¡Hola a todos! This is my last post of the school semester. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to look at sources I have shared through this blog. I am always pleased to share them with you and hopeful that they may be of use to you.
– You might only think of tortillas when you think of Mexico, but the country’s culinary repertoire goes far beyond that – in part because of the overlapping indigenous, Spanish, and French influences. The next time you’re using food as an introduction to Mexican culture, you might want to read this Illustrated Guide to Mexico’s Delicious Breads. The article discusses how bread was made more palatable with “the addition of indigenous ingredients, like corn, piloncillo, and chocolate. And then when the French began arriving to Mexico, they introduced European baking techniques, which have had long-lasting effects in the Latin American country.”
– Meet Danielle Calle, the Colmbian-American Filmmaker Probing Latino Experiences in the Deep South. While studying film, Calle noticed that there was a lack of Latin America films in her program and she took it upon herself to change that. “‘We took international cinema classes and they never discussed cinema from places outside of Europe, or besides the one or two Asian films that we would watch,’ she says.”
–The amazing librarian Edith Campbell has partnered with her fellow authors, bloggers, academics, and librarians to once more produce a “We the People” reading list for summer 2017. Visit the new We’re the People website to see the list for this year and the past two years. The collaborators note that, “Books we recommend are ones written or illustrated by Native Americans or writers/illustrators of color that have withstood a critical review. We want readers to become familiar with the names on the list and their creative work and to enjoy the stories they tell and the people they represent. We are proud to share our list.”
–Contrary to the notion that children’s books can’t be critical, we frequently come across titles that challenge social norms and promote social justice even for very young readers. The book, Momma, Did You Hear the News?, by Sanya Gragg, is just such a title. The book helps parents to address issues of police brutality against black bodies. In this political sphere, this book can help ease many difficult conversations in kids. “In the black community, “the talk” with your children isn’t just that of the birds and the bees ― it’s the one where you explain to them how their skin tone may one day make them a police target.”
— José Martí is a renowned Cuban philosopher, poet, novelist, and political essayist, among other things. He’s revered throughout Latin America. Now, there’s a new bilingual book to introduce him to young readers, courtesy of Lee & Low Books: Martí’s Song for Freedom: Martí y sus versos por la libertad written by Emma Otheguy and illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. Moreover, Lee & Low Books has “created an amazing activity guide for readers. Modeled after a poem by José Martí, readers can create their own poem after reading his inspirational story as well as excerpts from his seminal Versos sencillos.”
– Lastly, as the topic of Trump’s proposed border wall continues to reverberate throughout the news, we thought it would be appropriate to remind you that the Zinn Education Project provides a free lesson plan on the “U.S. Mexico War: We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God.” And if you’re intrigued by that, you might want to turn to the author’s larger curriculum project, The Line Between Us, produced by Rethinking Schools, to learn more about teaching about the border and Mexican immigration.
Abrazos,
Alin Badillo
Image: Mach Pichu. Reprinted from Flickr user sweetransvestite75 under CC©.
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