Latin
American Project
Edelstein's Group
By: Torrey Kuhlmann, Mark Kasraie, Rafael Zuniga, Jared Littlefield and Oliver Mounce
Edelstein's Group
By: Torrey Kuhlmann, Mark Kasraie, Rafael Zuniga, Jared Littlefield and Oliver Mounce
Projects:
This Latin American project consists of a mural and a video. Literary, dramatic and musical performances aer also presented.
Our Theme:
Our theme for this project has to do with daily life and revolution. These topics are important because they affect the inhabitants of Latin America every single day. There is always some sort of revolution going on, so long as there is a need for change. Daily life encompasses everything about the people of Latin America. This theme covers their work, homes, family, lands, beliefs and culture. To show what we have learned about Latin America, we must show Latin America and what the lives of its residents are like.
Mural:
The mural group, consisting of Lauren, Christa, Avishek, Jonathan, Marika, Lily, and Sean, developed a painting of a Latin American village with historical figures hidden in the landscape. Animals are used to symbolize different political relationships. The people’s daily lives are shown through their connection to their homes and their land.
Video
The movie group, comprised of Katharine, Austin, Eric and Jordan, created an intriguing film illustrating the differences and similarities between the lives of various types of Latin American residents. The film shows snapshots of the lives of a Zapatista, an Ejidos worker, a Maquiladoras worker and an artist.
Performances:
· The performance groups created a variety of ways to express daily life and revolution in Latin America.
· Henry, Alex and Doug composed an excellent song made up of Alex on the trumpet, Doug on the organ and Henry performing the vocals. This musical piece also has a hand crafted Latin American beat. This song expresses distinct political opinions regarding the many governments in Latin America and foreign influence.
· Ali, Ashley and Sophie performed a short dramatic work called
The True Path to Happiness: El Camino Verdadero A La Felicidad.
This performance is about two friends arguing about whether the true path to happiness is through hard work or through religion. This performance is very important in describing some important aspects of Latin American cultural beliefs. This folktale shows the depth of religion in Latin American life.
· The literary group, supported by Kai, Emily, Josh and Caitlin, decided to use marionettes to portray different political characters at a dinner party. Each character listens to poem excerpts which evaluate the priorities of the Latin American governments. A capitalist, a dictator, a wealthy landowner and Fidel Castro attend this party and voice their political views.
(Kai from Literature
Group)
(Alex from Music group)
(Ali from drama group)
Connections:
· Throughout history, there have been power-hungry oppressors who hurt the people of Latin America.
· Likewise, there have always been rebellions and revolutions to stop the oppression.
· This cycle of tyranny and rebellion has oppressed the people.
· Whether it was the Zapatistas or Emiliano Zapata himself, Latin America has always been filled with revolution regarding the land.
· Much of Latin American history is comprised of people fighting for their basic need of land for shelter and sustenance.
· Revolutions have been started to protect the survival, culture and lifestyle of the region’s indigenous people.
· Artists use magical realism to portray revolutionary leaders as godlike do-gooders. They also portray historical villains as venomous demons.
· In some cases, surrealism relates to revolution because it shows thoughts of a future apocalyptic world; a possible outcome of revolution as well as oppression.
· Revolution and oppression is a part of daily life because everyday, millions of people are killed, imprisoned and injured because of the harmful effects of revolution and oppression.
· Nature is a part of daily life because many Latin Americans make their living by farming their land.
· Indigenous cultures are a major part of daily life because culture determines lifestyle in some cases.
· Magical realism and surrealism play into daily life because some Latin American cultures place a deep spiritual meaning behind corn and the land that they work with every day.
· Seeing as how revolution is a part of daily life, magical realism murals show political statements, which are viewed, in daily life.
· In daily life, cultural history and beliefs are passed on to the next generation by way of magical stories and fables.