By Carlos Madrigal (Mazahua/Jñatjo, CS Employees)
Luzbeydi Monterrosa (Wayuu) is a younger Indigenous lady from La Guajira, a binational Wayuu city situated between Venezuela and northern Colombia. She was born in Venezuela territorially and has each nationalities by means of her dad and mom. For the previous eight years, she has been making and directing movies from the attitude of the Wayuu folks and their territory. She is at the moment a movie pupil on the Cinematographic Institute of Humanistic Analysis in Mexico.
Since her beginnings as a filmmaker, Monterrosa has used visible communication to specific the scenario of her territory’s twin nationality. From 2018 to 2020, she collaborated with the Nationwide Indigenous Group of Colombia for a political participation undertaking, and since 2020 she has been a part of “Agenda Propia,” a digital media platform devoted to creating communication networks within the territory from a female perspective.
Monterrosa has executed excellent work educating and coaching ladies and kids in La Guajira, Putumayo, and different locations in Colombia. Her undertaking, “The Origin of Information and Steadiness of the Female World,” develops coaching for essentially the most weak sectors inside Indigenous communities. She has had the chance to work with UNICEF within the Heart for Psychosocial Growth, working with kids and younger people who find themselves victims of the armed battle and speaking about her work in audiovisual media and images.
Communication as a Type of Inventive Expression and Protection
Communication has the ability to vary the narrative and encourage Indigenous kids and girls to course of experiences of violence or violations. “Communication is a type of inventive expression and a method to seize these realities from a respectful viewpoint; [it is not about] revictimization, however fairly, how we search to heal,” Monterrosa says.
Monterrosa’s ardour for communication has grown over time as a result of occasions she witnessed whereas rising up in La Guajira. When she was 10 years previous, she noticed how a transnational firm sought to take advantage of assets within the territory, and that it was essential to make that identified to the world. “I understood that we, as Indigenous folks and as ladies, can implement, use, and make the most of all these [communication] instruments as a type of protection,” she says.
For Monterrosa, the ability of knowledge and communication performs an important position within the empowerment of Wayuu ladies and kids, demonstrating that with the sharing of tales and realities, reflection and dialogue on rights within the area can develop.
Talking from the Territory
Monterrosa says that by means of her work in numerous Indigenous communities, she has discovered varied points in want of highlighting, and has additionally gained information and connections that may be shared additional amongst different communities. Her objective is to develop her undertaking to extra components of Colombia and Venezuela.
As for her private life, Monterrosa says that dwelling her sexuality freely as a lesbian has been a problem. Whereas she identifies as female, others assign her a masculine identification as a result of her attraction to different ladies. Though she has usually been acquired positively inside her territory, there are moments the place she confronts hostility. Nevertheless, she maintains positivity and persistence, understanding that decolonizing these attitudes is a course of.
“Rather a lot has occurred to me in Indigenous communities. There may be respect and admiration for me and my work on account of my experiences rising up in numerous areas and respecting the information of every group. I’m a lady who was born and raised in Venezuela. After I returned to my territory after I was 16, I got here with information of a special method,” Monterrosa says.
Realities are numerous, and sometimes the disconnect between these differing realities doesn’t contribute to the promotion of rights and freedoms, as an alternative isolating ladies and kids and diminishing their social, political, and financial participation. Because of this, Monterrosa sees communication as a necessary instrument for folks to create and transmit their messages imbued with their very own realities and perceptions of the world, to succeed in people who find themselves having the same expertise.
