Sesión #3: Carnavales en Uruguay

(English text below)    

Este domingo, empezamos dándole la oportunidad a l@s niñ@s de que dibujaran y hablaran de sus “cosas favoritas" e invitando a los demás a escuchar sobre estas cosas.

Después, hablamos un poquito sobre un elemento esencial de los carnavales de Uruguay: el candombe. Vimos los tipos de tambores (chico, repique, y piano) y aprendimos a tocar  la clave o "madera" del candombe con este video.  Este fue un buen momento para intentar emparejar el dibujo con el nombre correspondiente de los tambores del candombe. A continuación escuchamos la canción de Rubén Rada "La comparsa de los bichos", que tiene un ritmo de candombe y nos sirvió como introducción a los nombres de algunos insectos en Uruguay.

En seguida tuvimos una breve discusión sobre los proyectos finales para presentar en el carnaval del final del taller. Aclaramos las opciones que tenemos para el proyecto final (poster, máscaras, comparsa y proyecto digital) y l@s chic@s decidieron en qué proyecto participarán.

Después de una merienda y una presentación breve sobre los aspectos generales del Carnaval de Uruguay, como es costumbre l@s niñ@s se separaron en grupos para realizar actividades diferentes: algunos siguieron con sus proyectos digitales en Scratch o jugaron “Erase All Kittens”; otr@s con el Corito practicaron la canción de la semana pasada ("Carnavalito" (El humahuaqueño)) del norte de Argentina (Jujuy), con pasitos bailados al son del bombo boliviano. Todos tuvieron la oportunidad de tocar el bombo. También aprendieron a tocar el ritmo básico del son clave cubano (2-3) con las palmas y hacer contrapunto a un compás 8/8 para una nueva canción de carnaval uruguaya (Carnavalito del duende, letras).

¡Nos vemos el domingo próximo!

---

(English text)

This week at Circulo Juvenil, the workshop began with the children drawing about their “favorite things" and then talking about and inviting others to hear about these things.

Then we talked a little bit about an essential element of the carnivals in Uruguay: the candombe. We learned about the types of drums (chico, repique, and piano) and learned to play the"madera" rhythm of candombe with this video. This was a good time for the kids to try to match the pictures of different drums of candombe with their corresponding names. Then we listened to Rubén Rada’s song "La comparsa de los bichos", which has the rhythm of candombe and served as an introduction to the names of some insects in Uruguay.

Then we had a brief discussion about the final presentation of Carnival projects at the end of the workshop. We explained the options we have for the final projects (poster, masks, comparsa and digital project) and the kids decided what project they will participate in.

After a snack and a brief presentation on the general aspects of the Carnival of Uruguay, as usual the children were separated into groups for different activities: some continued their digital projects in Scratch and practiced coding with a fun game: “Erase All Kittens”; and others working with Corito rehearsed the song they had practiced last week ("Carnavalito" (El humahuaqueño)) from the Jujuy region of northern Argentina and learned to play a basic Cuban son clave rhythm (2-3) clapping their hands and to do an 8/8 beat counterpoint for a new Uruguayan carnival song (Carnavalito del duende, lyrics). They also practiced the tune and lyrics, also practicing dance steps to the beat of a Bolivian bombo. They all had turns beating the bombo, too.

¡See you next Sunday!

2. Carnaval en Colombia

 

(English text below)    

Esta semana en el Círculo Juvenil, el taller empezó con l@s niñ@s jugando algunos juegos de rompehielos para conocer mejor a otros que no habían venido la semana pasada.  Después, l@s niñ@s aprendieron sobre el Carnaval de Barranquilla.  L@s niñ@s aprendieron con l@s voluntari@s el baile del esqueleto y miraron un corto sobre uno de los bailes más importantes de la celebración.  Los niños también aprendieron sobre las Marimondas del Carnaval, y dibujaron sus propias Marimondas.  

Después de una merienda y una presentación breve sobre los aspectos generales del Carnaval de Barranquilla, l@s niñ@s se separaron en grupos para realizar actividades diferentes.  Un grupo siguió aprendiendo y practicando el baile del caballito y la canción de la semana pasada, mientras que el segundo grupo aprendió cómo programar en una computadora usando el programa “Elimina todos los gatitos.”  

L@s niñ@s lo pasaron muy bien y ¡esperamos verl@s a tod@s la próxima semana!

(English text)

This week at Circulo Juvenil, the workshop began with the children playing some icebreaker games in order for the children who were not here last week to get to know each other.  Then, the children learned about the Carnaval of Barranquilla.  The children were taught the dance of the skeleton and watched a video of one of the most significant dances of the celebration.  The children also learned about the Marimondas of the Carnaval of Barranquilla, and drew their very own Marimondas.  

After a snack and a brief presentation on some main aspects of the festival, the children broke up into two groups for separate activities.  The first group of children continued to learn a dance and the song they had practiced last week, while the second group of children learned how to code on a computer using an online game called “Erase All Kittens.”  



The children had a great time and we hope to see everyone next week!

1. Carnaval en Bolivia

Carnaval en Bolivia

(English text below)

Este domingo iniciamos el taller de carnavales con una sesión dedicada al Carnaval en Bolivia. Primero, realizamos una breve actividad rompehielos, dando a conocer el nombre y el animal que nos gustaría ser.

Luego aprendimos sobre el origen del Carnaval de Oruro (Bolivia) vinculado a la leyenda de Chiru Chiru (el “Robin Hood” altiplánico). Después de escuchar la historia se mostraron imágenes del Carnaval y l@s chic@s identificaron los elementos presentes dentro de la festividad, máscaras, trajes, danza y los personajes, como el Ángel, el Diablo, el Oso y los diablitos. Aprendimos a bailar la “Diablada”, cada chic@ representó a uno de los personajes y realizamos una pequeña coreografía. Para bajar las revoluciones del baile, escuchamos algunas coplas carnavaleras y l@s chic@s mencionaron palabras que riman con  carnaval (festival, animal).

Después de la merienda, la mayoría de l@s chic@s trabajaron con el Corito, y cantaron “El carnavalito”, una canción tradicional de los carnavales de las zonas andinas de Suramérica. Junto con cantar, l@s chic@s aprendieron conceptos musicales, como forte (cantar fuerte), piano (cantar suave) y a percutir con las manos diferentes ritmos. Tod@s nos llevamos a casa el ritmo musical de la jornada!

¡Nos vemos el próximo domingo!

------------------------

Bolivian Carnival

This Sunday, we started our workshop with a session dedicated to the Bolivian Carnival. First, we made a short icebreaker;  each one said his/her name and the animal they would like to be.

Then we learned about the origin of Carnaval de Oruro (Bolivia) and linked it to the legend of Chiru Chiru (the altiplanic “Robin Hood”). After listening to the story, pictures of the Carnival were shown and the children identified the elements present in the feast, masks, costumes, dance and characters such as Angel, Devil, Bear and the little devils. We learned to dance the "Diablada". Each child represented one of the characters and created a small choreography. To relax after dancing, we listened some carnival verses and the children mentioned words that rhyme with Carnival (festival, animal).

After snack, most children worked in the Corito. They sang “El carnavalito”, a traditional song of the carnival of the Andes in South America. Along with singing, children learned musical concepts such as forte (loud singing), piano (soft singing) and different percussion rhythms with their hands. We all brought home the musical rhythm of the day!

See you next Sunday!

Taller de Primavera/Spring Workshop

Each term, Carnegie Mellon University’s El Circulo Juvenil de Cultura organizes 10-week workshops for Spanish-speaking children in the Pittsburgh area to bring them together to learn new skills while providing an outlet for expressing is Spanish. This semester, El Círculo and Corito, the Latin American children’s choir, will be collaborating to focus on carnivals from the Hispanic world. The children participating in the workshop will put together their own “Hispanic Pittsburgh Carnival” to showcase what they learned.

                      The children, ranging in age from 6-12, will learn from community members about different carnivals in the Hispanic world, will create “vejigantes,” giant papier mache carnival figures from Puerto Rico, and will have the opportunity to perform some carnival-related songs and dances, short skits, and participate collectively in the creation of their own carnival.

                      El Circulo Juvenil de Cultura is a Department of Modern Languages program that uses art and technology to keep local Latino children speaking Spanish. The program, which began in 2007, is co-directed by Mariana Achugar, Kenya Dworkin and Felipe Gomez. Previous workshops have focused on multi-media and narration, dancing, poetry, food, and greening the earth, among others. All of the sessions and activities are done in Spanish.

Taller de primavera/ Spring Workshop

Nuestro taller de primavera iniciará el 21 de febrero. Pronto les estaremos compartiendo más información al respecto.

Our spring workshop will start on Feb. 21st. We will be sharing more information soon.

¡Gracias por su apoyo en el 2015!/ Thanks for your support in 2015!

As we look back at our accomplishments for this year, we would like to take a moment to give thanks for the help and support provided to our outreach program by Modern Languages, the Sprout fund and digital Corps, families, and the numerous individuals who volunteered for our program. It is very clear to us that without this support, our work with the Spanish-speaking children would not be possible. 

Special thanks to Christine Hucko for creating the visual

This visual details some of the contributions to the Spanish-speaking community in Pittsburgh that this generous support made possible during 2015. This year we were also very fortunate to have our workshops featured by Dietrich News, NeXT Pittsburgh, and Remake Learning (links will redirect to the articles). We look forward to continue growing and serving the community.

¡Felices fiestas! to all on behalf of El Círculo Juvenil de Cultura

10. Sesión final

 

 
(English text below)

Nos reunimos el domingo pasado para la última sesión del Taller de otoño del Círculo Juvenil este semestre, y lo celebramos con una fiesta.



Este semestre, trabajamos durante ocho sesiones experimentando con maneras de narrar historias usando diferentes medios como los comics, el teatro, los títeres, y los medios digitales. El domingo quisimos mostrarle a las familias y a la comunidad un poco del trabajo que hicimos.

Empezamos preparando la sala para los padres. L@s voluntari@s pusieron las obras de l@s niñ@s alrededor de la sala, incluyendo sus cómics, títeres, y otras cosas creativas que hicieron a lo largo del taller. ¡Y por supuesto, la máquina! Tuvimos un poco de dificultad con el ensamblaje, especialmente con la parte del avión, pero finalmente, funcionó. Cuando los padres llegaron, los líderes introdujeron las obras presentadas, y entonces los padres tuvieron la oportunidad de explorar con sus niños el trabajo realizado. Tuvimos una demostración fantástica de las obras de teatro de títeres, además de unas presentaciones del programa de Scratch. Después de estas presentaciones, nos reunimos para compartir una merienda final con los padres, donde todos los miembros del Círculo recibieron un regalo, y los niños recibieron certificados, también. Fue una clausura perfecta para un semestre muy divertido.  (resumen en video abajo)

Solo nos resta expresar nuestros enormes agradecimientos a l@s chic@s, sus familias, nuestro grupo de instructores y voluntari@s, y a tod@s aquell@s que colaboraron para desarrollar el taller este semestre. Gracias también al Departamento de Lenguas Modernas en Carnegie Mellon por todo su apoyo para nuestro programa a lo largo de estos años.

Muchas gracias igualmente a Kim Lyons (Kidsburgh & Next Pittsburgh) y a Emily Stimmel (Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences News) por las notas que le dedicaron a este taller:

El Circulo gives Spanish-speaking kids a sense of community

Tell It To Me: Hispanic and Latino Children Learn “Cuéntamelo”

En febrero estaremos de nuevo contactándoles sobre nuestro taller de primavera. ¡Felices fiestas!
¡Nos vemos el semestre entrante!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Sunday, we met for the last Circulo Juvenil session of the semester, which we celebrated with a party. We started by preparing the room for the parents.

This semester, we had worked for eight weeks, experimenting how to narrate our stories using different media like comics, drama, puppets, and digital media. Last Sunday we wanted to show the families and the community a bit of the work we had done.
 The volunteers put up the kids’ work around the room, including their comics, puppets, and other creative projects. And, of course, the machine! We had some difficulty with the assembly of the machine, especially with the airplane, but finally it worked. When the parents arrived, the leaders of Circulo introduced the featured works, and then the parents had an opportunity to explore with their kids. We had a fantastic performance of the puppet theaters, as well as a few presentations of the programming tool, Scratch. After these performances, we had a final snack with the parents, where every member of Circulo received a gift, and the kids were given certificates as well. It was a great end to a very fun semester!



We only have expressions of gratitude for the kids, their families, our team of instructors and volunteers, and all the people who have collaborated to make this semester's workshop possible. Thank you also to the Department of Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon for all the support they have given our program over the years.
Many thanks to Kim Lyons (Kidsburgh & Next Pittsburgh) and Emily Stimmel (Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences News) for the notes they dedicated to our Fall workshop:

El Circulo gives Spanish-speaking kids a sense of community

Tell It To Me: Hispanic and Latino Children Learn “Cuéntamelo”

We will be back in February with another spring workshop. Happy holidays! We hope to see you again next semester!

(Video Summary for the session/ Resumen en video de la sesión)