Who better than a migrant who has lived in Jaén for more than two decades to break down prejudices against immigrants. Fernando Cáceres Gauto (Jaén, 1992) won the Human category in the Guadeamus Project Awards sponsored by the Official College of Designers of Catalonia. The work to complete the degree in Graphic Design is titled They attacked us.
“It was born from seven racist myths against the immigrant population based on two main ideas: they are, in the opinion of many people, the many benefits of the public economy and the Welfare State,” Cáceres , a student of the José Nogué School of Art. The campaign circulates in social networks under the homonymous label. “They deleted my Instagram account, I think because of a translation error,” he said.
One of the most repeated sentences on the streets and in the networks, checked by the designer, is the following: ‘Foreigners are stealing our jobs.’ Cáceres answers this myth by appealing to official sources and communicating the idea in the form of moving graphics:
BORN IN PARAGUAY, BIG FAMILY AND RACISM
Fernando Cáceres’ own story inspired him to make Nos go forward. He was born in Paraguay and his family – there are eleven siblings – arrived in Spain in 2007. Although he has lived in Jaén for decades, he has experienced episodes of racism. “Once the father of a girl I was dating told me to leave him, that my family sold drugs. He was a policeman,” he recalled.
Recently, the designer was walking his dog, a bull terrier that is not classified as a dangerous breed, and someone noticed that he was not wearing a muzzle. “I told him the matter and he, far from understanding it, told me: ‘Fucking immigrant. Go to your country,'” he described and even brought his Spanish passport to the Lacontradejaén headquarters, at Cuatro Gatos Coworking. “Many times I feel part of the problem, especially during elections,” he added.
At the José Nogué Art School they celebrated the success of the work, which was awarded 1,200 euros. Fernando Cáceres went to Barcelona to participate in the awards ceremony. “I can’t believe it. There are high-level jobs. I’m very happy,” he concluded.
