Benjamín Santamaría Ochoa. Bio

BENJAMÍN SANTAMARÍA OCHOA, 

"The Monkey King"

"El Rey Mono"

COMMUNITY WORKER (AOP). 

Community Worker (Anti Oppressive Perspective), writer, Yoga and Zen meditation teacher, Facilitator of Restorative Justice and Conflict Resolution workshops, Mexico and Canada. 

Mexico City, Mexico. Primary/Secondary Education

Current: Community Centres, Non Profit Organizations, high schools in Mexico and Canada.

Previous: Culture Direction, Miguel Hidalgo Delegation, Mexico City's Government. High Schools from the TDSB: Harbord Collegiate, Technical Institute and Central Commerce Collegiate.

Education: George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario.

Email address: sundesertroses@gmail.com

Summary

My work as an author, a workshops facilitator and yoga and meditation teacher, is assisting students, their relatives, teachers, public servants, NGO workers and general public with implementing the basic principles of human rights with a focus on general health and spiritual and social conscious.

I focus my professional activities on human rights topics and meaningful and congruent practices of general health (interconnecting the interdependent levels of: body-emotions-mind), inner development and social consciousness.

This work includes:
* providing individual consultations related to specific individual, family or social conflicts or dilemmas.
* providing relevant and useful tools through everyday yoga and meditation practices, workshops, writings and presentations.

* assisting students, their relatives and professors, as well as: human rights professionals, public servants and general public with their particular inquiries about specific dilemmas or conflicts. 

* providing support in the implementation and following up of individual and social plans to solve a dilemma or conflict.

I am a member of the Member of the Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network (Toronto, Ontario) and the Wide Social Unitarian Coalition (Mexico). I finished my certification as a Yoga teacher at the International Yoga Yoghism Association and at the Val Morin Ashram of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Quebec. 
I have studied and applied the Convention on the Rights of the Children (UN) while working as the first Ombudsman in Mexico. I also wrote a friendly version of the first part of the same Convention, (reviewed and authorized to its publication by: UNICEF (Mexico), the National Commission of Human Rights, the Public Education Secretary of the Mexican Federal Government and several NGOs). 

EXPERIENCE

Restorative Justice Circles and Workshops Facilitator.
Mexico's City Government
August 2014- March 2015 (8 months)

Yoga and Zen Meditation Teacher.

Network Universal Great Brotherhood. Mexican Republic, Perú, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, New York and Canada.

August 1972- Present (33 years)

Educator on Human Rights

National Commission of Human Rights, Mexican Federal Government. 

February 1993-  July 1997 (4 years)

 PEN Canada's Writer in Residence  

Trent University (Peterborough), 2003, the George Brown College (Toronto), 2004, and Acadia University (Nova Scotia), 2004-2006.

Ombudsman for the Children 

Durango's Municipality, Mexico, 

1997- 1998 (1 year)

Teacher and Coordinator of Children’s and youth Human Rights Artistic Workshops

Mexican Federal government, local governments and non-profit organizations (Mexico, Argentina, United States and Canada) 

1980- 2013 (33 years)

Journalist and Author For Children

"La Jornada", "Reforma", "Excelsior" Newspapers.

March 1992- September 1997 (5 years)

Actor and Acting Teacher 

Mexico, United States, Senegal, Spain, Argentina, Peru and Canada, 

1973-2014 (30 years) 

Street Kids Educator

"Casa Alianza" (Covenant House)

January 1988 - January 1999 (1 year)

PROJECTS

The Theatre of the Middle Path, to solve conflicts and dilemmas for native and underprivileged children, Mexico City and Chicoloapan, Cerro del Chocolín and Ixtapaluca. Estado de México.

August 2014- August 2015.

The Theatre of the Middle Path, to native young students and children,

Jaltepec de Candayoc Mixe, Oaxaca, Intercultural Superior Institute Ayuuk. August 2014- August 2015.

“Health and Human Rights Education for Children”. Symposium of the WPA Section on Psychological Consequences of Torture and Persecution. World Psychiatric Association International Congress, Prague, Check Republic.

September, 2012.

Formal presentation of The Theatre of the Middle Path methodology for peasants, native workers, community and native leaders and students from Central America and Mexico, at the Mesoamerican Forum of the Peoples in Minatitlán, Veracrúz,   December 2010

Project Desert Roses, Raising Awareness on Human Rights for Children, Youth and their Communities, supported by the CRC (Canadian Religious Conference), Toronto, Ontario.

2006- 2009.

Campaign to send copies of the book "The Rights of Boys and Girls" and economical resources to San Caralampio, Native Community in Pentalhó, Chiapas, Mexico, at the Acadia Cinema re opening, Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

2003- 2004

Camp for Latino students in Toronto schools (Harbord Collegiate, Technical Institute and Central Commerce Collegiate) 

2007, 2008, 2010.

PUBLICATIONS (In Spanish and English)

* Tales of the Monkey King, Tundra Books (USA. and Canada).

2005.

One of the stories I used to tell street kids, in the subway corridors, abandoned buildings or under earth hiddings in Mexico City, about a mischievous, brave, hot tempered monkey who became an enlightened one after controlling and facing his own issues.

* Speaking in Tongues. Writers in Exile. (One story: “We, the invisibles”). PEN Canada and the Banff Centre Press. 

2004.

What would happen if invaders, with a different colour skin, come to Canada, the US or any other western country, introducing themselves as friends, and will end raping our women, killing our men, slaving everyone and destroying our religion, culture, language and imposing a different order only on their benefit?

* Antares 2009. Creatividad Artística y Literaria. Literary and Artistic Creativity.Créativité Littéraire et Artistique.  Glendon College, York University. 

2009.

Some poems.

* Ponle Color a tus Derechos (solo para niñas y niños de corazón) (Colour your

Rights (Only For Boys and Girls by Heart).  Editorial Trillas (Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Venezuela). 

1999.

A friendly, illustrated version -with activities-, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children.

* No se Olvida (México 68)” (Don’t Forget, Mexico 68). Editorial Plaza y Janés (Mexico, Germany, Spain). 

1998.

The one day life of an elementary boy who lives just in front of the Plaza de las Culturas, in Tlatelolco, Mexico, the very day the massacre of students and workers, ordered by the US and Mexican governments, occurs while hi is trapped at his apartment, Mom went out side to find Dad and he is sick with a strong cold.

* El color de la calle. The colour of the Street. , Mexico 

2015.

A non official, illustrated history for the family, of the American continent, from Argentina to Canada, told by a street kid who happens, mysteriously, to remember that history from the eyes and hearts of his ancestors: natives, social movements, students and workers.

CERTIFICATIONS

Community Worker Diploma (with honours) 

George Brown College, Toronto, 2014.

Restorative Justice Circles Facilitator

International Institute for Restorative Justice (Toronto)  

      From 2014

Yoga Teacher

International Association of Yoga Yoghism  

      2011
International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres
      2016

           

           LANGUAGES

English  

Spanish 

           

             SKILLS

Benjamin also knows about

* Non Official Native history of the American Continent

* Simple Focus Brief Therapy

* Teaching

* Artistic Education

* Refugees and Immigrants settling

* Qualitative Research

* Mexican Prehispanic Art

* Teacher Training

* Latin American literature

* Martial Arts (Zen combat)

* Zen Meditation

* Comparative Religions

* Adult Education

* Yoga for children and seniors

* Presentations

* Acting

* Universal Values

* Young People

* Body Expression

* Critical Thinking

* Education

* Eastern Psychology

* Eastern Philosophy

WORK WITH AND FOR ORIGINAL PEOPLES (MEXICO)

WORK WITH AND FOR ORIGINAL PEOPLES 

(CHILDREN, YOUTH AND COMMUNITY LEADERS)

Campaign to send to San Caralampio, Native Community in Pentalhó, Chiapas, Mexico,copies of the book: "The Rights of Boys and Girls (only for children by heart)" (an illustrated and with activities, friendly version of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children, written by me and published in Mexico, Venezuela and Spain in 1999). We also send them economical resources, in order to rebuild 3 schools destroyed by the Mexican Army. 

To raise resources, I conceived an interactive play presentation entitled: “Acting for a Radical Childhood”. 

It is a play based on actual reports from Amnesty International, that shows some real cases of children whose rights have been violated in several countries in Latin America, under the Conservative governments allies to the Capitalist United States policies. The presentation of the play was on March 31st 2005 at he re opening of the Acadia Cinema.

I invited a group of Entrepreneur students from the Acadia Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ACSBE), to write a friendly, social justice oriented business plan to sell  bookmarkers made by the native children of the Chiapas community. The whole project had the moral, and sometimes, financial support, of the Amnesty International chapter at Acadia University,  the Acadia Choir Ensemble,  2 graduated acting students, the Cooperative "Just of Us Coffee Cooperative Roosters", the government and the peoples of Wolfville.

It was a successful story in terms of financial benefits to the native community and in terms of the books we sent.

Native children from the "Zapatista" Community San Caralampio, in the municipality of Pentalhó, Chiapas, showing their books markers we sold.

Bookmarkers made by native children in Chiapas and the book sent to them.

Promotion of the Campaign to sell the bookmarkers and to send the book: "The Rights of girls and boys (only for those under 18 years old)".

Native girl from a community in Oaxaca, south Mexico, reading from the books: "The Rights of girls and boys (only for those under 18 years old)", published in Mexico, Venezuela and Spain in 1999.

THE THEATRE OF THE MIDDLE PATH 

IN JALTEPEC DE CANDAYOC, NATIVE MIXE COMMUNITY, OAXACA, MEXICO.

At the Cultural Institute Ayuuk, in Jaltepec de Candayoc, native Mixe community I applied the methodology of The Theatre of the Middle Path offered to native students from diverse areas such as: Intercultural Education, Administration and Sustainable Development and Communication for the Social Development. 

I also offered a workshop for children (no violent, non sexist, no competitive and playful activities and stories) and the adult students presented a series of "Estudios Teatrales" (Theatrical Studies) to the community, to show diverse ways of solving current conflicts in the community.

The Institute receives solidarity support from the following institutions: Edujesuit, Ficsac, United Way, Ibero Meneses Foundation A.C., Jesuits, San Ignacio de Loyola Foundation, OXFAM Mexico, Indigenous Affairs Secretary, Scotiabank, SerTull Foundation, Yin' Et Radio.com and Jesuit University System.