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Invitation to Study Spanish or Tzotzil in Oventic The Spanish and Mayan Languages Centre has invited social movement and civil society activists to study Spanish or Tzotzil in Oventic, Chiapas. This invitation extends to all those who share the Zapatistas’ ideal of “Justice, Liberty and Democracy for all, in accordance with the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, without distinction on the basis of language, race, religion, age or gender.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE INVITATION.
1. About Oventic
Oventic, Caracol II of Resistance and Rebellion is located in San Andres Sakamch’en de los Pobres municipal in the Highlands of the Southeast of the Mexican state of Chiapas, approximately one hour’s drive from San Cristóbal de las Casas. Oventic is one of five cultural, political, educational, and sports centres of the Zapatista movement. These five Zapatista centres have been called ‘caracoles’ (‘snails’ in Spanish) because of the swirled shape on the shell of a snail, denoting a reciprocal process of sharing of knowledge and struggles between the Zapatistas and their supporters around the world. All Zapatista caracoles are weapon, drug, and alcohol free zones. Oventic, like each of the Zapatista caracoles, is home to one of five Juntas of Good Government that were established by Zapatista communities in August 2003 as an expression of autonomy and genuine democracy. The Spanish and Mayan Languages Centre is located within Oventic’s Secondary School, the Escuela Secundaria Rebelde Autónoma Zapatista Primero de Enero (First of January Zapatista Autonomous Secondary School in Rebellion), at which local indigenous youth study and prepare to be education promoters in their communities. The monetary contributions from students of the Languages Centre are important to the continued functioning of the Secondary School. 2. Application Process
Applicants from Australia and New Zealand, or people of other nationalities currently residing in Australia or New Zealand, should complete this Application Form and email it to the Accreditation Working Group of the Mexico-Australia Solidarity Network at oventic {at} masn {dot} org {dot} au. We will treat your application with strict confidentiality. MASN is the sole organisation currently able to recommend people from Australia or New Zealand for study at the Languages Centre. MASN has been asked by the Languages Centre take responsibility for accreditation of New Zealand people because there is not currently an accreditation body in NZ. We recognise that this is an inadequate arrangement, however, and would very much like to see the involvement of NZ activists in this process. If you are from NZ and would like to play a role in this, please contact us! The Application Form is a Microsoft Word document – please fill in the text boxes and email it back. If you don’t have Microsoft Word, please email us and we will send you an email version. We ask that applications be sent at least three – but preferably four or more – weeks before the date on which you want to commence studying. Applications can be sent with less notice than this, but there is no guarantee that they will be processed. Please do not travel to Oventic without first having first been accredited to study at the Languages Centre. Reference: To confirm your background, we need a letter of reference from a local solidarity group, or other social movement, activist or political group (broadly defined) outlining the nature of the group and your involvement in it. We ask for the contact details of the group below. To enable us to process your application quickly, we ask that the reference letter be sent (whether by you or the group is not important) at the same time as you send your application. If you do not do this, we will contact the group requesting a reference letter. The purpose of this application is to confirm that you have a genuine social movement or activist background, and that you support and have a basic understanding of the Zapatista movement. If you are confident that you meet these criteria, simply tell us enough to enable us to confirm this – there is no need for excessive detail! It is strongly recommended that, before you submit your application form, you: - Check out the Spanish and Mayan Languages Centre’s own website (http://www.serazln-altos.org/eng/celm.html), which has lots of additional information (although there is some overlap with the information provided here).
- Read the Zapatistas’ Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle. It and other documents can be found at http://www.masn.org.au/content/category/2/25/38/. More information about the Zapatistas can also be found in the links section of the website.
- Check out the website of the USA-based Mexico Solidarity Network (http://www.mexicosolidarity.org), which has useful up-to-date information about events in Mexico, Chiapas and Oventic.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Accreditation Working Group of the Mexico-Australia Solidarity Network on oventic {at} masn {dot} org {dot} au. All other nationalities should follow the instructions that can be found at http://www.serazln-altos.org/eng/celm.html. If you are from a country that is not listed, feel free to email us at oventic {at} masn {dot} org {dot} au. and we will be happy to make an inquiry for you. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATION FORM.
3. About the Spanish and Mayan Languages Centre
The Spanish and Mayan Languages Centre in Oventic is a site of exchange between Zapatistas and other activists from around the world. You don’t need to have an in-depth understanding of the Zapatista movement before you go – you will learn a lot about the Zapatistas while you are there. However, it is very important that you have a good attitude in going: seeing your time as a process of exchange, critical engagement, and solidarity. It is important to go with an attitude of listening, and to have some commitment to sharing what you learn. Most likely you will very much want to after your time at Oventic!
Classes are in one-week blocks, from Monday to Friday each week. There are three hours of classes per day, generally two hours in the classroom and one hour of activities. The classes are developed through a self-generating process, allowing for interaction and collective construction. Activities may include on videos, hikes to the mountains and river, discussions, and all anything else that come out of the self-generating process of the students. Class sizes range in size from 1 to 25, depending on how busy the school is. You may apply to study for one or more weeks. After you have been accredited and are at Oventic, you are welcome to extend your studies if there is space in the classes. You can also return to Oventic within a six-month period without having to get re-accredited.
Spanish level: It is not compulsory but is strongly recommended that you obtain a basic level of Spanish before coming to the Languages Centre, as this will enable you to get the most out of your time there. If you do not have any Spanish, it may be worth taking a week of classes elsewhere in Mexico beforehand. Contribution: As a student at the Languages Centre, you will be provided with accommodation and three basic meals per day from Monday to Friday. You are asked to make a financial contribution towards the cost of running the Secondary School in Oventic. Up-to-date information about the current level of the financial contribution will be provided when you have been accredited to study at the school. It is very important to the Languages Centre that you consider your time there as a form of solidarity, not as a form of consumption. Your monetary contribution should not be seen as a payment for services rendered but rather as a contribution, along with your knowledge and experiences shared through the classes, to the Zapatista struggle. As the Languages Centre says,
“The activities offered are part of the educational and cultural exchange and are given in reciprocity for the economic support that brothers and sisters offer to the school. We do not make language yet another piece of merchandise. We do not sell it, but we do share it with all those who are open to this cultural experience and who identify with our struggle.” 4. Living Conditions
Students at the Languages Centre are offered basic accommodation and three meals per day from Monday to Friday. The food and accommodation are basic, reflecting the living conditions of the local indigenous. Accommodation is on shared bunks in the main concrete building of the Secondary School. You will need `to bring your own sleeping bag. Students studying for more than one week must return to San Cristobal for the weekend. The temperature during the day varies between 10 and 20 degrees celsius. The nights can be cold, falling to close to zero. For part of the year, Oventic covered in fog. A raincoat is recommended all year round. All food and drinks served are disinfected. Food is generally based on beans and rice. Drinking water, other beverages, and additional food are available for purchase at minimal cost. Cooked food can also be purchased at the restaurant in the shop at the top of the hill at Oventic for about A$2 per meal. There is cold running water for showers and bathrooms are shared with the students at the secondary school. 5. Travel
You are responsible for making your own way to Oventic. Getting to San Cristobal: From Mexico City, you should travel to San Cristobal de las Casas. Travel by bus or coach is recommended. Direct buses are available but not frequent, so it may be quicker to go via an intermediate city. If you want to fly, you have two options. The first is to fly into Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, and thence make you way to San Cristobal by taxi (costing ~ A$45 from Tuxtla airport), collectivo (i.e. minivan, costing ~ $5 from downtown Tuxtla), or coach (costing somewhere in between). Alternatively, there is one flight per day from Mexico City to San Cristobal, but it is more expensive than the flights to Tuxtla. Getting from San Cristobal to Oventic: From San Cristobal de las Casas, Oventic is a 45-60 minute car ride. You should catch a colectivo (combi or van) to Oventic from the colectivo station, which should cost around 16 pesos or A$2. To get to the colectivo station from the Plaza de la Marimba (the park in the centre of town) in San Cristobal, take Av. Gral. Utrillo northwards (the northern extension of Insurgentes). About 10 blocks over a hill (past Santo Domingo on your left, then the vegetable market on your right) you reach a small bridge. The first right after that is a driveway for the colectivos going north. Above the entrance to the driveway there should be a sign listing where the colectivos are going, including to Bochil or Oventic. Get one towards Bochil, get off at Oventic, and ask for the ‘Centro de Español y Lenguas Mayas’. Colectivos leave regularly between 5am and 5pm. You shouldn’t feel afraid of calling out ‘Oventic’ at the colectivo station, or saying someone ‘quiero ir a Oventic’ (‘I want to go to Oventic’) – there is no need for secrecy. Alternatively, you could get a taxi to Oventic, which would cost perhaps ~A$45.
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Study in Oventic