There is hope for the future: Mexico's most valuable treasure; It's Children

Posted by DD, republished from Mexico News Daily

The governor applauds Patricio García's criticism of governors. -

DD; "Out of the mouths of babes".  This young girl in secondary escuela, (which means she is probably between 12 and 14 y.o.) told politicians (including Gov. Duarte of Chihuahua) to  their face that they are corrupt and inept.  She did not hold any punches.  She has the makings of a honest leader in Mexico and someone who can make a difference..   A video of her 3 minute speech has gone viral on You Tube with nearly 300,000 views in 2 days.

The second part of this post is a story about a program being initiated in (ironically) Chihuahua by the Duarte administration to steer youth away from a life of crime and becoming involved in drug trafficking and cartels.  To me, it is really thinking out of the box.  Not the typical "social" program of putting new playground equipment in the parks.

News Daily;

 The governor of Chihuahua got an unexpected earful yesterday in a strongly-worded speech by a secondary school student who lashed out at government for corruption and ineptitude.
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Luz Elena Patricio García took the microphone at a talent and culture event in Ciudad Juárez and gave a spirited discourse on the state of the nation in terms of governance. She pulled no punches.



Flanked by Gov. César Duarte Jáquez and a member of his cabinet, Patricio García made a blanket accusation against state governors for robbery and failure to complete their obligations.

“These fourth-rate politicians misuse tax revenues, squander what belongs to us for their personal benefit instead of completing public works for the benefit of our communities.

“Our country is being left paraplegic . . . .”

The speaker delivered her dissertation with all the flair of an experienced politician and several times drew loud applause from her audience, in which Gov. Duarte enthusiastically joined.

Patricio García warned that when citizens lose their confidence in those who govern, governability is put at risk, creating the danger of an armed movement.

She pointed out that students are well aware of what is going on.

“You believe that because we are young people we have not become aware of this serious problem, but allow me to contradict you, because we are the ones most affected and of course we know and we understand every move you make. Not all of us youngsters are ignorant; we know that corruption continues growing.”

Patricio García finished her dissertation, which ran at least three minutes long, by observing that Mexico has many honest people who, unlike politicians, wish for its health, happiness and prosperity.

The governor congratulated Patricio García on her ability at public speaking and later published a photo of them together on his social media accounts.

DD.  

This story is also from Mexico News Daily.

DD.  The following story almost made me like Governor Duarte.  It seemed to be an example of "thinking out of the tox".  Maybe he has used that ability to steal millions from the treasury, but I thought maybe in this case he was using that innovative thinking to help the people.

But  being somewhat of a skeptic, especially concerning anything that  the Duarte administration in Chihuahua is doing so I went to a good friend "jlopez", a long time contributor to BB, whose opinions I highly respect.  "jlopez"'s comments  remind me of a old TV commercial from the '80s and '90s, "When EF Hutton talks, people listen".  When readers see a post on BB by jlopez, they read it.

 He has had a lifelong passion for music.  I asked him if teaching a child how to play a musical instrument and develop in that child a love of music could actually do anything to help keep that child out of a life crime.  His response follows this story.

 Guitars, not guns, with Chihuahua’s Plan Villa  
'The child who plays an instrument never takes up arms or drugs'

Armed with their instruments

It’s guitars before guns for children in the state of Chihuahua, where Plan Villa aims to form 1,000 orchestras, along with the creation of 7,500 basketball teams, as diversions away from organized crime.

Named after the famed revolutionary general Pancho Villa and timed with the 100th anniversary of his tenure as governor of Chihuahua, the plan is designed to keep youth away from the influence of organized crime. Government officials say the objective is also to demonstrate to children that they have talent they can utilize.

Children will have access to 70,000 instruments, including violins, guitars, percussion instruments, clarinets, saxophones and others, and each orchestra will be accompanied by choirs of 30 youths.

“The child who plays an instrument never takes up arms or drugs; they are hard to transform into somebody who doesn’t understand the value of the human being that they are,” said Marcelo González Tachiquín, Secretary of Education, Culture, and Sports.

Members of Chihuahua’s current 50 youth orchestras have joined for various reasons. While some are bored at home, others were forced to by parents and several are following their idols.

Kenia Rubio, 10, began playing the clarinet after she saw the cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants, which has a clarinet-playing character named Squidward.

But Plan Villa is not just about music. It also plans to help youth recover their love for basketball. González Tachiquín said the focus is not on who wins because “we want to create a culture of competitiveness with a foundation of rules, something very urgent now for the times in which we live in Mexico.”

Youths like Daniel Salas and Isaac Ramírez, both 17 years old, admit that the sport has helped them stay away from drugs and alcohol. Now that their free time is spent playing sports, their friends have changed.

A fundamental part of the plan will be students’ emotional well-being. It will also seek to cultivate an appreciation for school. Students’ school sweaters, for example, will indicate the year in which they will finish university.

From April until next August, elementary school teachers and principals are going to be receiving training to be able to understand and apply the new model.

González Tachiquín pointed out that “Chihuahua is fortunate to have a seasoned faculty and a well-constructed alliance between the government, union bases and parents.”

DD;  Could teaching a child how to play the guitar or saxophones really keep him from pursuing a life of crime?.
 
-Here is part of "jlopez's"  response, reprinted here with his permission from an email he sent me.

"If a kid really has musical talent enough to take up music studies, he or she will have no time or room for anything else for a while. Then there are the related subjects that one has to learn along with the music, such as composition, history, names of composers and performers. Pretty soon, the kid begins to emulate or look up to an artist or a composer. It's almost inevitable. The main trick is to keep them from being perverted by popular music, which in rural areas means narco-related music, until the love of real music takes root. Once they begin to perform, they'll be hooked. So, short answer, done right, music training will keep them out of gangs and drugs.

But the greatest gift from music training is creating self confidence in the kids. They are doing something nobody else can do, they are creating beauty. Once that gets ingrained, preferably at an early age, they generally don't go wrong. This self confidence is especially valuable for kids in a place like Mexico.

I think teaching kids to play musical instruments in an orchestra is a good idea. No better way to spend taxpayer money, in my opinion.

Guitars, not guns, with Chihuahua’s Plan Villa

Guitars, not guns, with Chihuahua’s Plan Villa

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