From Vallenar to the world: EDUFEST captivates Huasco students

On October 4 and 5, Vallenar was the epicenter of the second version of the International Educational Theater Festival: EDUFEST, which featured in-person performances at the Algarrobo Sports Club of CMP, where schools of the Local Public Education Service (SLEP) - Huasco were part of six plays from Chile and Argentina that, at the same time, were transmitted via streaming to 61 Spanish-speaking countries.

In addition, and in line with the content of the functions, the festival included a program called 'Edufest in the Classroom', which included activities of recognition and emotional management in students of the territory, promoting respect among peers and strengthening their affective capacities and social skills.

How was EDUFEST born?

In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic and faced with the impossibility of holding events in person, a group of young artists and cultural managers took the initiative to reconvert their work at the educational level, taking it from the theater stage to the online modality. All this, promoted through the 'Corporación Cultural Longitud 70'.

This is how the International Educational Theater Festival: EDUFEST was born, whose first version, scheduled for August 2021, was in charge of national companies and representatives from Spain and Argentina, gathering a massive and international audience of children, youth and families.

This project originated with the objective of offering educational communities access - free of charge - to the performing arts, enriching, at the same time, their educational processes. This goal has been enriched thanks to the support of private enterprise, facilitating its realization and the cultural link achieved in other latitudes, inside and outside Chile.

In this sense, Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP) has played a fundamental role in both versions, being the main sponsor and involving its neighboring training communities in the Copiapó, Huasco and Elqui valleys.

In this regard, Carolina Lomuscio, CMP's People Manager, said that "we are thrilled that this festival is being held physically in our territory. This alliance responds to the strong commitment to strengthen and develop skills in local children and young people, as well as their families and guardians, who are often also workers of our company".