nl en  

Street theatre in Honduras

  • Moments-of-joy op Facebook

ARTE ACCION is a cultural organization that emerged as an artistic brigade just after hurricane Mitch (November 1998) to bring relief and joy to the people in the temporary camps and on the streets of the destroyed capital city, Tegucigalpa. After this experience, the artists decided to continue and work towards the consolidation of Arte ACCION as an association that projects artists and promotes art as an integral part of community development. Art brings alternative opportunities for recreation, expression, communication and social integration to people who do not normally have access to this.


The association is diverse and multidisciplinary, made up of representatives of independent theatre, dance, music, and plastic arts groups as well as painters, writers, poets and designers. Arte Accion organises art workshops for children and young people and thematic music/theatre festivals for a larger audience in the parks and squares. Most of the activities take place in Tegucigalpa, with connections to the entire country and region.

Art ACCION is convinced that creative expression, recreation and fun are authentic human needs, which should not be overlooked in development projects and programmes. Besides, messages on social and environmental issues can best be brought forward through art, and community participation can be stimulated. Youth and children obtain positive alternatives through the art workshops that are offered, especially in post-Mitch housing projects. They learn how to deal with their reality, in a personal and creative way.

An example of one of the projects of Arte Accion is: Arte y Alegria (Art and Fun) that was organised in a new housing project in the valley of Amarateca, 20 km outside of the capital. The neighbourhood was built for people who lost their houses in the hurricane and - apart from simple concrete houses, two schools and a small clinic - it has no basic facilities or recreational possibilities. Arte Acción decided to help the youth and children with the transition to their new homes and offered a series of alternatives for spending their spare time, not in the last place to prevent them from joining aggressive street gangs that are active in the area. The primary schools agreed to let Arte Accion use their buildings and to have the workshops during school hours so that they could reach a large number of children, young people and teachers. The first semester ended with a festival. Stilt walkers, trained by Arte Accion, went trough the neighbourhood to invite the public and there were performances of dance groups, pantomime, puppet shows and an exposition of artworks. The public enjoyed the spectacle enormously and the young artists got a well-earned applause and a diploma.
The results of the project are very positive. The children are enthusiastic and keep coming right on time, in clean clothes and with brushed hair. (This in contrast with the teachers and other staff members of the school who use the presence of the artists of Arte Accion to take some time off!) The children overcame their stage fright and won a visible place in the neighbourhood and at school.

Arte Accion would like to buy a professional light set for the street festivals. They can make the structures to hold the lights themselves, but cannot afford to buy the lamps. A complete set costs 2000 Euro.