WWW: International Women’s Day and Women Today!

¡Feliz viernes a todos!

Thank you for joining me today! Somehow this week escaped me and so I don’t have such a long post for you. I did, however, manage to find this video from The Guardian that showcases some important women from all over the world who are making a difference in the lives of the people around them hoy en día.

We think this video ties in the themes of activism and important women in history, and could be used in class with older groups to discuss changes students wish they could see in their own worlds.  Join me again next week for a longer post on women’s rights in South America, Berta Cáceres, and the Zika Virus!

With warmest wishes,

Charla

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WWW: Who are the Latin American Women in History?

¡Feliz viernes a todos!

Don’t look now but we’ve already arrived in March! Three months into the new year and we are shifting from Black History to Herstory.  As a starting point for the month, I thought it might be nice to open with a post that highlights many of the important Latin American women in history that could make their way into your classrooms this month!  In this resource, Paola Capó-García collects brief histories of each of the several important women she introduces.

Aside from the ever popular Frida Kahlo and Sor Juana Inéz de la Cruz, whom we have discussed on the blog in years past, the featured resource also introduces less cited women in Latin American history, like Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo.  Tying into our theme of activism in Latin America, Las Madres were the women in Argentina during the “Dirty Wars” who protested the disappearance of their children and grandchildren in front of the presidential palace.

WWW: Mexican Revolution – The Storm that Swept Mexico

Our outreach team recently partnered with Instituto Cervantes of Albuquerque, the Mexican Consulate of Albuquerque, the Spanish Resource Center of Albuquerque, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center to put together a workshop for teachers, discussing how to incorporate the Mexican Revolution into middle and high school classrooms.

Frankly, I had no idea how difficult it is to learn about this cataclysmic event in Mexican history.

Plainly, the Revolution meant—and continues to mean—different things to different people. Diverse groups with contradictory goals were involved in the fight against Porfirio Díaz. Those who took up arms were farmers, miners, professionals, artisans, businessmen, and career soldiers. Some clung tightly to abstract principles such as “liberty,” while others demanded labor protections or the immediate restoration of indigenous lands. Some sought only to rid the community of the local hacendado, while others reacted in principle against three decades of Díaz’s ironclad rule. Folks routinely traversed armies or switched sides altogether. Alliances formed and fragmented. With few exceptions, the leaders of the Revolution were assassinated or exiled by political opponents.