May 16, 2001
Mucho gusto Spanish studies
Eastern Elementary explores Hispanic culture
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Que pasa?
Ask that question at Eastern Elementary School last week and the answer would have been - a lot was happening.
Winding up a year of studying Spanish, the whole school participated in a week of Hispanic culture, art and dance entitled Our Hispanic Heritage Celebration. Led by members of Nahui Ollin, a performing arts group from Chicago dedicated to preserving Hispanic culture and dance, students immersed themselves in the art, history, culture, language, dance and food of Mexico and its indigenous people.
Three members of Nahui Ollin were onsite three days last week to give students an in-depth lesson in all things Hispanic. They guided students as they made masks, pottery, weaving, yarn sculpture, storybooks and paintings, all either with a Hispanic theme or using traditional method or materials.
By Thursday afternoon, the halls of the school were lined with the results of the week's work, a vivid riot of colors and styles. In addition, each sixth grade class painted a large mural, which were hung as a backdrop in the gym during Thursday afternoon's dances.
Setting aside the end of the day for dancing, students showed what they had learned about traditional Mexican dances. The dances drew every student onto the dance floor as, class by class, they danced the different dances of traditional Mexican and Aztec societies.
Members of Nahui Ollin were both musicians and dancers, sporting traditional Aztec costumes and playing authentic instruments from these cultures. Members of their tribe who live in Mexico make both the costumes and instruments.
"Mexico is a very multi-cultural country," said Roberto Ferreyra, a musician, artist and founder of Nahui Ollin. "Today there are 55-60 languages spoken there and ten percent of the population is indigenous."
Students threw themselves into the dances, each group working together to create their theme, from a train to animals to an old man. Students from the Multi-Age Classroom started the festivities off with a Dance of the Sun, which saluted the four directions of the Earth.
"The dancing was really fun and really hard," said Barbara Burke, a sixth-grade student. "A lot of the steps were mathematical and the rhythms were, too."
Finding Nahui Ollin was a coup for the school, said Principal Bill Smith. Staff knew they wanted to present some kind of celebration at the year's end to reinforce what students learned about Spanish language and culture, but months of searching did not turn up what they were looking for.
"We couldn't find folks at first that would do the conception of what we wanted the children to experience," Smith recalled. "Then we heard about (Nahui Ollin) from someone else and they were so cooperative from the very beginning to try and build something everybody could participate in."
Spanish teacher Chris Weller has been working with all Eastern's students all year, teaching them the basics of the language and culture. Weekly contact sketched in the outline and last week's intensive program filled in the colors, an experience that Weller believes will stay with the students.
"This week was the culminating event to our whole year," Weller said. "I am proud of the students, they are really into it and are exhausted because the dancing is a little bit difficult."
Students from Traverse City Central High School's advanced Spanish class also came by Thursday afternoon to spread Spanish language and culture. They presented a wax museum, dressing in costume of a famous Spanish person and reciting what they knew about that person to students, in both Spanish and English. Characters ranged from Hernando Cortes to Pele, the soccer player, to Spanish celebrities.
"It took several weeks to research my character over the Internet," said Elise Lewis, a junior, who was playing Dolores Del Rio, a silent film actress from Mexico. "We each had to choose a famous Spanish person who had influence either culturally or on the country."