Guatemalan Tradition Lends Culture to Spanish II Curriculum

 

The tradition began in Guatemala in two small villages where the inhabitants, who are descendants of the Mayans, build kites that are meant to carry messages into the sky to loved ones who had died. The celebration of All Saints’ Day takes place every year on November 1 and has also been referred to as the Day of the Dead.

 

Spanish teacher Andrea Villagran was born and raised in Guatemala and remembers flying kites as a child, but was not aware of its meaning until she moved to the United States as a college student.

 

“Growing up, I always made my own kites but I associated them more with the month of November and the fact that it was windy,” Ms. Villagran recalls. “So that is actually the irony, that it wasn’t until I left Guatemala that I became aware of the tradition and significance of the kites.”

 

For the past two weeks, every Spanish II class has taken about 20 minutes of each period to work on these kites. In keeping with the modern iteration of the tradition, the students’ kites carry messages they wish to convey to the world – messages of love, hope, and respect regarding issues of inequality and injustice.

 

“The kites that we have created are like the ones that are flown in cemeteries on the day of the celebration by those who come to visit the villages,” Ms. Villagran said. “Nowadays, the villagers themselves work in teams for about six months – just in their free time – to build giant kites up to 12 meters across that are not meant to be flown but are merely decorative.”

 

The culture, history, and geography of Guatemala have been the central theme of this most recent unit and has included oral presentations about the various departamentos, or states, of the Central American country. Providing a culturally relevant and project-based opportunity has helped each of the students deepen their study of the language in a way that only diving into the culture can.

 

“They love it – they enjoy doing something with language that is hands-on,” Ms. Villagran said. “For me, connecting language and culture is essential. I believe that students retain the language much more by doing something hands on than by simply learning how to conjugate verbs.”

 

The project concluded on Tuesday, November 2 when all of the Spanish II students assembled on Waterman Field to give their kites their maiden voyage. Despite less-than ideal wind conditions, students found ways to get their kites airborne and share their kites – and their messages – with the world.