... Oops, Important Imformation!

Perhaps I should have mentioned that the actual trip happens August 11 - August 20. The plan is to post entries, photos and perhaps some video during the trip. So much of what you will see prior to those trips, at least on my part, will be reflections, expectations, and maybe images and articles in preparation for the trip. Hasta luego!

To Begin: an introduction

I think for this, my, and our, first blog, it would be helpful to identify who we are beyond the limited space in the “About Me” section. And beyond that, to summarize the aims of our project, the criteria of the grant we have received as a team, and state why I think the Yucatan is good place to visit in the context of the Breathe Project.

First, as noted, the three of us are teachers at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in three different disciplines.

Raquel is from Spain and teaches Spanish in the High School Academic Program at UNCSA. She has been interested in comparing language and culture in the Hispanic world and has previously visited Peru and Chile in her research. For this trip she wishes to investigate the Mayan culture and its linguistic influences on the Spanish language in Mexico as well as experience the arts, people, and culture of the Yucatan in order to enhance her and her classes. She plans to create a unit that examines how the Catholic Church and Spanish culture impacted the Maya.

Lynda has a varied background in anthropology, art, cultural studies, and education, and teaches World History in the High School Academic Program at UNCSA. Ever since studying the Maya in college, Lynda has long dreamt of visiting the Yucatan Peninsula and experiencing first hand its unique culture and a few of the archeological sites in the region. Lynda plans on creating a new unit on the rise, splendor, and fall of the Maya for her World History course and a new unit on indigenous cultures with the Maya as the principle case study for her World Cultural History course.

A Chicano from southern California, I (Diego) am a dancer and choreographer currently teaching Modern and Ballet Technique, Composition, and Dance Perspectives in the School of Dance at UNCSA. In recent years I have realized that my choreographic work exhibits Chicano themes and therefore I must identify myself as a Latino artist. I will explore these two ideas in greater detail in other entries. It is my plan and expectation that my research and short immersion in the culture of the Yucatan Peninsula will inform a new work I will be creating for the School of Dance’s 2011 Winter Dance concert as well as propel me on my present path of exploring my heritage.

“The Breathe Project of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts is a project that provides opportunities for creative renewal and professional development for the teaching faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) through collaborative, multi-disciplinary summer intensive projects. The deliberate partnership of faculty participants from different arts and academic programs aims to develop new perspectives; question old assumptions; experience different artistic locales, contexts and culture; and integrate disciplines from multiple aesthetic viewpoints.”

In the context of the above quote from the website of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, why travel to the Yucatan? Beyond our individual reasons, what other reason might there be to go to this particular place? Here is a theory that will serve as one answer: due to its geographic location, the Yucatan has served as a terminus for various cultures coming and going from: the Gulf of Mexico; the Caribbean; Central and South America; Mexico and North America; the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As such, this region exemplifies the core idea of the Breathe Project in that it is a place that has had to negotiate different perspectives. Throughout its history, the Yucatan has had to find a way to negotiate the art, music, language, food, history, and religion from a variety of cultures. At least, that's my theory. A pretty good place for three teachers from three different backgrounds and three different disciplines to collaborate and inform each other’s cultural and aesthetic viewpoints.

We hope that you follow our blog with interest. We will continue to post various entries that are of interest to us individually and as a group. Watch for them. Hasta luego!