dance, and theater, more than 100 young people ages 6ñ18 receive a host of opportunities for healthy, creative expression. Family participation plays an important role in all of these activities. In many of the workshops, students collect local folklore. The participants then develop these cultural traditions into plays that reflect on the past, while addressing the communityís current and future issues. As caring mentors guide students through a variety of disciplines, participants gain a deeper understanding of their own cultural history and explore their unique experiences.

Margarita Septién Ludic Center is recognized locally, nationally, and internationally. Eighty-five percent of the Ludic Centerís students have graduated from high school, and many have gone on to college. Their work has won a number of national competitions and has been exhibited in such venues as the Wohler Institute in Frankfurt, Germany; Mount Mercy College in Iowa City, Iowa; the Ship of the Future in The Hague, Netherlands; and in Tokyo and New York. In 2005, a Ludic Center student captured first prize in a national competition and received his award from Mexican President Vicente Fox, in a ceremony in Mexico City.

Based on a passionate belief in the worth and creativity of every child, the Margarita SeptiÈn Ludic Center exports the visions, voices, and hopes of the children of Nogueras around the globe.