By Celeste Kennel-Shank
Mennonite Weekly Review

	Julio Cesar Montaño Montenegro of Evanston, Ill., stands with two of his visual poems, “Renacientes” (The reborn), and “Rumba Pacifica” (Pacific rumba). — Photo by Celeste Kennel-Shank/MWR

Montaño, who attends Evanston (Ill.) Mennonite Church, has dozens of his works displayed in an exhibit, “Visual Poetry of Black,” in the gallery space of Metropolis Café in Chicago until Feb. 16.

“When I make my graphic poems, I don’t think about whether they are beautiful or ugly, but about communication,” he said.

“If my images do not create questions, they don’t achieve their objective.”

The ink drawings explore political and cultural issues, especially related to descendants of Africans worldwide.

“For me what is interesting is the encounter between cultures,” he said.

Montaño, trained as a social anthropologist, holds a diploma in research and communication for peace. He sees his art as furthering such communication.

“Peace can be achieved by looking at our mistakes,” Montaño said.

In his images he exposes human rights abuses, such as one depicting the assassination of a leader among Afro-Colombians who fish in a traditional way.

“He was silenced,” Montaño said.

In another visual poem, “Renacientes” (The reborn), Montaño shows three children representing the new generation of Afro-Colombians.

“They are born in the conflict, but new possibilities are born in the conflict,” he said.

The title also refers to an organization of which Montaño is a member that unites Afro-Colombian civil leaders and politicians to advocate for human rights and territory rights.

Montaño came to the United States in May 2006 after being threatened by armed groups in Colombia. Evanston Mennonite, among other congregations, sponsored him through the Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance, a faith-based group working for peace in Latin America.

He now lives in Evanston with his wife and son, all three having been granted asylum in 2007. Their daughter remains in Colombia, and they are working to be reunited with her.

Montaño hopes to display his images in other venues around the United States to educate people about Afro-Colombians and black communities globally.

“In every part of the world where there are black people, we suffer the same history,” he said.

He believes it is especially important for people in the United States to confront that history.

In Colombia’s more than 50-year civil war, Afro-Colombian communities are especially vulnerable to violence committed by armed groups fighting each other and the government.