This document provides guidance for educators on introducing Mexico and Mexican culture and history to students through books and other materials. It cautions that materials should be evaluated for stereotypes, diversity of representation, and how students may perceive them. It then provides examples of fiction and nonfiction books about various topics related to Mexico that could be used, as well as arts, crafts, and science projects to integrate Mexican culture into lessons.
I just published Aztec Divine Blood Fetishism. Mexico is a country that inherits a rich history from the Olmecs to the Aztecs. These peoples based their vision of the cosmos and life on the blood that had to be shed at the request of their gods. That blood was a divine gift offered by the concerned gods to the sacrifices who enabled the cosmos to continue, thanks to the blood nourishment they granted to the gods. Today we do not look at it the same way, but we practice daily blood catharsis on television with innumerable series entirely based on violence and shedding blood. Blood is morbid but some, many, all (?) people find some attraction, appeal, and even charm in blood being shed in front of them, even if it is only on a screen.
Any attempt to cover the history of theater for children in Mexico seems a detective undertaking in the best style of the character of Sherlock Holmes, not only for the period of time to be reviewed, but, above all, by the limited and scattered information available. And although researchers have published interesting approaches to this story, they begin their journey in the dawn of the nineteenth century, and from what is considered the Independent Mexico. However, in a strict sense, there is a Mexico before that Mexico.
This is a PowerPoint I created concerning the Mexican holiday of Dias de Los Muertos. I was fortunate enough to have visited Mexico during this event. This gives quite a bit of information about the customs associated with Dias de Los Muertos.
1 Chicana Expression—Later 20th Century Public AVannaJoy20
1
Chicana Expression—Later 20th Century
Public Art and the Public Interest1 [Since the 1960s, a number of artists have engaged in
debates] over the nature of public space and the art that is to be placed within this space. In the
past in the United States, public art works often functioned as representations of civic virtues
meant to instill valuable moral lessons. They were also intended to mark the common values of a
diverse community and nation: heroic military efforts in defense of one’s country or one’s
freedoms, respect for the laws of the land. The 1960s changed all that. As people began to march
for civil rights and against the involvement of the United States in the war in Vietnam, many
began to look at public art and ask: “Whose values are being represented? Whose traditions and
beliefs? To whom are these works supposed to speak?” Certainly artists in the 1930s had created
images of working-class Americans in government buildings throughout the country, but those
murals omitted much—the racism directed at African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and
Asian Americans, the struggles to unionize, the labor of women outside the home. Calls were
issued for a new kind of public art, one that was truly, in the words of the art historian Arlene
Raven, “in the public interest.”
Walls of Pride: Chicano/a Murals These calls were met most effectively by a new generation
of muralists, who began covering walls throughout the country with images of local history or of
the less celebratory side of national history. These artists argued that a public art could only be
truly public if those who shared space with it were consulted about its ultimate form and use. In
California in particular, a new and dynamic movement evolved that took inspiration from both the
murals of Mexico and the struggles of farm workers in the United States, led by Cesar Chavez
and Luisa Moreno, to unionize under the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).
The growing political activism of individuals of Mexican descent around this unionization drive, which
ultimately grew into a full-blown civil rights movement, led to the adoption by many of the name Chicano,
derived from Mexicano. While it had circulated as an informal term for several decades within
communities whose members described themselves as Mexican Americans, it was now used publicly
as a form of positive self-identification, indicative of a new political consciousness and a commitment
to social change. One of the first Chicano murals was produced in 1968 by Antonio Bernal on the side of
the UFW Center in Del Ray, California. The piece celebrates modern revolutionary leaders, including
Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata (key figures in the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20), Cesar Chavez, ,
Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. A companion piece depicted Pre-Columbian leaders.
Chicana Muralist Judith Baca and The Great Wall of Los An ...
K. If all of the world's cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion, architecture, literature, painting, etc..) was contained in a time capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of your country?
I just published Aztec Divine Blood Fetishism. Mexico is a country that inherits a rich history from the Olmecs to the Aztecs. These peoples based their vision of the cosmos and life on the blood that had to be shed at the request of their gods. That blood was a divine gift offered by the concerned gods to the sacrifices who enabled the cosmos to continue, thanks to the blood nourishment they granted to the gods. Today we do not look at it the same way, but we practice daily blood catharsis on television with innumerable series entirely based on violence and shedding blood. Blood is morbid but some, many, all (?) people find some attraction, appeal, and even charm in blood being shed in front of them, even if it is only on a screen.
Any attempt to cover the history of theater for children in Mexico seems a detective undertaking in the best style of the character of Sherlock Holmes, not only for the period of time to be reviewed, but, above all, by the limited and scattered information available. And although researchers have published interesting approaches to this story, they begin their journey in the dawn of the nineteenth century, and from what is considered the Independent Mexico. However, in a strict sense, there is a Mexico before that Mexico.
This is a PowerPoint I created concerning the Mexican holiday of Dias de Los Muertos. I was fortunate enough to have visited Mexico during this event. This gives quite a bit of information about the customs associated with Dias de Los Muertos.
1 Chicana Expression—Later 20th Century Public AVannaJoy20
1
Chicana Expression—Later 20th Century
Public Art and the Public Interest1 [Since the 1960s, a number of artists have engaged in
debates] over the nature of public space and the art that is to be placed within this space. In the
past in the United States, public art works often functioned as representations of civic virtues
meant to instill valuable moral lessons. They were also intended to mark the common values of a
diverse community and nation: heroic military efforts in defense of one’s country or one’s
freedoms, respect for the laws of the land. The 1960s changed all that. As people began to march
for civil rights and against the involvement of the United States in the war in Vietnam, many
began to look at public art and ask: “Whose values are being represented? Whose traditions and
beliefs? To whom are these works supposed to speak?” Certainly artists in the 1930s had created
images of working-class Americans in government buildings throughout the country, but those
murals omitted much—the racism directed at African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and
Asian Americans, the struggles to unionize, the labor of women outside the home. Calls were
issued for a new kind of public art, one that was truly, in the words of the art historian Arlene
Raven, “in the public interest.”
Walls of Pride: Chicano/a Murals These calls were met most effectively by a new generation
of muralists, who began covering walls throughout the country with images of local history or of
the less celebratory side of national history. These artists argued that a public art could only be
truly public if those who shared space with it were consulted about its ultimate form and use. In
California in particular, a new and dynamic movement evolved that took inspiration from both the
murals of Mexico and the struggles of farm workers in the United States, led by Cesar Chavez
and Luisa Moreno, to unionize under the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).
The growing political activism of individuals of Mexican descent around this unionization drive, which
ultimately grew into a full-blown civil rights movement, led to the adoption by many of the name Chicano,
derived from Mexicano. While it had circulated as an informal term for several decades within
communities whose members described themselves as Mexican Americans, it was now used publicly
as a form of positive self-identification, indicative of a new political consciousness and a commitment
to social change. One of the first Chicano murals was produced in 1968 by Antonio Bernal on the side of
the UFW Center in Del Ray, California. The piece celebrates modern revolutionary leaders, including
Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata (key figures in the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20), Cesar Chavez, ,
Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. A companion piece depicted Pre-Columbian leaders.
Chicana Muralist Judith Baca and The Great Wall of Los An ...
K. If all of the world's cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion, architecture, literature, painting, etc..) was contained in a time capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of your country?
1. +
Window to the World
Exploring Mexico with
Fiction and Nonfiction
2. +
Caveats
Who wrote the books, and when were they written?
Who was the perceived audience?
Who wrote the history?
What stereotypes persist?
Is the diversity of the people represented?
How will this material be perceived by the children using it?
5. +
Introducing Mexico…
Choosing books to use.
What do I notice about this book?
Do stereotypes persist?
How will this material be perceived by the children using it?
Would I use this book with my students?
How can I use it?
Some books to share:
Dear Primo
Mexico: In the Children’s Own Words
6. +
Mexico’s Past
Powerpoint of Aztec Civilization
Primary Source Documents – How do we know?
Some books to share…
What the Aztecs Told Me
The Sad Night
Secret World of the Aztecs
Hands of the Maya
Resources online/field trips Peabody-Harvard
8. +
Mexico’s Past
A Librarian’s Challenge –
Where are the books about more recent history?
Look at: Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata
Who is left out? Lots of people! For example:
Father Hidalgo and Benito Juarez.
Maquiladores - factory workers on the U.S. border.
Native Mexicans and African-Mexicans.
New resource: Encyclopedia Britannica
9. +
Grito de Dolores –
Cry for Independence
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
rang the bell of church on
September 16th, 1810.
Calls for people to fight
against colonial rule.
Spark for Mexican War of
Independence.
Reenacted each year by
Mexican president.
10. +
Celebrations &
Special Events in Mexico’s Past
Mexican Independence Day - September 15th
Father Hidalgo and the Grito de Delores
Dia de la Raza, October 12th – Celebrates connection to Spain
Day of the Dead, November 1st and 2nd
Birthday of Benito Juarez, March 21st
Cinco de Mayo – May 5th – began in the U.S.
Catholic Celebrations – Easter, Carnival, Christmas
Day of Our Lady Guadalupe – December 12th
Las Posadas + Navidad – December 16th – 25th
Birthdays, Weddings, Fiestas, Quinceaneras
11. +
Let me tell you
a story…
Why use
folktales?
What does it tell us about:
the place,
the people,
the culture & art.
12. +
Arts and Crafts
of Mexico
Two Projects:
Saturday Market
Class History Mural
13. +
Two projects that integrate
arts and culture.
Saturday Market Class History Mural
Based on: Based on the work of
Saturday Market Diego Rivera.
Students make: Researched Diego Rivera
Tin Art Frames. and Frida Kahlo.
Huichol Yarn Plates.
Ojo de Dios. Looked at his
Papel Picado.
work, others muralistas.
Weaving using straws. Created murals of our
Paper flowers school year and Frida
Kahlo- like self-portraits.
*Extensions for older
students.
14. +
Science Connections –
We Share a
Continent
Migration- a shared environment.
Monarch butterflies.
Gray whale.
Mario Molina: Chemist and Nobel Prize Winner
Fits with discussions about CFCs, global warming.
Impact of pollution on Mexico City –
Check out Hemispheres’ Lesson
Oil spill – impact of marine life, fishing
Volcanoes – Hill of Fire, and Best Book of Volcanoes
15. +
Let’s Read!
Fiction and Poetry about Mexico
Challenge – finding books at this age range in English about
children living regular lives in Mexico.
Check out Award websites:
Americas Book Award
Pura Belpre Award
Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award
Considerations when choosing books:
What does it add to our understanding?
Is it a well-written book?
Books to share…
There are different political movements at different times that influence writing. Another issue is difficulty in tracing a story’s origins. Grimm’s fairy tale transported to Mexico and then retold as “traditional Mexican folktale.”Publishers think – who will buy this book? I can find very little information about maquiladores, African slaves in Mexico, as examples.Very little written about history of US-Mexican border conflicts from Mexican point-of-view.Not everyone in Mexico wears sombreros – no more than people in New England wear black pilgrim hats.Not everyone is poor in Mexico or involved in the illegal drug industry.Reason it is important to show a wide variety ofimages and stories.
Pancho Villa – note the titles and the cover photos chosen
There are different political movements at different times that influence writing. Another issue is difficulty in tracing a story’s origins. Grimm’s fairy tale transported to Mexico and then retold as “traditional Mexican folktale.”Publishers think – who will buy this book? I can find very little information about maquiladores, African slaves in Mexico, as examples.Very little written about history of US-Mexican border conflicts from Mexican point-of-view.Not everyone in Mexico wears sombreros – no more than people in New England wear black pilgrim hats.Not everyone is poor in Mexico or involved in the illegal drug industry.Reason it is important to show a wide variety of images and stories.----- Meeting Notes (3/14/13 21:48) -----mayan math
Pair with reading on trade with visuals such as these.
Follow the money – money links to who is importantEncyclopedia – Benito Juarez, Hidalgo – source free to all public schools in MA
Creole – Criolla led war of independence – up to 1/8 indigenousMestizo – ½ Spanish and ½ indigenous – identify as mixed
Share: Cultural Traditions in Mexico, Mexican Independence Day and Cinco de Mayo,
Talk about Story StripsShow: Woman who outshone the sunCuckooCompare Musicians to the Sun, The Lizard and the Sun, How music came into the world
Saturday Market thanks to Jen Doubilet at Driscoll School, Mural project thanks to Angela Harvey, Jeri Hammond, Erica Sullivan of Driscoll SchoolExtensions: Tour guides of the region in Mexico, pictures in square of famous Mexicans, fruits and vegetables that originated in area included, cooking, clothing, music.Show: Dream Carver and Opuestos,The Journey of Tunuri and the Blue Deer, Magic Windows, Mexico by Susan MilordDiego Rivera books
Share- Gotta’ Go,Gotta’ Go=circle story and life cycles, pair it with Butterfly House by Bunting, which has a circle story, too. Pair it with Whale Journey by French. Pair it with Ghost Wings, which has a Day of the Dead connection.Also show – Mario Molina, and Oil Spill, new science book
Challenges – hard to find male protagonists, books that aren’t about migrant workers, books about children who are not poorCactus Soup, stack of picture books and what they add..Aki story about Civil Rights for both Mexican migrant workers + Japanese displaced peopleOctavio Paz – poetry book