Rosalinda Guzman of "Salud: Healing Through the Arts"

Rosalinda Guzman (picture right) is the youngest member of the SALUD team, and is returning for her third year. She is currently attending Noble Street Charter School, and working with her sisters to organize youth to work towards immigration reform.

SALUD has taught me so many different things. i have learned how to work with older teenagers, and see things that i had never noticed before. i had never thought that i could have had great ideas in my whole life. i have become more mature as well as prepared for what the world has to offer me. I have learned that age doesn't matter for the reason that we all have about the same ideas. i am more responsible as to when i do my homework and when i know i have to do my homework.

In the beginning i felt a bit uncomfortable to see how everyone worked together well and i was one of the ones who felt out of place due to the age differences. Just within weeks i felt part of the group and knew that if they could have good ideas, so could i. I dont think i would ever find another program like radio arte, because it has made my ideas, imagination, matureness, and my vocabulary as well. No other program can offer such a great outcome.

I have used what i have learned to inform my family as well as my neighbors about all the problems there is out there and specially in the latino community. I've also noticed things that i had never noticed before, for example how hard it is for adults to get used to the environment in the United States. I have thanked my parents for crossing the border to have a better future for themselves as well as for their daughters. some of my friends get aggravated so easily when their parents do or say something that they don't like. I have told them that they should be thankful to be where they are at, and that if their parents say something it is for a reason. I have opened some eyes to make them see how difficult it must be for parents to have teenagers who aren't like them for the reason that now they are in the United States.

SALUD program is majorly about the immigrant community of latinos. most of my family are immigrants, and the other part is mexican-american. therefore, SALUD talks about most of the topics in which my family has a problem or where somebody in the family has faced it at least once. Most of my classmates come from immigrant parents or are part of the immigrants who came here to get a better life. SALUD helps everyone see what we have all been through and it helps us understand and see why so many different things end up having the outcome they do.

SALUD is a very entertaining program where the environment is very comfortable. after only a few days it feels like you have been part of the program for a while. It is a whole new place to meet new people and talk about completely new topics that we never knew where out there. i think radio arte should have more years of work for teenagers and of course older teenagers to make pilsen as well as the latino community grow.

Tags: Mexican-American
Topics: Arts, Building Community, Family, Immigrants, New Routes Leaders, Storytelling, Youth