“Los Voces” project explores the people of Barelas neighborhood
‘Los Voces’ project explores the people of ABQ’s Barelas area
Adria Malcolm was curious about the Barelas neighborhood.
So the photojournalist decided to take her students at Working Classroom out for a tour of the area.
After months of work, the students will present the work as part of the Fiestas de Barelas on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The exhibit is called “Las Voces de Barelas: The Neighborhood Project.” It explores the people of the Barelas community, seeking to bridge the gap between otherness and commonality through story and photography. The artists will be at the event from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21.
“I was mainly teaching video work,” Malcolm says. “Then I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if we got to know the neighbors?’ The students went out to meet the neighbors and tell the stories.”
Malcolm and her students then went out into the neighborhood to find some community members.
“For the most part, they seemed open to it,” she says. “There were a few people who didn’t want to participate. Those are the barriers that every journalist is going to face. It taught the students that rejection is part of the job.”
In addition to getting the community members involved, Malcolm also had to help teach the students interviewing skills.
The students who participated are Keily Castro, Elijah Chavez, David De La Cruz, Analy Morales, Ana Palma, Michelle Perez, Izaiah Ramos and Estefania Valencia.
“Some of the kids are in middle school; others are in high school,” Malcolm says. “One of the biggest challenges was making sure that they were open minded and aggressive. They also had to learn how to interview and write a feature story. It was all new to them. Making sure they didn’t give up was the biggest challenge.”
Malcolm hopes the series will continue with Working Classroom.