Orizaba, Ver.- Octavio Sánchez Oropeza, dedicated to art for 20 years, affirms that illustrations of his creation were captured inside the textbooks of the Spanish and Mother Language subjects, third and fourth grade, from the Ministry of Public Education (SEP).
At the age of 41, Octavio talks about his participation in the national convocation of the Secretary of Education, to illustrate the cover and interior of the basic education books, although those selected would not receive any economic incentive.
Excited, expresses that among the more than 600 participants (He estimated), 120 plastic artists, graphic designers, cartographers and painters remained, who made their contribution in the development of the free textbooks. The call, he adds, was open, that is, they did not ask to be an artist as a first requirement; “The only reference was that you send work and as you went through the filters, they asked you for more details,” he mentions.
He comments that originally six topics were going to come out: Biology, Natural Sciences, and others, but he did not give time, and they took out material for the subjects of Reading, Mother tongue and Spanish, as well as a book that is from each state. “In which they published my illustrations is Mother Tongue and Spanish,” he says.
Remember that for years I had thought about participating, but it was until now that the opportunity arose. There were many who responded to the call, so “It was a great surprise to be selected,” he says.
In order to make the illustrations, he had the support of an advisor, who is the one who guides the artists to make the images. “He asked us to reflect the environment where we live, landscapes, the people, the community; so I drew what surrounds me. And it was beautiful because I painted my surroundings: there were landscapes, people, schools and houses, which reflects the Orizaba area ”, adds Sánchez Oropeza.
He comments that the illustrations have already been printed in the textbooks that primary school students have in their hands. “I already have one, my family, my niece already have it, although it is a question of how they distribute it, but most of the schools are already in use,” he says.
When asked if he received financial compensation, the interviewee says: “No, I did not receive anything, for this reason, many artists criticized the call, because they did not say if I was going to see a pay or stimulus, but this work is more of a civil commitment , at least for me, “he says.
He considers this contribution as a service to the country, since the books are free and one also had access to knowledge through them.
“I thought in another way, take advantage of the space; for me that is a payment, and regardless of that, they already take us into account to be illustrators of the SEP, and for future projects they do pay ”, he points out.
For Octavio Sánchez Oropeza this work was not heavy, he did it in three months, one goes to the rhythm of the edition, as they send the material and check the songs; one goes to that beat. I did it with a lot of love and care ”, he highlights.
From Veracruz, he says, four artists participated, he says and mentioned that whoever he worked with in the edition of the books has been working for the SEP for about 30 years. “It is an institution, because they touch all the illustrations, they even integrated children, they had the opportunity for one to make their drawings and integrate them,” he highlights.
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In this project, concludes the Orizabeño artist, graduated in Art, not only professionals participated, but also involved people from all over the world.
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