Before I Die in Querétaro

Candy Chang

“Before I die I want to be a man. Before I die I want to be a husband.”

Photo above by Miriam Vargas. All other photos by Civic Center.

Kristina and I are in Mexico for the Factor Clave 2011: Visión Diseño Conference in Querétaro, where I gave a lecture to 300 passionate designers and enjoyed the city with locals and speakers, thanks to the buenisimo team of organizers. They taught me a lot, including how to eat a street taco the right way: two fingers to hold the neck of your beer, plate on top, and the most enlightening tenet, “The taco never goes to the mouth. The mouth goes to the taco.”

We also ran a workshop with conference attendees where we installed a Before I Die wall in Spanish in the Plaza de Armas in the heart of the historic city center. All 20 of us took turns stenciling the wall with “Antes de morir quiero _____” and within minutes of completion, everyone from passersy-by to street vendors to construction workers gathered around and added their dreams too. Some favorites: Before I die I want to paint 20 paintings. Before I die I want to visit Jerusalem. Before I die I want a boyfriend (phone number included), Before I die I want to represent Mexico at the UN and fall in love, and Before I die I want to be a man/Before I die I want to be a husband (written by a tiny charming boy). By the next day every space on the wall was filled like I’ve never seen before and it became an endearing glimpse into the hearts of people in Querétaro who showed that if given the opportunity, we have a lot to share and learn from one another in public space. We also have a lot to learn about ourselves when we remember life is short and the time is now. Created with permission on a temporary construction barrier, the wall will be up for a month and maintained by the Factor Clave team. You can also create a wall with your community with our new toolkit. Special thanks to project coordinator Cesi Salazar Sánchez and to the Factor Clave team for their great hospitality. Photos of the process below.

This wall was created with love by Ana Cecilia (Cesi) Salazar Sánchez, Oscar E. Salazar Sánchez, Paulina Luna Pérez, Luis Daniel Reyes Orduña, Analuisa Montes, Salvador Hernández Carbajal, Osmar Moreno, Eduardo Mena, Tania Delas Casa, Estefania Martinez Braro, Mariana Muñoz Moreno, Alejandra Pérez Méndez, Sonia Pantoja Nieves, Alejandra Muñoz García, Regina Morán, Tania Espinosa Gómez, Laura Gabriel Pérez Nava, Maria José Balbás Lara, María Fernanda Meléndez Guriérrez, Juan Andres Cacho, and Kristina Kassem.