City: San José
Country: Costa Rica
Start Date: 02/2025
Last Update: 02/2025
Participants:
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Exploring Pre-Texts in Costa Rica The arrival of Professor Doris Sommer in Costa Rica marked the beginning of a transformative experience with Pre-Texts within our communities. In San José, the introduction of Pre-Texts to the women of the Network of Afro Professionals had such an impact that many have begun replicating it in their various fields, integrating it into their professional and personal lives. We used the memoir of Jesus colon, Puerto Rican in New York, the first pages that evoke the lectores of tobacco factories, “A Voice Through the Window.” of They embraced the playfulness of the method, warming up with Augusto Boal-inspired exercises encouraging trust and cooperation, setting the tone, and freeing participants to explore without fear. Throughout the week, Pre-Texts was brought to life across the province of Limón. At the Casa de la Cultura, participants listened to text read aloud while creating artwork, drawing, and doodling to capture their immediate impressions. Here we used the beginning of Jacques Ranciere’s The Ignorant School Master, to recover a student-centered and bilingual approach to pedagogy. This method, reminiscent of the lectores in Latin American cigar factories, made reading a communal act, connecting listening with creative response.
Participants interrogated the text, posted anonymous questions on a clothesline, igniting curiosity and critical thinking. One by one, they adopted and responded to each other's questions, turning the session into an open dialogue where ideas and interpretations flourished. From here, the enthusiasm spilled into dramatizations, skits, and pantomimes that brought the text to life.
The journey through Talamanca deepened this process, strengthening intercultural connections, with the very short story by Jorge Luis Borges, “The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths.” Some participants traveled for up to three days from their remote communities to join Pre-Texts. Some walked, some rode motorcycles, others biked, and all crossed the river on small rowboats, loading people, motorcycles and the wonder of Pre-Text Into these boats to reach the gathering. In Finca Loroco and the Amubri Indigenous community, Pre-Texts demonstrated its ability to transcend language and cultural barriers. Using text by Borges as a foundation, participants speaking Bribri, Cabécar, Kryol, and Spanish composed songs inspired by the text, turning literature into music and theatre. Even community members with limited literacy actively engaged, finding their voices in rhythm and melody.
Reflections
Pre-Texts' journey through Costa Rica has left a profound mark on various communities. More than a workshop, it has become a social and cultural transformation vehicle. In every location, from museums to Indigenous communities to urban centers, Pre-Texts has ignited creativity, reinforced collective learning, and demonstrated that reading comprehension goes beyond analysis —it is a performance, an embodiment, and artistic expression.
By integrating song, sculpture, theater, pantomime, critical questioning, and reflective discussion, Pre-Texts has proven that creativity and engagement with texts are potent tools for empowerment. This experience has strengthened literacy and is promoting a more profound sense of connection between individuals, across cultures, and with the texts themselves.