By Bruno de Jesús Coto
In San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Ms. Marcela Vargas and Mr. Mauricio Cordero, with the help of students from Colegio Calasanz and Liceo José Joaquín Vargas Calvo, have been developing artistic works in a project called Microgeografías Urbanas (Urban Microgeographies), which aims to restore community spaces around cities. In pursuit of this end, they have established as their first goal to repair and make more attractive the little park in front of these schools.
For years, students have ignored this park. Now, it has been renamed Parque Las Artes – it was called Parque Las Azaleas before, but didn’t have a sign with that name – and the project is working to invite students to use the park as a healthy recreational area.
Students have learned and utilized different artistic techniques in order to beautify the park. Eileen Chanto, advocate of the project, says it has also been useful to integrate the student communities of both schools.
The park’s embellishments include taking down the fence that used to surround the park and using the material to create new and ingenious sculptures, using the soldering techniques the students have been studying every Thursday during a class with professor Yamil de la Paz.
It’s great to utilize young hands to keep our cities beautiful. This gives us the vigor to continue struggling for our beloved country.
Bruno de Jesús Coto, 14, is a student at Colegio Calasanz in the eastern San José suburb of San Pedro.
