Mandela Day in Mexico
Ambassador Sandile Nogxina handing in 6 HP computer to the Rector of UNISUR and the Director of the local UNISUR campus; 2. Artist Eljana van der Merwe, Martin Malan Counsellor (Political)
and Juan Carlos Cuesta; 3. Ambassador Sandile Nogxina handing prizes to children who painted 2 more murals with Ms van der Merwe; 4. Ambassador Nogxina with State and local dignitaries and
representatives at the inauguration of the mural, and 5. View of the mural in a building wall of UNISUR.
67 COLOURS MEMORIAL WALL AT THE UNISUR CAMPUS IN CUAJINICULAPA, GUERRERO (AN AFRO-MEXICAN SETTLEMENT)
A collaboration between the South African Embassy in Mexico and South African artist Eljana van der Merwe, a mural in honour of Mr Mandela was created at the Cuajinicuilapa Campus of the University of the Peoples of the South (UNISUR) and inaugurated on Friday 26 July 2013 by South African Ambassador Sandile Nogxina, the Rector of the University, Members of the National Congress, Representatives of the State Government and local authorities of Afro-Mexican communities in the Costa Chica Region of the States of Guerrero and Oaxaca.
The wall carries the inscription “Todo parece imposible hasta se hace” everything seems impossible until it is achieved. The wall will act as a permanent reminder to the students at the university,
which is in a poor region lacking many resources, that with determination and perseverance everything can be achieved.
While painting the mural, Ms van der Merwe became known and loved by the students of UNISUR and the people who saw her work on the mural for a whole month.
The inauguration of the wall in one of the 6 rondavels of UNISUR was followed by a ceremonial planting of fruit trees, again symbolising that preparing today will bear fruit in the future (education now leads to better lives). Through the collaboration of Mr Juan Carlos Cuesta, the representative of Ms Eljana van der Merwe in Mexico, six HP computers were donated to the university. The computers were handed in during a UNISUR radio interview with Ambassador Nogxina.
The event was attended by more than 200 guests and students from the Costa Chica Region and the Mission distributed Mandela T-shirts, balloons and flags. A gastronomic tasting that included local
Indigenous and Afro-Mexican food as well as South African food, traditional dances and live music served as the backdrop to this Madiba celebration.
South African Embassy in Mexico