Last week we returned to Parque El Encuentro to get some measurements for our siphon design. We were able to look at the siphon’s function more closely and finalize the requirements and objectives of our design. We presented our 3 prototypes to our mentor, Pablo, and selected 2 of them to continue developing and testing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During one of our walks to Mercado Santo Domingo, we passed a street full of intricate murals. The line work was very interesting and fun to trace with my eyes. We’ve seen a lot of street art during our time here, but this one has been the largest I’ve seen so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were very excited to finally go to Kinoki: Foro Cultural Independiente this week. Their cine is a small, cozy movie theatre that screens films every month. We watched a short film titled “La Lección del Caracol,” which was about Zapatista communities around San Cris. It was interesting to learn about how the Zapatistas structured their education systems for the children in those communities. One scene that stuck out to me was when a mother from one of the communities said that she wanted the school to teach her children to lose the shame of being indigenous. Based on the clips of teachers lecturing in the classrooms, this is an important part of their curriculum. We also watched a short film titled “Soy Julia ‘X Juliaon’,” which followed a young indigenous man about his day. The film was about his story as a gay man, particularly his relationship with his community and his self-expression. I was interested to learn that his community referred to him as “anstil winik,” which roughly translates to “man woman.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, I attended a second Pride march! The event started with acknowledging the names and lives of transgender women that were murdered in San Cris and have not yet received justice. The solidarity between the people present in the march was profound, and it was amazing to see a platform given to people with disabilities during the event. This march was longer than the first Pride I went to, and it was full of color, confetti, glitter, music, and more chants. Some new ones that I picked up were “Si Zapata viviera, en tacones anduviera” and “Con falda o pantalón, respétame cabrón.” Overall, it was a memorable experience and I’m very grateful to have been able to attend 2 Prides in San Cris!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, here are some pictures of the 3 prototypes that Melissa and I shared with our mentor! We are developing and testing 2/3 prototypes. One of them is the siphon (bottom left picture), except that it will be self-starting in the next version. We will also be testing different tube diameters for the siphon. The other prototype that we will continue to work on is the modified siphon (bottom right picture). The modifications involve chaining it to the pumping well floor, distributing the added weight in different locations, and varying the length of the flexible part that allows the siphon to bend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Til the next blog!