By Carlos Alfredo Fuentes Romero

In the year 2019 we started the 'Micro-workshops at El Brujo'. This event is carried out within the framework of the Open Museums initiative (MUA), a proposal that arose from Law No. 30599 (2017), which provides that every first Sunday of each month, Peruvian citizens and residents have free access to various museums, archaeological sites and national historic sites administered by the Peruvian State. In this way, better links can be generated between the population and its cultural venues, promoting historical and educational knowledge and various artistic activities that strengthen diversity and cultural heritage among Peruvians.

In this sense, at the El Brujo Archaeological Complex (CAEB), we join the proposal thanks to the agreement that we have with the Ministry of Culture, with the particularity of not only opening the Site Museum of the complex free of charge, but also the laboratories and deposits. In fact, the latter is where we store the collection of more than 30,000 movable cultural assets that we guard, which are the product of the three decades of archaeological intervention of the Wiese Foundation in El Brujo.

Reinventing archaeological dissemination: 'Micro-workshops at El Brujo'

Figure 1. The 'El Brujo Micro-workshops' seek to reduce the existing gaps between society and the archaeological knowledge generated by specialists. Through these activities we hope that this reality will change progressively and can be imitated by other institutions.

Despite the global health crisis that began in 2019, the CAEB reinvented itself in quite a complicated context, with new and better archaeological dissemination initiatives, both virtual and in-person. The purpose of the micro-workshops is to broaden the knowledge of the archaeological collections of the CAEB by the general public. In this way, we open spaces that visitors and tourists do not normally frequent, as they are areas for the research and documentation of pieces.

The 'Micro-workshops at El Brujo' consist of three main activities: we begin with the introduction to a particular theme that links the past with the present, previously selected by our work team. This first part works as a talk or conversation with visitors, who settle in the laboratory where we project didactic images that reinforce the idea that we intend to convey.

In a second moment, the public, after a conversation about the theme of the micro-workshop, are invited to visit one of the deposits that will serve as a venue for the appreciation of the archaeological objects referenced in the previous talk. Here visitors are explained the importance of keeping the archaeological pieces in a properly inventoried and protected environment, as well as generating a greater approach of the public to the movable cultural assets. Finally, in a third moment, we all go to the laboratory to carry out the last activity of the micro-workshop. This consists in executing a practical and dynamic activity, where the knowledge acquired that same day can be reinforced through manual action, and where feedback can generate new learning about the history of this region.

An example of community involvement: Cárdenas-Flores family

Under this scenario, we take this opportunity to highlight the participation of one particular family that attended all the events of the year 2023. The Cardenas-Flores family has been, so far, since the inception of our initiative, the first to attend all of the monthly events of this program.

Figure 2. Cárdenas-Flores family. From left to right: William Cárdenas (son), María Cárdenas, Flor Flores and William Cárdenas (father)

From the first time they arrived at the CAEB, it was no secret the great interest of Mr. William, father and Peruvian committed to the history and culture of his country. At each event, he used to consult us and share many of the experiences that he lived in other cultural venues, both national and international. He told us that, from his perspective and experience, he did not find a work similar to the one conducted in our facilities in terms of activities of this type.

As proof of their attendance, we leave some images where we can relive the presence of the Cárdenas-Flores family in our facilities:

Figure 3. Micro-workshop 'Lambayeque cranial modeling'

Figure 4. Micro-workshop 'Luxury and prestige objects'

Figure 5. Micro-workshop 'Food in ancient Peru: Tubers and legumes

On December 3, 2023, we held the last micro-workshop of the year, entitled 'The ceramics collection at El Brujo'. We took this opportunity to give voice to Mr. William Cárdenas (father), who, on behalf of his family, invites all Peruvians to participate in this initiative.

"A cordial invitation to the inhabitants of La Libertad to attend these micro-workshops, as many times as they are held, when they can (...) Commit to sending any of your children or relatives so that they can communicate what they saw, observed or learned in these micro-workshops. We are expecting you!"

- Mr. William Cardenas

From our venue, we wish to thank the effort of many families, couples, friends, and other people who attend the CAEB for the events held every first Sunday of the month. This notwithstanding, our recognition to the Cárdenas-Flores family is special because they exemplify the impact that we want to generate in our visitors with each micro-workshop. Just like them, the public not only satisfies their curiosity about the past, but will also know and better understand the pre-Hispanic social, economic and cultural manifestations of this region in ancient times. In this way, they will be able to generate a sense of identity as citizens and of appreciation of their cultural heritage, of which both they and we are the heirs.