Popular education in Latin America: between the memories of Oscar Jara and the travels of Paulo Freire: [Interview with Oscar Jara by Nima Spigolon and César Ferreira da Silva]

Abstract

The Cultural Circle that gave rise to this interview, in early June 2021, via videoconference, took place amid the pandemic and the celebrations of the centenary of Paulo Freire’s birth. In it, the popular educator Oscar Jara, president of CEAAL - the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Popular Education, and director of the Alforja Studies Center - CEP Alforja, discusses the genesis of popular education in Latin America and its relationship with Paulo Freire. He recalls the struggles, the utopias, and the time that reflects the light of contemporary challenges. The dialogue covers the encounter with popular education and Paulo Freire, some historical milestones in Latin America, the concepts of popular culture, and the influences of Carlos Rodrigues Brandão, among others that have emerged. The interview serves as a historical record, revisiting hope, resistance, creativity, and contributes to actions and research in the field of popular education, highlighting the need to systematize educational, popular, political, and cultural experiences on the map of the Latin American continent. Dialoguing with Oscar Jara was a dialogue with the conceptions of Paulo Freire and a way to learn about memories and practices linked to theory and activism, which marked the spread of epistemological processes and Freirean thought in popular and social movements.