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1. The Family
The family is the basic unit for teaching and
maintaining culture. In images #36, #27 and #37 we see
family members taking care of children. Raising children
and teaching them family traditions is an important part
of keeping a culture together. Think about the ways in
which your family members cooperate with each other as
you answer these questions.
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A) Who took care of you when you
were born? until you were a year old?
B) How do your family members
help take care of you today?
C) Do you have family members
whom you help to take care of now?
D) Here is a poem written in
Spanish by poet, Lucha Corpi. She was born in Mexico
and moved to California when she was nineteen. Think
of what she is saying about family and tradition.
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Voces
Mi padre me ensenó a cantar
mis madres a hilar versos
y de mi abuela aprendí
que se llega a la verdad
también por el silencio
Hay tantas voces en mí
tantas voces que bajan
a beber de mis sueños
en noches de invierno
Voices
My father taught me to sing
my mother to spin verses
and from my grandmother I learned
that truth can be found
through silence as well
There are so many voices in me
so many voices going down
to drink at dreams' edge
on winter nights
translated by Catherine Rodriguez
Nieto
from: In Other Words:
Literature by Latinas of the United
States, edited by Roberta
Fernandez. Houston: Texas: Arte
Publico Press, 1994, pages 58-59.
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Write several paragraphs to talk about the
"voices" within you: What are some
important traditions in your family that you have
learned from your parents? What traditions have
you learned from your grandparents? Have other
family relatives contributed to your knowlege of
family traditions?
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2. Images of the Family
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A) "A young couple
perform their daily chores as their newborn child
sleeps in his makeshift crib..."
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Magdalena Zavala.
A young couple perform their daily chores
as their newborn child sleeps in his
makeshift crib. |
Image #36 depicts a young couple living in a
wooden shanty in a colonia called "La Nueva
Era" on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo.
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1. Look at the room and what the
three people are doing here. Describe the
things you see in the room and think about
the many functions that this room has. Can
you mention three things that this room is
used for?
2. Think about how the objects in
this room were made. Can you identify three
items that look like they were made by hand?
Describe them. Tell how you think they were
made. What tools were used? What were the raw
materials?
3. Do you think that this family
has an easy life? Explain your answer.
4. Do you think that this is a
close family that spends a lot of time
together? Explain your answer.
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B) Nava Christmas Eve
(#27)
Photograph #27 was taken at midnight on Christmas
Eve and shows a great-grandmother, Doña Margarita,
with her great-granddaughter in Nava, Coahuila, about
35 miles from Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras.
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Julianne H. Newton.
"Nava Christmas Eve,"
Doña Margarita with her great-granddaughter.
Nava, Coahuila, Midnight, December 25, 1978. |
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1. What is happening in this
photograph? What is Doña Margarita doing?
What is her great-granddaughter doing?
2. What do you think the mood is in
this photograph. How do you feel before a
holiday takes place? How is the little girl
feeling? How is her great-grandmother
feeling?
3. Do you have a special friendship
with an older person? a relative or a close
friend? What special things do you do
together?
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3. Celebrations: Dance
When people get together after work or school, it is
often a time of celebration. From small children to
elders, it is fun to put on special clothes and go out
and dance.
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A) Bailando (#26)
From Tejano and Norteño to rock & roll and
country swing, people like to celebrate through music
and dance. While there are dances with a religious
function, these are secular dances. The children at
this elementary school graduation in Zaragoza,
Coahuila, are enjoying a dance here.
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Julianne H. Newton.
"Bailando,"
elementary school graduation ceremony,
Zaragoza, Coahuila, June 1978. |
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1. Describe what the boys are
wearing.
2. Describe what the girls are
wearing.
3. These students are dancing in
pairs or couples. There are many other
arrangements that dancers can form. Solo
dance, line dance, or square dance are some
of these. Choose one of these forms of dance
and find out about it at the library. Then
write something about it.
4. Watch a video listed below in
the Media Links section. This
can be "Songs of the Homeland",
"Folklorico" or the
"Matachins" videos. Write a list
of fifteen adjectives which describe the
movement and the sounds of Mexicano border
music and dance.
5. Dancing to rock music is
something different. While people may enter
the dance floor in pairs, they don’t
dance as partners but as independent
dancers. There is a stress on free arm and
body movements rather than on set patterns or
steps. Sometimes, especially in disco, the
movements can get a lot like gymnastics.
Compared to the social dancing in this
picture, describe some differences with
dancing to rock.
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B) Tres Hermanas (#19)
In this image, three sisters are gathered at a rock
& roll dance west of Matamoros.
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Mary Lee Edwards.
Tres Hermanas. |
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1. Describe their clothing.
2. Compare what they are wearing to
what the children are wearing in the previous
image. What are the differences?
3. What do you think these three
sisters are thinking? What were they doing before
the photographer came over to them? Do you think
they are enjoying the dance?
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4. Celebrations-Pageants
Some people are very committed to community
celebrations that are run like contests. Examples of this
are pageants, costume-society events, and parade-float
designs.
Getting dressed up and strutting your stuff is a
source of pride. Whole societies are formed to promote
contests of personal appearance and skill. On most
occasions, women are the competitors in these events,
often striving for a title in their city, county or
state. Sometimes a scholarship may be at stake.
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A) Miss Edinburg Beauty
Pageant (#18)
In this image the young woman who has gained her
home town's title stands flanked by other pageant
participants - perhaps a runner-up or the title
holder from a previous year. Pageants exist in most
larger towns. By winning one, the young contestant
moves up the ladder to successively higher-level
pageants like the Miss Teen Texas competition. Mexico
also has a pageant network called "Nuestra
Belleza," which has competitions on the state
level throughout the Republic of Mexico. While the
majority of pageants are all-female competitions,
there are all-male pageants like Mr. World and
"El Model Mexico," a male competition in
Mexico
The pageant system provides a socially-approved
way for young people to participate in the cultural,
political and social life of their community.
Pageants provide a forum for competitors to express
their viewpoints and demonstrate personal talents and
accomplishments. Pageant awards are often
scholarships to colleges or universities. During the
year the pageant winner serves, the calendar is very
busy with appearances at government, charity and
business events.
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Ave Bonar.
Miss Edinburg Beauty Pageant, Edinburg, 1984 |
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1. If you were to compete in a
pageant, what is the special skill that you
would display for the judges? Design a
pretend pageant program with your name, age,
hometown and pageant-performance title.
2. If you had a dream-outfit that
you could wear to the awards ceremony, what
would it look like? Draw a sketch and talk
about the colors and the fabrics you would
use. Go to a fabric store if you need to
learn the names of special fabrics. If you
get fabric samples, attach them to your
sketch.
3. Many pageant competitors need to
choose a special charity or cause that they
think is important to themselves and to their
society. What special charity or issue would
you choose? Write a letter to the pageant
organizers telling them what you’d like
to focus on.
4. Look at the image of "Tres
Hermanas" (#19) from the previous
exercise. Compare the three sisters in that
photograph with the three pageant contestants
in image #18. Make two lists of contrasting
impressions to describe the two groups of
young women. What makes them similiar? What
makes them different?
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B) Linda Duetch, a Member of
the Martha Washington Society , warns her pet
labrador not to jump on her dress. (#39)
The Martha Washington Society is an elite group
whose members inherit their membership through their
family or join through paying a large sum. The women
dress up to portray the first President’s wife
or a character of the Martha Washington court. The
cost of a dress for this occasion can easily run
between $25,000 and $50,000. This costume ball is
part of an annual celebration commemorating the
birthday of George Washington, the first US
president, which marked its 100-year anniversary in
1997. Here is a sample of what the Washington's
Birthday Celebration Association, the group that
oversees the event, says about its history:
"The event originated in 1898 when the Red
Men and the White Men (an organization made up of
prominent Laredo men of both American and Mexican
ancestry disguised as Indians) held a mock battle for
possession of the city. The battle drew to a close
when Great Chief Sachem (A.C. Hamilton) and his
braves mounted the battlements and received the key
to the city from the Mayor as a sign of unconditional
surrender. The organization appointed to research a
specific date on which to annually celebrate this
momentous occasion discovered that, coincidentally,
George Washington had been named Sachem by the Sons
of Liberty, who disguised as Indians, while making
plans to free the Colonies from Britain. The
symbolism was evident, the day was chosen, and the
George Washington's Birthday Celebration was born!"
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Magdalena Zavala.
Linda Duetch. |
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1. Can you name an event which
commemorates the history of your area? Are
there historical re-creations in your local
festival? Do people dress up to look like
they are from an earlier time? Do they
decorate floats to look like they are from an
earlier period from history?
2. If you had to plan your own
festival to commemorate an historical event
which is important to you, what would you
call the festival? Draw a picture of a float
that you would like to have leading the
parade. Draw yourself and a few other people
on the float wearing the costumes you would
like to have on parade.
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5. Images of Aging
If you want to find out about a culture and its
history, it is a good idea to ask the older generation.
They have seen the most, learned the most from experience
and often like to help the younger generations as they
make their way through the world. Here are several images
of older individuals. Although we can’t actually
talk to them, their faces may tell us a lot about them.
As these photographs are portraits, the photographers
were trying to include important details of the
person’s life. Each of the people is in a place
which is special to them and each is doing something
which tells us about who they are.
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A) Noble Viejo de la Tierra
(#23)
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Mary Lee Edwards.
Noble Viejo de la Tierra. |
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1. This rancher is looking out over
a fence into the fields. Pretend he is your
grandfather. Pretend that you had just had
dinner with him. After dinner he asks you
what you’d like to do around the ranch.
What would you say?
2. Write a story of two paragraphs
about what you decide to do together on the ranch
with your grandfather. What does he tell you
about his life or how he has done specific
chores?
3. Identify an older person in your
community that is skilled in a craft or
occupation. Find out if you can interview
them about their life. Find out how they
learned their skill and how they perfected
it. Do they have any funny stories to tell
you about growing up? Ask them what advice
they would give you to help you succeed in
your life. Write up your interview. Make sure
to thank them for helping you and give them a
copy of your interview if they want one.
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B) Peinandose (#24)
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Julianne H. Newton.
"Peinandose."
Zaragoza, Coahuila, Mexico, summer 1986. |
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1. This photograph shows an older
woman in Zaragoza, Coahuila, who stands in
front of her mirror, combing her long hair.
Pretend that she is your neighbor. Today you
have gone over to her house to help her with
any chores that she might have trouble doing.
You have made her a special gift in art
class. It is a drawing.
Make a drawing now that you would like to
give to her as a present to keep in her
house. Think about what she might like in a
drawing when you make it.
2. What are the chores that you
imagine she would ask you to perform? Make a
list of the three things that you might be
able to help her do today. Look up four
vocabulary words in your Spanish/English
dictionary to help you describe the chores or
the tools you need to do them. Include them
in a paragraph describing how you are helping
her around the house.
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C) High Rent Victim (#38)
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Magdalena Zavala.
High Rent Victim. |
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1. How do you think the woman in
this photograph is feeling? She told the
photographer that she was waiting for her
government check so that she could buy food
and pay rent. Pretend that you are passing by
her house on your way home from school. You
notice that she looks sad, and you decide that
you want to do something to cheer her. First
you decide to write her a poem. Write a poem
of at least four lines to give to her.
2. You decide to make her feel
happier by bringing her pot of soup. Here are
five Mexican soup recipes to choose from.
They include: Egg Soup, Tortilla Soup,
Vegetable Soup, Vermicelli Soup and Lentil
Soup. Make one of them and share it with your
family and friends.
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a. EGG SOUP
(Sopa de Huevo)
Ingredients:
3 eggs
6 cups of chicken broth
1 tablespoon of flour
1 pinch of chopped nuts
1 teaspoon of chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Procedure:
1. Whip the eggs with the flour.
2. Boil the broth and then gently strain the
egg mixture into the broth. Allow it to cook
on low flame 10 minutes. Add the nuts,
salt, pepper and chopped parsley.
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b. TORTILLA SOUP
(Sopa de Tortilla)
Ingredients:
8 tortillas cut into strips
6 cups of chicken broth
2 tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 onion
1 epazote sprig
1/2 cup of grated cheese
1 avocado
sausage
sour cream
pasilla chili
oil
salt
Procedure:
1. Fry the tortilla until golden.
Separate, and in the same grease, fry the
chile. Drain off excess grease.
2. Liquefy the tomatoes with the garlic and
onion. In a pot, fry until the flavor peaks.
3. Add the broth, fried tortillas, and the
epazote. Boil for a few minutes and serve
hot.
4. Serve with pasilla chili, avocado, sour
cream, cheese and sausage.
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c. VEGETABLE SOUP
(Sopa de Verduras)
Ingredients:
2 carrots, coarsely cut
1/2 cup of peas
1 potato, peeled and coarsely cut
1/2 cup of chopped green beans
2 ears of corn, cut into small cylinders
1 porous beef bone
6 cups of chicken broth
2 large chopped tomatoes
1/4 onion
2 cloves of garlic
serrano chili
parsley
oil
salt
Procedure:
1. Cook the carrots, peas, potatoes, corn
and beans together with the beef bone and
chicken broth.
2. Liquefy the tomato with the garlic and
onion, and fry until the flavor peaks. Add to
the vegetables. Add parsley, salt and chili
as desired.
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d.VERMICELLI SOUP
(Sopa de Fideos)
Ingredients:
1/2 package of Vermicelli
8 cups of chicken broth
1/4 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 sprig of parsely
1 serrano chili
oil
salt
Procedure:
1. Fry the vermicelli until golden,
stirring it so it doesn't burn. Drain off the
remaining oil.
2. Dice the tomatoes and liquefy them with
the garlic and onion. Pour over the
vermicelli.
3. Add the chicken broth, parsley, chili and
salt. Let boil until the vermicelli is soft.
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e. LENTIL SOUP
(Sopa de Lentejas)
Ingredients:
1 cup of lentils
8 cups of chicken broth
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 chopped onion
1 ham bone
1 bay leaf
oil
salt and pepper
Procedure:
1.Fry the garlic and onion in a pot. Add
the lentils (previously washed and soaked),
the broth, salt, pepper, bay, carrots and
ham bone.
2. Cook the soup on low flame until the
lentils are very soft. If the broth
evaporates too much, add hot water.
3. Before serving, remove the laurel and the
ham bone, picking off the remaining meat.
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6. Border People/People and
the Border
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A). Growing up on the border is a
unique experience. Pat Mora, who grew up in El Paso,
focuses on the quality of being in a permanent state
of "in between-ness" summed up in the
Aztec word nepantla. Her poem "Legal
Alien" reveals many of the contradictions in
being una fronteriza, a border person.
Mora does some things that Mexicans do and other
things that Anglos (English-speakers) do. But rather
than being from both worlds, she often feels like she
is from neither. Answer these questions based on the
poem and your experience of the border from the
Border Studies exhibit.
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1. Define bilingual and bicultural
and bilateral. Now write a paragraph for each
word, pulling ideas from the poem to explain
its meaning. Notice that Mora uses them in a
hyphenated form. Is this the way they appear
in your dictionary? Explain why she writes
them in this way.
2. How do Anglos view Mora? Have
you ever heard of an illegal alien? Why do
you think she calls herself a "legal
alien"?
3. How do Mexicans view Mora?
4. Look up the word
"token" in the dictionary. Review
all of the possible definitions. What does
Mora mean when she calls herself "a
handy token"? She mentions that she is
smiling in the poem. What do you think her
smile signifies? Is she content?
Legal Alien
Bi-lingual, Bi-Cultural,
able to slip from "How's life?"
to "Me'stan volviendo loca,"*
able to sit in a paneled office
drafting memos in smooth English,
able to order in fluent Spanish
at a Mexican restaurant,
American but hyphenated,
viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,
perhaps inferior, definitely different,
viewed by Mexicans as alien,
(their eyes say, "You may speak
Spanish but you're not like me")
an American to Mexicans
a Mexican to Americans
a handy token
sliding back and forth
between the fringes of both worlds
by smiling
by masking the discomfort
of being pre-judged
Bi-laterally.
from: Infinite Divisions: An
Anthology of Chicana Literature
by Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana S.
Rivero. Tucson: University of Arizona
Press, 1993, page 95.
* They are driving me
crazy
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B) In this exerpt from La
Frontera (The Border), the border gains a life of
its own. What kind of creature is the border in the
mind of Alicia Gaspar de Alba, a Chicana poet also
from El Paso? Read the poem and answer these
questions.
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from: La Frontera
La frontera lies
wide open, sleeping beauty.
Her waist bends like the river
back around a flagpole.
Her scent tangles in the arms
of the mesquite. Her legs
sink in the mud
of two countries, both
sides leaking sangre
y sueños.*
from: Infinite Divisions:
An Anthology of Chicana
Literature by Tey Diana
Rebolledo and Eliana S. Rivero.
Tucson: University of Arizona
Press, 1993, page 292.
*sangre y sueños means
"blood and dreams"
1. In Mora's poem Legal Alien,
the border is likened to a space "between
the fringes of both worlds." For Gaspar de
Alba, the border lies like "sleeping
beauty." What is the difference between
these images of the border?
2. The poet describes three parts of
the border as woman's body: waist, scent and
legs. These are metaphors. Look up the definition
of a metaphor in your dictionary. Now explain
these metaphors. Write a few sentences explaining
each of the three. Invent another metaphor for
the border which includes another body part. What
about eyes? hands? voice? Choose one of these or
one of your own.
3. The stanza ends with the statement
that both sides of the border are leaking sangre
y sueños - blood and dreams. What do you think
the poet means by this statement? What does the
"blood" refer to? What do the
"dreams" refer to? How does this last
sentence relate to the "body" metaphors
mentioned in question 2?
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