Mérida, Yucatán — Twenty-three macho guys just got woke.
That’s how many waiters, bartenders, cooks and other male staff from La Negrita Cantina received recognition for participating in a “Masculinity and Violence” workshop.
The program took place in March as part of a campaign called “Violence is not justified. Let’s stop it!” from the Municipal Institute for Women.
The awards ceremony commended La Negrita and its sister night spot, La Fundación Mezcalería, whose staff will join a future workshop. In addition to the workshop, the cantina has displayed prevention and awareness posters to raise awareness of violence against women.
“We are an inclusive bar and this type of training helps the boys to have more tools to solve any situation. No machismo,” said the owner of the bars, Patricia Martín Briceño.
“That a cantina joins such an important campaign against violence against women is very important,” said María Herrera Páramo, the institute’s director. “It has an active citizenry and comes from the recreation and entertainment sector. It gives us hope to create new campaigns and to follow up on it. We invite more establishments to join.”
He commented that the workshops focused on new ways of looking at masculinity.
There are new ways for men to relate with women, and among themselves, Herrera Páramo told a reporter for La Jornada Maya.
Psychologist Carlos Puga Salazar explained that the workshop on masculinity has been ongoing for five years. It consists of four sessions addressing topics such as types of violence, the concept of manhood and the nature of harassment.
“The great difference of other workshops is that we speak from the male perspective, we reflect on the cycle of male violence and how we generate violence between us,” Puga Salazar said.
The workshop was eye-opening to some of the participants.
“They thought that the violence was only punches and they realized that there are many types of violence,” he said.
Source: La Jornada Maya
