Lección Diez: Los instrumentos

I dont have much interest in music but my favorite kind is hip-hop. I never played any musical instruments.

African instruments and sounds heavily influenced the music of the Caribbean islands and the Caribbean coast of Central and South America. This is because slaves were used in great numbers in that region. Congas, bongos, timbales and other drums are essential to all types of Latin American music. They were all originally African drums that were adopted by, and now serve as the basis for, salsa, rumba, merengue and reggaeton, all types of Latin music and dances

One example of an African instrument that was adopted by a South American country is el cajón peruano. African slaves brought to Peru were not allowed to play drums. But the slaves found that wooden boxes produced a sound similar to a drum when they beat them with their hands. A simple box with a sound hole in the back, became the national instrument of Peru.

The marimba is made of wood bars or keys that are struck with mallets. Under each key there is a resonator, a gourd or metal tube that vibrates when the bar is hit. Each resonator is a different length, so every key produces a unique tone when it is hit. The marimba is the national instrument of Guatemala. It is also very popular in southern Mexico and Central America. Marimbas can be very large and can be played by up to five musicians.

El güiro, a hollow gourd with parallel notches or grooves. It is played by scraping a wooden stick along the notches to produce a raspy, ratchet-like sound. Taino Indians are believed to have invented the güiro. It is popular in Puerto Rico and Cuba, as well as in other countries.

El guitarrón is the heartbeat of Mexican mariachi music. It is a very large acoustic bass, similar to a guitar, with six strings. When it was first introduced, it replaced the harp as the bass for mariachi bands, which allowed the musicians more freedom of movement. Still, the guitarrón is a very large instrument.

The siku or zampoña is the Andean version of a flauta de Pan, or a pan-flute. It is believed that pan-flutes originated in ancient Greece and Rome, but the Ayamara and Quechua Indians of South America created their own version before the Spanish conquest and even before the Inca and Maya civilizations. It was made the national instrument in some Andean countries, including Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.

Lección Nueve: Las medicinas tradicionales

Folk remedies use household ingredients, such as herbs and food to solve medical problems. Most cultures have folk remedies for curing common ailments.


According to Mexican folk healing, one way to treat sore muscles is to rub a tincture of avocado pit on the muscle. In fact, many parts of the avocado are used in home remedies: the fruit itself, the peel, the leaves, and the bark are also used. Preparing the avocado in different ways makes it useful in treating ailments such as dandruff, menstrual cramps, and spider bites.


There many other folk healing practices for common pains and illnesses. For example, jellyfish stings can be healed with a cold papaya poultice. Another example involves a jalapeño. If you have a mosquito bite, rub a fresh jalapeño pepper on it to soothe the itch.


Some folk healing remedies use unusual ingredients. For instance, one interesting technique that eases tonsil pain is to take the baba, or foamy saliva, from a horse's mouth and rub it on the neck.


Folk remedies even have cures for modern-day problems. For example, chewing on cinnamon or ginger candy can help with car and seasickness.


One folk remedy my family use is drinking cranberry juice to cure unrinary tract infections.

Lección Ocho: Guevara y Granado

Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born on June 14, 1928, in Rosario, Argentina. He is best known for being a political revolutionary: he worked closely with Fidel Castro during Cuba's revolution. But before he met Castro, Che Guevara and his childhood friend Alberto Granado traveled around South America on an old motorcycle.


Guevara and Alberto Granado planned to spend three weeks at a leprosarium, or leper colony, in San Pablo, Peru.

The pair set off from Alberto's home in Córdoba, Argentina, in the winter of 1951. As they left Granado's home, they nearly drove into a street car while the whole Granado family watched. After the near-accident, Granado and Guevara traveled to Buenos Aires to see Guevara's parents.

The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 biopic about the journey and written memoir of the 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara,

I personally think the two travling across the country was epic. They were brave to do all that travling on an old motorcycle!

Lección Siete: Los Festivales

The Chicago Latino Film Festival, which was founded in 1984, showcases the work of filmmakers from Latin America, Portugal, Spain, and the U.S. For two weeks in April, tens of thousands of movie fans and aficionados flock to the Windy City to view more than 100 films in genres such as fiction, animation, documentary, and shorts.


Each March, Miami's Little Havana neighborhood is the site of the Calle Ocho Carnaval, a bustling street party filled with dancing, music, festive costumes, and ethnic cuisine. Started in 1978 as a celebration of South Florida's Cuban culture, the event now features food and entertainment from across the Latin world. Domino, a popular game in Cuba, is a particular draw. A televised tournament is held at the carnival each year.

In 2007, the first Ibero American Guitar Festival was held in Washington, D.C. The three-day concert staged at the National Museum for the American Indian highlights the diverse heritages and rhythms of guitar musicians from across the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Guitar virtuosos strum flamenco, classical, folk, and jazz compositions and pay homage to guitar legends of the past.

The Latin Grammy Awards, the Latino version of the Grammys, is the country's biggest awards show for Spanish-and Portuguese-speaking musicians. Since 2000, industry professionals have nominated artists for awards in 49 categories including Best Latin Rock Album, Best Merengue Album, Best Norteño Band, and Best Brazilian Artist. The competition culminates in an awards show broadcast on national television.

Geografía de Latinoamérica

Muralismo en México

Muralism was an artistic movement that started in Mexico in the 1920s. In the 1920s and 1930s, Mexico was experiencing post-Revolutionary political changes after the 1910-1917 Revolution. In 1921, the Mexican government commissioned Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros to paint huge murals on the walls of public buildings. This was part of a cultural program designed to promote art among the entire population. The project began the Mexican Mural Renaissance.



One goal of the murals was to make the artwork accessible to all people; everybody that would walk by the building could enjoy the art work. They were also used as a form of propaganda: artists painted murals to express their political beliefs and other social themes.




Of the great three, Diego Rivera is the most well-known. He was born in 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico. Rivera was member of the Mexican Communist Party, and he portrayed his communist beliefs through his art.

Jose Clemente Orozco was born in 1883 in Zapotlán el Grande, Mexico. He used art to depict the truth, using realism techniques. He showed man’s fascination with machinery, as well as the suffering of the oppressed. Orozco spent 10 years painting in the United States. He returned to Mexico in 1934 and painted the "Man of Fire," which is on the interior walls of the Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara and it is considered his masterpiece.


David Alfaro Siqueiros was born in 1896 in Chihuahua, Mexico. He began his political career early, and he frequently spoke and acted out against the government. Siqueiros was an active Marxist, and he often painted about the struggle against fascism, as well as the oppression of all people. Like Rivera and Orozco, Siqueiros studied and painted in the United States and Europe as well as in Mexico.

Lección 4: La comida latinoamericana.

When I think of Latin American foods I think of tacos and nachos.


Chifa is a mix of Chinese and Latin food. Chifa was created in the late 19th century. It began when Chinese immigrants arrived in Peru. The immigrants brought with them their knowledge and the cooking traditions of China. When they added their ingredients and culinary customs of Peru, Chifa was born.


Puerto Rican cuisine was also influenced by other cultures. The African influence came to Puerto Rico in the form of enslaved Africans who were sent to work on sugar plantations in the New World. Coconuts, coffee, gandules (pigeon peas), and plátanos (plantains) are among the new ingredients introduced to Puerto Rico from Africa. Some scholars also believe that the practice of deep frying was introduced by enslaved Africans.


I would pefer the Puerto Rican food because of its African influence.

Leccion Tres: Los animales de latinoamerica

Jaguar is a type of large cat. It is found in Mexico and Central America. Jaguars are carnivores and good hunters. The jaguar played an important role in the religions of Aztec, Mayan, and Incan peoples.


The howler monkey is the native of Central and South America. They are called howler monkeys because of the tremendous noise they make: they can be heard up to three miles away. Besides being known for its loud voice, the howler monkey is also unique for its tail, which it uses like another hand.



Quetzal is a bird.The bird is featured on Guatemala's currency and is considered one of the country's symbols.In addition, some cultures have considered the quetzal a sacred bird.




Capybaras are herbivores: they graze on grasses and water plants. Their home is South America.




Capybaras are social, and they can be found in groups as large as thirty. Adult male capybaras mate with and are in charge of several females and their babies.




Humans raise capybaras for food and they are seen as a delicacy. This is especially important in South America, as the Catholic tradition of Lent forbids the eating of meat. Clergy decided to classify capybara meat as fish, which made them okay for Catholics to eat.

Lección Dos: Cortés y Bolívar

Hernán Cortés is one of the first and most famous Spanish conquistadores of the Americas. In 1519, Cortés decided to conquer modern day Mexico, the home of the Aztec. After Cortés conquered the capital, he was forced to abandon it temporarily in order to fight off another Spanish army. When he returned, the Aztec were revolting against Spanish rule. This time, Cortés was forced to take military action against the Aztec. As they fought Cortés, the Aztec population was reduced by disease and starvation and soon the Aztec gave into Spanish rule. By 1521, the city was back under Spanish control.



Simón Bolívar who is known by this nickname because of his struggle to free the Spanish-controlled colonies in Central and South America. Which is how he earned his Spanish nickname, "El Libertador."

Leccon Dos- La Feria

La feria slideshow

View more presentations from Wendy Anderson.

1. Me gusta montar en la rueda de Chicago.
2. Ella se divierte las golosinas, el algodón de azúcar, las palomitas, y la hamburguesa.
3. El se espanta de la casa del espanto.
4. Me no gustan los coches chocones.
5. La chica pequeña se sube el carrusel
(ask me to check your sentences for accuracy)