Paths of Gold: Stories of Those Who Built Their Homes, Fiorella Benavides Sánchez
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Fiorella Benavides Sánchez and Felipe Vega will discuss the COPAN Association (in Costa Rica) that in the 1990’s organized a community group, a remarkable collective of women to participate in a state-supported social housing initiative based on the self-construction of homes.
In the 1980s, the COPAN Association organized a community group, a remarkable collective of women, to participate in a state-supported social housing initiative based on the self-construction of homes. Each participant contributed approximately to 900 hours of labor, including land clearing, material mixing, and guarding construction sites, in exchange for the right to their own home.
In 2025, Arte para la Tierra developed the project Guararí: Stories of Those Who Built Their Homes, working alongside these women, now part of the Caminos de Oro Club to hold storytelling and visual arts workshops. Together, they transformed their lived experiences into stories that carry their “golden” memories to new generations, preserving and honoring their legacy.
The project reclaims the dignity and solidarity that once defined Guararí’s origins, shedding light on a chapter of Costa Rican history where community, perseverance, and collective effort built not only houses but a lasting sense of belonging.
Presenter’s Bio
Fiorella Benavides Sánchez
Fiorella Benavides Sánchez is a Costa Rican theater director, cultural manager, and performing artist. She holds a Licentiate’s degree in Performing Arts from the National University of Costa Rica and has spent more than a decade working in theater as a director, producer, workshop facilitator, and independent creator.
Through her work with Arte para la Tierra, she leads community-based art projects that connect theater, education, and environmental awareness. Her artistic practice focuses on collective memory, social transformation, and participatory creation. She has received recognition, including an Honorable Mention at the Ricardo Fernández Awards (2020) and the National Theater Award Ricardo Fernández Guardia (2021), and has written and directed several plays exploring identity, community, and embodied storytelling.
Felipe Vega
Felipe Vega is a Costa Rican educator, musician, and independent researcher whose work moves between art, science, and social transformation. Through artivism, he explores the connections between music, mathematics, fractal patterns, and ancestral symbolic systems to reveal hidden structures of harmony in nature, culture, and community life. His projects often combine education, cultural memory, and creative practice as tools for awareness and collective regeneration.
This event is sponsored by Artivism: The Power of Art for Social Transformation.
For more information, please contact artivism@adelphi.edu.