Showing posts with label Latin America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latin America. Show all posts

July 24 - Simón Bolívar Day in much of "Latin America"

   Posted on July 24, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on July 24, 2011:



Simón Bolívar was, quite simply, The Liberator!

Well, make that El Libertador!


Along with José de San Martín, Bolívar led South Americans during their struggle to win independence from Spain. He was instrumental in gaining independence for Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama. (Panama is part of Central America, which is part of North America, rather than South America.)



Since today is Bolívar's birthday (he was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on this date in 1783), he is celebrated today in Latin America. Apparently the biggest celebrations are in Ecuador and Venezuela; there is food and music, there are military and national-costume parades, and there are flags and battle reenactments.

A short biography of Simón Bolívar can be found here.

This statue of Simon Bolivar is
located in Washington, D.C.
I read that it is the
tallest statue in the city!




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May 5 - Cinco de Mayo

     Posted on May 5, 2022


This is an update of my post published on May 5, 2011:



You might already know that Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for “fifth of May.” 

This Mexican holiday celebrates the unlikely victory of 4,000 rather poorly equipped Mexican soldiers against well-armed French forces that were 8,000 men strong! 

And this at a time when the French army was considered the best in the world and had not been defeated for almost 50 years!

This victory was won in 1862, near Puebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe.

It is perhaps surprising that this holiday is little celebrated in Mexico outside the state of Puebla. It is a much bigger deal in the United States, where people of Mexican and Latino heritage are often joined by non-Hispanic people in celebrating Mexican heritage and pride. It's a time when many school teachers and children's librarians teach about Mexican culture, communities hold festivals with dancing and food, and newscasters and advertisers often acknowledge the day.





The importance of the Battle of Puebla

According to Wikipedia, since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas (North or South) has been invaded by a European military force. 

That's not to say that the Mexican victory in the Battle of Puebla repelled the French army. Thirty thousand troops and an entire year later, the French were able to defeat the Mexican army, capture Mexico City, and install Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico. It took the Mexican people another three years to re-capture their capital, execute Maximilian, and win back their country.



Celebrate! 

You can find lots of resources for Mexican-American foods, crafts, and activities at DLTK,  and there are resources for learning about Hispanic cultures in general here.


Also on this date:

 


Indian Arrival Day in Guyana






(First Thursday of May)






(First Thursday of May)




Plan ahead:

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April 11 - Juan Santamaria Day in Costa Rica

Posted on April 11, 2021

This is an update of my post published on April 11, 2010:




Did you know that a private American citizen overthrew the country of Nicaragua and tried to conquer other nations of Central America, too? William Walker wanted to form a private slave-holding empire!

(This was in 1856, shortly before the U.S. Civil War.)





Costa Rica's national hero Juan Santamaria died during a battle at Rivas, Costa Rica, against William Walker's forces. Santamaria was (some sources say) able to light a hostel on fire before he died, and by eliminating the hostel and its superior firing position, he turned the tide of the battle, leading to Costa Rica's victory.



In 1860 William Walker was captured and executed in another Central American country, Honduras.



A person who takes this kind of unauthorized military action—when a citizen of the U.S. mounts an attack on another country, without U.S. government knowledge or support, in order to create or further a revolution, they are called a filibuster. According to Wikipedia, filibusters created revolutions for financial gain, for their political ideals, or just for adventure.

In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,
Jimmy Stewart talks and talks and talks...

Later the term filibuster was used figuratively for the political act of one person talking and talking and talking in the U.S. Senate and thereby single-handedly delaying or preventing a vote on a particular bill. And recently the Senators doing a filibuster actually just threaten to talk and talk and talk - they don't even bother to put the hard work in to delay or kill a bill!

Nowadays (thank goodness!) we don't have American citizens randomly trying to overthrow other governments through military force, so the term filibuster is used almost entirely for the Senatorial maneuver; and a lot of citizen of the U.S. want THAT kind of filibuster gone, too.

Learn a bit about Juan Santamaria

Santamaria was a poor laborer and the son of a single mother. He answered the call by the Costa Rican president to fight against William Walker's attack, joining the army as a drummer boy.

He was nicknamed “the Porcupine” (el erizo) because of his spiked hair.

When he volunteered to do the dangerous task that got him killed, Santamaria asked that, if he died, others would take care of his mother. The Costa Rican government did give his mother a pension for the rest of her life. Perhaps she was comforted in her loss by the fact that her son is one of very few Costa Rican heroes honored by statues, an airport named for him, and a national day.

Learn a Bit About Costa Rica


This nation in Central America lies just north of Panama. It is one of the most stable and peaceful of the Central American countries, with a higher literacy rate and better economy than most. It is the oldest democracy in Latin America and is ranked the “greenest” or most ecologically-minded country in Latin America.

The official language is Spanish.

Check out some of the beauties of Costa Rica and its rainforests:






All sea turtle species are endangered. Here is a YouTube video about kids helping to save sea turtles in Costa Rica. It's in Spanish (very rapid Spanish!), so I just enjoyed the footage of kids with the lumbering mama turtle and countless hatchlings.


Eco-tourism is important to Costa Rica. This includes visitors
who want to experience the rainforest and the incredible animals that live there. Learn about the rainforest at Kids Saving the Rainforest. Be sure to take a look at the baby animals the organization has rehabilitated, here. 

At Kids National Geographic, check out this Costa Rican frog that looks like Kermit the Frog!


Speaking of frogs, learn about frogs at KidZone. You could also label this diagram of a frog.







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