As part of the Initial Integration of Immigrants project at the Cene Štupar AEC in Ljubljana, we teach participants the Slovenian language through everyday topics. These include, for example, family, health, education, work and profession. Among the planned topics are also contact with the new country, Slovenian culture, tradition and media. In this way, participants not only learn the basic use of the language according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (A2/B1) but also explore a broader aspect of culture in terms of the values of human society into which they have moved. This knowledge dramatically benefits them in integrating into the new social environment.
In this interview, Guillermo Daniel Escalante Rodriguez from Argentina shares his experiences of integrating into Slovenian culture or society. From a practical point of view, he presents his reasons for living in Slovenia and emphasises the need for learning and knowing the Slovenian language. As a descendant of original immigrants to America (Native Americans), the interview touches on similarities between Slovenian and Native American cultures in terms of human creativity and values. In addition to his own Native American culture, he is also familiar with Slovenian culture and has several years of artistic work experience at the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum.
The interviewee’s speech was minimally modified in written form to maintain the interview’s authenticity.
Guillermo, you moved to Slovenia in 2009. What is your communication with Slovenians like now, and how is your Slovenian language progressing after so many years?
When I came to Slovenia, I was starting from scratch because I didn’t know the language. I didn’t speak Slovenian or even English. It took almost ten years for me to reach a level of communication where I could express myself and showcase my strengths through Slovenian words. Through words, through language, people perceive me differently. It’s as if the saying holds: language makes the person.
I find it very important for a foreigner to learn some sayings at the beginning, for example, “Clothes make the man.” In Argentina, clothes were never important to me, but here, I immediately felt that Slovenians looked at me differently on the streets of Ljubljana when I had a new jacket on.
Have you also taken the Slovenian language exam at the basic level A2/B1? You attended a 180-hour Slovenian language course.
I passed the exam at the beginner level, A1, at the Cene Štupar institution. I also want to take the exam at the basic level.
On the course, I was in a group with South Slavs, and three of us were Non-Slavs. The Slavs already understood more from the beginning and worked very collectively. In comparison, I had to start learning from scratch, following all the grammar rules and paying more attention to declensions and endings to keep up, which was good for learning.
Is there already a bit of a Slovenian in you?
I like how honest Slovenians are. They are friendly. It’s a value not to lie. There is something naive and curious in my character. I think these are qualities that people have here.
Do you perceive Slovenians differently when you converse with them in Slovenian rather than, for example, in English?
Yes, of course. English is a bridge. If I’m the only foreigner in the company of Slovenians, we initially converse in English. Soon enough, Slovenians switch to the Slovenian language, and it immediately becomes different. They are different; the communication is different. They laugh more, use slang and are louder.
When I speak Slovenian, it seems to me I receive respect from them.
How did you find work in Slovenia?
At first, I made a living on the street as a freelance artist, with music, for two years. Then I was part of a music group, performing and doing various performances for eight years. That was my job. I also worked as an assistant to different Slovenian artists for three years, making carnival masks and training people for performances in carnival groups. Within the theme of the forces of nature, I created a deer mask, which is now exhibited in the museum in Slovenska Bistrica. We were invited to Cerkno and Most na Soči. In between, I even worked as a shepherd for one year, and then I became a potter.
I became an art mentor for children. Now, with my partner, Slovenian Kim Germ, we conduct creative workshops with clay at the studio of the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum.
During the first wave of migration, you were involved in the exhibition “I, We and Others.” What was that experience like?
When I arrived in Europe, I saw a documentary in Spain about migrants. The first wave of migration had a very negative connotation, especially at the beginning. The exhibition organiser at the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum in Ljubljana, where I was already involved, told me: “Guillermo, we are going to create an exhibition about you in the museum. So that people can see other aspects of migration. People love you.” That’s how I had my personal exhibition as part of the “I, We and Others” exhibition.
The personal exhibition was a mix between the dissolution, the art group and the beginning of discovering individuality. I had a collective mindset that we would do it together. I come from a different culture, society – non-Slovenian. Only then did I realise that I was too collectively oriented. That’s when I learned about my personal space. Before working on the exhibition, I received three questions: What do I think about Slovenians? How did I come to Slovenia? Who am I? The exhibition lasted for six months, and there I showcased everything I knew: painting, mask-making, dance, lyrics and poetry. That’s when I became more Slovenian. That I am an individual and can work alone – before coming to Slovenia, I saw myself as someone who could only function as part of a group, not realising that I could create a product on my own and sell it myself. The anchor point in my integration was Eva Lenassi, a sculptor and my clay modelling teacher in the pottery studio.
Culture, or rather art, is very close to you personally and professionally. Do you have a good understanding of Slovenian culture?
I like beehive panels, wax votives, carnival masks and ancient instruments. Also, the Nativity scenes – how people here care for and value them. I have a good understanding of St. Florian and the Kurent.
I have also come across some music. The music of the Resia region is closest to shamanic rhythms. It is part of Slovenian culture where the ancient pre-Christian identity still lives. When you hear it, you recognise that these are signals belonging to shamanism. In South America, where I come from, this was destroyed, I mean in the Native American culture to which I belong. That resonates with me. For example, I don’t understand much of Prešeren.
At the beginning, you mentioned that honesty is a value among Slovenians. Have you noticed any common values between Slovenian and Native American cultures, as you are a descendant of Native American culture?
Respect for nature, definitely. Love for the land without nationalism, like among Native American people. As a foreigner, you quickly notice that Slovenians love nature, protect it and are connected to it. The environment is clean.
The society is peaceful and hospitable, and the country is safe. As a foreigner, you can observe the tranquillity of society. People don’t attack you out of nowhere, for example, on the streets. They don’t invade your personal space. I interpret this as respect, the respectfulness of the nation. Around the time of the first wave of migration, I worked as a shepherd in the countryside for a year. During that time, there were many concerns about migrants and foreigners in mainstream media. I was a combination of all that, but they accepted me warmly in the place where I lived. There is a very high moral standard in Slovenia.
I decided to live in Slovenia after seeing the monument of France Prešeren in the main square in Ljubljana – because poetry has a higher value here than war. As a foreigner, I wondered what kind of nation has a poet’s monument in the capital instead of a soldier’s monument like elsewhere.
So, I think Slovenia has brighter ambitions in terms of spirituality. You are interested in higher values. This could be a similarity between the two cultures.
Guillermo Escalante settled in Slovenia during his journey through Europe. As a musician and freelance artist, he quickly found work here. He sees himself as a cultural migrant rather than an economic one. He explains the need to explore and learn about the culture and values of the society he moved into. At the beginning of his life here, he noticed that Slovenian society is more individualistic, while he comes from a collective background.
In the interview, he emphasises that now that he has learned Slovenian functionally, he can showcase his strengths within the limits of his language abilities, which helps him integrate better. The biggest obstacle for him during relocation was the language barrier. He explains the necessity of learning and using the language in everyday life by saying: “Until you learn Slovenian, you are like a bubble of silence.”
Natalija Furman Pogladič (natalija.furman@gmail.com), Cene Štupar AEC Ljubljana
