The story of Benposta Nation of Children in the World is the story of thousands of children, adolescents, young people and adults who, for more than 60 years, have turned their lives into messages and testimonies that defend their rights as social subjects, while their lives become a denunciation of structural situations that prevent many children from living a dignified life. The protagonists who begin this story are a priest, a group of fifteen teenagers and a motorcycle. And it is in the Galician city of Ourense, in the west of Spain, where the city that was originally known as Ciudad de los Muchachos (City of the Young) is born and which, years later, acquires a greater identity with the name Benposta Nación de Muchachos. The founder of Benposta, the Spanish priest Jesús César Silva Méndez - Father Silva (1933 - 2011), is the one who initiates, gives impetus to and sustains this social experience, which in its proposal includes the fear of millions of children who are direct victims of situations of exploitation and social exclusion, transforming it into the hope of a more just world built with the participation and vision of children and youth. On behalf of the millions of children and youth who live every day in inhumane conditions or die before the indifferent eyes of governments, politicians and citizens around the world, Benposta proclaims some principles that form the basis of his educational proposal:
No son sólo los objetivos los que definen la misión institucional de BENPOSTA en distintos países del mundo, son las vivencias reales con rostro y nombre propio las que han cambiado para siempre centenares de destinos individuales, y las que nos permiten imaginar otro curso para el destino común que tenemos como seres humanos.
Mural fundacional de Benposta_Sede Benposta Ourense (España)
Monasterio San Pedro de Rocas_Sede de encuentros de Benposta
Benposta's message to the world was projected through the circus, where pyramids were built, with the powerful at the bottom, the weak at the top and the children at the top. This show was born in Benposta in 1966 with its triumphant debut in Barcelona's Plaza de Cataluña, transforming the citizens of Benosta into harlequins - bearers of a message of life and hope. More than 85 countries from different continents witnessed the power of a spectacle full of life and color, in which the "even more difficult" part of the daily life of this "changing country" was governed according to its own rules, which were set up in Parliament, where each of its citizens not only had a voice and a vote, but also exercised power through an internal structure that included elections to the mayor's office (presidency), the presidency and the council of deputies. The circus came to Colombia in late 1973 and infected children, adolescents, young people and adults who saw an opportunity in its educational, political and life-practical offerings.
Vídeo de la Televisión Española sobre el Circo "Los Muchachos" de Benposta (1992)
Audio del Mensaje de Paz de Benposta al Mundo por Jimmy Barrios
Somos los muchachos y muchachas de la tierra, que vamos por el mundo con las manos unidas; porque no queremos que otra guerra envenene las noches ni oscurezca los días.
Y por eso Señor del Universo, te pedimos la victoria en la lucha: Victoria sobre el hambre que impide a muchos pueblos bendecir el pan de cada día, Victoria sobre el oro que construye ciudades sin alma mientras los campos estériles se erizan de cardos; Victoria sobre el vicio que mata la cultura y envilece el amor. Y justicia para tanta gente que sobrevive en medio de la explotación.
Y por eso Señor del Universo te pedimos la paz, la paz que prometiste a todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad. Sí todos los hombres y mujeres del mundo, se diesen la mano ninguno podría oprimir a su hermano Sí todos y todas miras en al Cielo no habría en el mundo miseria, opresión ni duelo. Sí todos y todas orasen juntos a Dios, El mundo sería una estrella de paz, justicia y amor.
