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Get Ready to Rumba! Latin American Music
Ask students to brainstorm a list of singers who perform Latin American music
popular in the U.S. (Possibilities might include Ricky Martin, Enrico Iglesias,
Mark Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Selena, Gloria Estefan, and others.) What characteristics
do these performers, or their songs, share? Try to come up with a way to identify
what makes Latin American music distinctive.
Explain to students that Latin American music actually comprises several distinctive styles, among them bolero, salsa, son, rumba, tejano, guaracha, merengue, and bachata. You can hear sound clips of many of these styles by visiting the Putamayo Web site at http://www.putamayo.com/. Additional sound clips and textual information are available on the PBS Buena Vista Social Club Web site at http://www.pbs.org/buenavista/music/index.html. You might also check out your station's schedule to tune in for the Austin City Limits special presentation, "Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer Orchestra."
As students listen, ask them to describe the unique characteristics of each style. Characteristics might include particular images/lyrics, rhythms, tempos, instrumentation, or singing styles.
Now compare one or more of these styles to the Latin American music played on U.S. radio stations. Would Latin American immigrants like be likely to identify this music as "Latin American"? Why or why not? Ask students to write or discuss their opinions and justify their answers using the characteristics described above.
(An additional resource for this lesson is the book Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music From Rumba to Reggae by Peter Manuel, Michael Largey, and Kenneth Bilby.)
Introducing Latin American Authors
By reading the works of Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and other Latin American
authors, students can gain an understanding of the first- and second-generation
Latin American immigrant experience. "Growing Up Latino," an anthology edited
by Harold Augenbraum, may also be a good resource.
Ask students to summarize each author's feelings about coming to America (or living in America) nd his or her most powerful memories of his or her homeland. Students should also pick out one or more lines of the author's work which best capture the author's tone and message. What common themes, images, and feelings are expressed by these authors? Have your students ever been in situations where they've felt the same way as one or more of these authors?
Students might use what they've learned to prepare a fictional exchange of letters between two of the authors studied; compare the themes, images, and ideas of Latin American authors to those of another ethnic group; or contact the author(s) studied and share their reactions to the writing.
Students might also compare these writings to the stories shared on the PBS La Ciudad Web site. Additionally, The New Americans tells the story of three young baseball recruits from the Dominican Republic, and the My American Girls Web site allows students to follow a year in the family life of first-generation Dominican immigrants.
Adventure Divas: Cuba
http://www.pbs.org/adventuredivas/
Travel to Cuba to meet remarkable women activists, artists, and leaders.
American Masters: Diego Rivera
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/rivera_d.html
Find out more about the life of this celebrated Mexican artists.
Ancestors
http://www.pbs.org/ancestors/
Everybody's got 'em...get help in tracking yours down and creating a family
history.
The Border
http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/
Explore contemporary life along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Buena Vista Social Club
http://www.pbs.org/buenavista/
Join host Ry Cooder and his musical guests as they explore the rich rhythms
of Cuban music, particularly the Afro-Cuban musical tradition.
The City (La Cuidad)
http://www.pbs.org/thecity/
This site shows the many faces of Latin American immigrants in the United States.
Conquistadors
http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/
Learn about the Spanish conquistadors who arrived in the New World 500 years
ago.
Crucible of Empire: Spanish-American War
http://www.pbs.org/crucible/
This site offers historical background, media coverage contemporary to the conflict,
patriotic song sheets, and more.
The Fight In The Fields
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/
Meet Cesar Chavez and learn all about the United Farm Workers struggle that
caught international attention.
Food for the Ancestors
http://www.pbs.org/foodancestors/
Learn more about Mexico's Days of the Dead, honoring family ancestors.
The Forgotten Americans
http://www.pbs.org/klru/forgottenamericans/
Find out more about the colonia residents in south Texas.
Foto Novelas
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fotonovelas/
Get additional information about each of the four Foto Novelas TV episodes,
read interviews with the filmmakers and get guidance on writing your own novella—all
in English or Spanish.
LaBoda
http://www.pbs.org/pov/laboda/index.html
Meet two young people from the U.S.-Mexican border region, whose lives are framed
by the challenges of migrant life.
My American Girls
http://www.pbs.org/pov/myamericangirls/
This site covers over a year in the lives of the Ortiz family, first generation
immigrants from the Dominican Republic.
The New Americans
http://www.pbs.org/newamericans/
Check out immigrant narratives from the Dominican Republic, information about
baseball in Latin America, a timeline, lists of related films and books, and
more.
Stealing Home: The Case of Contemporary Cuban Baseball
http://www.pbs.org/stealinghome/
U.S.-Mexican War
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/
Get the facts about the war that shaped the U.S. West.
Don't miss this program airing in October! Check your local listings for the most accurate air date and time.
Adventure Divas: Cuba
On this two-part cross-island road trip, intrepid writer Holly Morris meets,
among others, a Santeria priestess, a Black Panther in exile, a poet once condemned
for her erotic verse and a trio of rappers called 'Instinto.'
Austin City Limits
Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer Orchestra Cuban salsa legend
Ferrer, one of the Latin world's finest vocalists, performs the exhilarating
music of his homeland.
Divine Mission: San Xavier del Bac
This program documents the restoration of San Xavier del Bac, sometimes called
the White Dove of the Desert, the only Mexican Baroque church in the United
States that has survived the rise and fall of empires. The program begins with
a history lesson that focuses on the cultures that have touched this beautiful
structure. As the seasons gnaw at the architecture, the once marvelous mission
begins to degrade, inside and out. Finally, a group of caring citizens bands
together to restore the church. Singer Linda Ronstadt narrates.
