How I “Cinco de Mayo”.
Every year, I think SO hard about ways in which I can
educate those around me about Cinco de Mayo. “Why does she need to do that?”,
you may ask. Well, this year I had one of my favorite bloggers put into words
the things I was feeling! This is what she wrote:
“I remember my first year as a Spanish teacher in the United States. I was also new in the country and have to admit that I had never heard of "Cinco de Mayo." I was quietly walking into the school library when I suddenly heard "Happy Cinco de Mayo." Happy Cinco de Mayo? What was that all about? It was another teacher wishing me the best Cinco de Mayo ever! I was so confused and asked, "What are you talking about? Cinco de Mayo?" She opened her eyes widely and told me, "I can't believe it! You are a Spanish teacher and you don't know anything about Cinco de Mayo?" She was so right, I didn't know anything about it! I was so embarrassed and shyly said, "No, I don't know anything about it." Oh, well, it's a Mexican celebration", she said. And that answer was how our conversation ended.
I went to look for the other Spanish teachers
in the district and they told that me they didn't want this to be included in
the curriculum, that this was a celebration filled with a lot of stereotypes,
burritos, tacos and other icons that don't even exist in the Mexican
culture. As years went by, I decided that it was not to be a big part in my
curriculum, that it was not even important to mention it or include other
Mexican celebrations in my class. How wrong I was! Soon enough I learned
that as a language teacher, it is my responsibility to help guide that young
people beyond stereotypes. I heard things I am sure other Spanish teachers have
heard: "El Dia de los Muertos" is like Halloween, or the Cinco de
Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day.
I have decided to take a more proactive role, to educate myself about other cultures and share what I know with my students. This is why, I, a Colombian Spanish teacher celebrate "El Cinco de Mayo." I have challenged myself to take my students beyond sombreros, tacos and burritos.” http://funforspanishteachers.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-do-i-celebrate-cinco-de-mayo-in-my.html
So this year, I was also inspired by one of her blogs (http://funforspanishteachers.blogspot.com/2016/06/proyecto-para-ninos-la-casal-azul.html?m=1)
and incorporated it into my classes. In her blog, aimed for
elementary educators, she teaches everyone about Frida Khalo and then has a fun
project about making Frida’s “casa azul”.
The units being presented in my classes lend themselves to be able to
create a short biography about who she was (preterit vs. imperfect) for one
class, and my other class wrote some descriptions about the house itself (ser
vs. estar). The results were incredible and multi-purpose! 1. Students were
educated on what Cinco de mayo really is about; 2. they learned more about other cultures (mexican) by reading about Frida; 3. researched and used what we were learning in
class; 4. HAD FUN by creating their own houses!
Take a look at some of the spectacular samples.
UPDATE: Since writing this post in 2017 the world has changed a LOT! With 2020 and COVID, many places have made virtual tours to give us a way to travel.
Check out this amazing tour of Frida's "Casa azul"
