Powerful and Proudby Juliana Recio, Washington, DC  Juliana with Bella.  Juliana's sister, mother, niece, and nephew.  One of Juliana's paintings. |
In this video, Juliana Recio narrates her own success story. You can watch it by clicking on the embedded video shown below. This video is captioned, and the transcript is also provided below. Also provided below are a text description of the visuals in the video and the credits. Get the Flash Player to see this video.
My name is Juliana Recio Calero and I grew up in beautiful Bogotá, Colombia. When I was an infant, I contracted polio and to everyone’s surprise, survived bronchial pneumonia as well as numerous surgical orthopedic procedures. 30 years later, post-polio syndrome caused me new weaknesses, pain, and fatigue. After walking with leg braces and crutches for years, I had to readjust and accept a new condition that was progressive. After fighting it for a while, I started using a wheelchair, because it gave me independence, made me faster, and helped me conserve energy. As a child, my mother always treated me the same way she treated my two sisters and my brother. She sent me to regular schools, emphasized the importance of education, and taught me that I could do the same things as anyone else and that I should never feel like a victim or sorry for myself. When I was 17 and moved to the States in search of better medical care, the Martins believed in me and they became my 2nd family. Initially I was reluctant to work in the disability field because that would put my disability in the forefront. A turning point in my life came when I met a professor who asked me, "Wouldn't you like to work in the disability field?" My first response was, “No way! I do not want to advertise the fact that I have a disability!" However, once I thought about it and realized that it was not about me, but about people with disabilities and asserting our rights, I was hooked and I knew then that I was put in this world to work with people with disabilities and their families. Furthermore, I realized that ethnic and cultural minorities have been historically underserved and needed people from their own communities to become leaders. My first job in this new field was at the National Center for Latinos with Disabilities in Chicago. It took 11 years, but I finally became a US resident with a national interest waiver highlighting my exceptional work in the disability field. Over the course of the last 15 years I have advanced in this field and worked in nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. My biggest professional accomplishments have been speaking at conferences, updating books, training, and teaching. My life and my work have completed a full circle: the fact that I had parents and supporters that believed in me and instilled in me pride in who I was and who I was going to become has given me the power to believe in others and instill in them that same pride. A few years ago my mother became disabled after an accident and now she uses a wheelchair, which gave me a chance to reciprocate all the support and love she has given me. Now my mother herself has become a disability advocate in Colombia. My dream is to found an organization for Latinos with disabilities and their families here in the United States and in Latin America. Work isn’t everything. I paint when I get a chance and have a sense of great joy when people call me an artist, but I feel the greatest pride when people call me an advocate and an activist in the disability field because I am following the steps of great people and hopefully if I do a good job others will follow me.
This digital story uses a series of still photographs to illustrate the narrative. It also shows several paintings done by Juliana Recio Calero. It begins with one of those paintings, of a house, which fades to a photo of Bogotá, showing a modern metropolis in a mountain valley. Then, when Juliana talks about her childhood, the viewer is presented with a series of photos of her as a child with family members and then as an adolescent, going from using braces to using a wheelchair. Following that, there is a map of Colombia and a drawing of an airplane shows her migration from Colombia to the United States. Then, a portrait of the Martin family appears. As Juliana talks about a transformation in her perspective, in which she accepts making her disability a more public part of her life and realizes that leaders from minority communities are a necessary part of the disability movement, there are photos of disabled Latinos with their families and friends. Then, another map of the United States appears, this time with stars indicating all of the states she has worked in as a disability advocate, including California, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, New York, and the District of Colombia. The map disappears as Juliana speaks about her professional successes, with images of two books that she updated, with the titles "Job Seeking Skills for People with Disabilities" and "Working Together: Supervising People with Disabilities." When Juliana talks about the relationship between her professional success and personal success, a photo of her as a young woman surrounded by supportive family members is shown, followed by a present day photo showing her supporting younger family members. Then there is a photo of her mother using a wheelchair, surrounded by Juliana's sister, niece, and nephew. Following that photo, there is a facial portrait of Juliana while she talks about her dream, and then, as she talks about her love of painting, two of her paintings appear on screen, one of a parrot and another of a woman. The video concludes with a series of photos moving across the screen showing civil rights and disability activists César Chávez, Martin Luther King, Ed Roberts, Justin Dart, Marca Bristo, and Judy Heumann. Finally, another present-day portrait of Juliana appears, in which she is smiling and holding a small dog. The photo then fades to credits.
Written and narrated by Juliana Recio Photos courtesy of Juliana Recio. Some images from Proyecto Visión archives and from the Public Domain. Paintings by Juliana Recio. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Civil rights and disability leaders pictured are Marca Bristo and Justin Dart, César Chávez, Judy Heumann, Martin Luther King, and Ed Roberts, in order of appearance. |
