Traditional “cuadernos de láminas” are printed pamphlets with graphical representations of specific topics usually used for school projects or as a supplement material in classrooms. More specifically, these pamphlets are utilized by elementary school students when learning about Puerto Rico’s history, culture, ecosystems, and anything related to social sciences. The project “Cuadernos de láminas decoloniales” imagines alternative worlds, realities, and histories, by collecting soft data in the form of stories, images, and interviews from an intergenerational group of Puerto Ricans who were part of the island’s public school system. “Cuadernos de Láminas Decoloniales” intends to work with the collected data to reveal narratives that are not presented in the island's institutionalized history.
“Láminas Decoloniales” aims to decolonize ideological colonial legacies in Puerto Rico’s education through the redesign and reimagination of institutionalized graphical representations. The significance of “Láminas Decoloniales” is to create a series of decolonial graphic representations that challenge and deconstruct legacies from the colonial ideological acculturation process that has been happening in Puerto Rico for centuries. Lastly, “Láminas Decoloniales” has the goal of giving agency to students, participants, and folks to imagine anti-oppressive futures and worlds by revealing new ways of looking at our daily environment, our stories, and our history.
* This project is partly funded by the Mellon Foundation and Hunter College Bridging the Divides Fellowship.
