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NewsHector Aristizabal, actor and human rights activist Hector is a native from Medellin Colombia and currently lives in Pasadena CA. Hector's commitment to the human rights work forced him to leave his country in 1989 due to death threats. Hector holds an MA degree in Psychology from the Antioquia University in Medellin, Colombia and a degree as a Marriage Family Therapist from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. He is also a theater director and actor and a practitioner of the techniques known as Theater of the Oppressed, developed by Brazilian Augusto Boal. Hector has worked with youth at risk in several capacities as a therapist, as an artist and as a community organizer. As an artist Hector has been the recipient of several grants from Los Angeles' Cultural Affairs Department, California Arts Council and many others, to develop original theater work with special constituencies. He is the co-founder of CITYSCAPE, an Art Therapy program and works as a consultant for several organizations in the Los Angeles area. Hector has also traveled extensively offering workshops both within the United States as well as other countries such as: Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cuba, India, The Netherlands, England, Palestine and Israel. Hector is also a member of The Colombia Peace Project, which aims to educate Americans on the U.S. role in war torn Colombia and build up grassroots solidarity with the millions of Colombians who support a peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict. During the last 15 years Hector's main work and interest has been on the use of Theater of The Oppressed techniques, traditional myths and story telling as a way to combine theater, drumming, and dance with psychotherapy in the creation of “modern rituals” as a way to address the healing needs of many of our communities. He develops this work mostly with youth at risk, The Victims of Torture Program where he is in charge of “The healing Club,” inside prsions with the California Youth Authority, through Children’s Institute International, among other agencies. (cited from Mr. Aristizabal's biography on the ImaginAction website) |
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