Nov 15th: The "Cartonera" Movement

    The Cartonera movement is one that I find to be incredibly inspiring, resourceful, and a great representation of the art humans are capable of creating. The movement, as mentioned in the video, is a social, political, and artistic movement that came to be in 2003. Beginning in Argentina, Cartoneros collected waste (cardboard) and turned it into books to be sold and eventually spread globally. This movement was born out of a very unfortunate economic situation that many individuals felt the consequences of. However, from the economic troubles, grew the opportunity for good. In this case, the opportunity to create. It is mentioned in the "Cartoneras: A documentary on cardboard publishing in Latin America" video that the Cartonera movement is an "aesthetic movement without any particular aesthetic." This ability for open interpretation allows any creator with access to cardboard to create their very own book. Which makes this art form/movement so accessible and admirable in the sense that anyone has the opportunity to partake in it. It is also mentioned in the video that one artist did not attend a university, and yet, he still was able to join in on this wonderful movement. 

    I believe it was mentioned in the "Cartoneras: A documentary on cardboard publishing in Latin America" video, that this movement "makes people think of the situation of current book industries." This sentence struck me as I have never truly thought of the book industry. Moreover, I never considered of unaccessible it can be for some individuals to obtain a book or to create one. I have had the privilege of access to books my entire life, therefore, this movement has truly made me reconsider and acknowledge the power of art and literature. As a future educator, I hope to relay this information that I have discovered to my students. I will possibly do so through the creation of our own cartonera books, which will include the creation of the cover itself, along with the contents of the book being a reflection/reporting of the Cartonera movement. Through a cartonera book creating activity, I hope to communicate to my students the privilege of literature, the beauty of art and resourcefulness, along with the history of the Cartonera movement of course.