The community came out to celebrate long-time educator, poet, artist, mentor, advocate, and Latino leader Oscar Mireles on Nov. 1 for his official retirement — but he’s long from slowing down.
Mireles held a retirement party at the Common Wealth Gallery, 100 S. Baldwin St, where friends and family recounted the profound effect he’s had on their lives. The retirement party was coupled with an art gallery.
The retirement party marked Mireles’s move away from Omega School. He first accepted the position on April 1, 1994 — the worst date to start, Mireles often jokes about. With his retirement from Omega School, it will fully merge with the Literacy Network on Jan. 1, 2025.
(Photo by Omar Waheed)
While he is retired from Omega School, Mireles still has plans in the works. He is an advent supporter of the arts and the founder of Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD), which uplifts and supports Latino artists.
“I have a long-term vision, which is, I’m going to be here for a while, so it’s just easier to figure out how to make it work,” Mireles said. “I feel like I should be able to do everything, but now I have people that are carrying the work, so I support them while they carry the work.”
Mireles plans to continue his work in arts, LOUD, and advocacy and is working on the next edition of “I Didn’t Know There Were Latinos in Wisconsin.”
A few came up to tell stories of how Mireles impacted them. Dana Maya, a poet and essayist, recalled when she first came to Madison from Austin, Texas 22 years ago with twin children.
“Landing in Madison with twin babies was a definite cultural shock,” Maya said. “Oscar was there consistently, calling, asking me what’s going on, dropping off the car, keeping in contact when I couldn’t call anyone. Oscar was there because he had lived those things in common, because he’s a father, because he understood that for us, it’s familia.”
(Photos by Omar Waheed)
Maya went on to tell a story of one of the many people Mireles helped throughout his time at Omega.
One day while Maya visited Mireles at Omega School, a young woman called. She wanted to get her degree and, without missing a beat, Mireles jumped to help her. While on the phone with Maya in his office, he started talking with the woman and scrambled to find a piece of paper to get her information down and to get her on the path toward getting her degree.
“I don’t even know if you remember her… by the end of the conversation you, he’s got her. She’s coming in next Tuesday. We’re gonna do this. He gives her some really positive encouragement and gives her little pokes like ‘You better be her. If you’re not her you’re in trouble’ … and that was it,” Maya said. “We don’t see that kind of work. There’s nobody to see that, except for me in that moment.”
Mireles didn’t fully recall who Maya specifically remembered at the time, but it’s a memory that lives on in her when she thinks of the work he does.
Others like Armando Ibarra, a UW-Madison professor, and Ananda Mirilli, a former member of the MMSD school board, recalled similar stories of Mireles being there for them. He often provided guidance and inspiration throughout their lives.
An additional portion of Mireles’ retirement party was an art gallery. Mireles didn’t just want it to be about him, so he offered free space for Latino artists to work and display their art.
Three artists, Chele Ramos, Issis Macias and Rodrigo Carapia, used the chance to work on commissions and prepare for upcoming gallery shows. All artists expressed their gratitude to Mireles for paying for the space for them.
The three note that studio space is often costly and limited. They find it hard to work at home — due to issues like the size of work and raising children — and with an open space, Ramos, Macias and Carapia hope to utilize the opportunity to advance their work as artists.
