Viola's mother is talking with friends about vacation plans. The girls need somewhere new, she says—a place that will spark their curiosity, where they can rest while learning something. Viola jumps up. She's always the first to speak up: "Mexico, Mom! It's perfect for us, it's perfect for Mimosa!" Her mother stares at her in disbelief. Viola hands her a newspaper clipping.
"Scorned and often confined to their homes, hundreds of Mayan children and adolescents with disabilities have found a tool to overcome discrimination and unlock their creativity through art."
Viola's mother reads aloud. A group of artists, doctors, and educators has enrolled 120 disabled children from Yucatán in a program designed to motivate them to discover their creative gifts and use art as a means of expression. Music, visual arts, dance, theater, and literature can all help a child or young person make progress. The program starts by identifying disabled individuals in the various municipal districts.
Next comes the workshop phase, once organizers understand which artistic disciplines suit each person best. The third stage aims to turn this into a bridge to the broader community—making art a vehicle for communication and personal growth.
Today, the 120 Mayan children come from three communities. But the plan is to expand the program—completely free—to other areas by 2014, bringing in more participants."
If Mexico is too far away, Viola counters, they could go to Rimini instead. "Did you know it has some of Europe's best-equipped beaches for people with disabilities?" Beyond Wi-Fi and a playground and children's activities, there are loungers in different sizes. But there's more: special beach wheelchairs for entering the water, raised loungers, and tactile ramps for the blind.
This is Bagno 27 in Marina Centro, a beach establishment run by Walter and Stefano Mazzotti—father and son—since 1995. They spent years before that selling sewing machines and yarn. Bagno 27 was the first beach club to invest in accessible tourism. This year's new initiative is a pilot program to hire young people with autism at other beach establishments too.
"Rimini isn't just nightclubs and parties," Viola adds with a smile. Her mother has a weakness for piadina and gelato. If it won't be Mexico, then at least Rimini for the summer of 2014.
Giulia Galeotti, 2014