Voices en Español

Learning Spanish is currently all the rage in the U.S. but there was a time, really not so long ago, when speaking Spanish and being proud and open about one’s Latino heritage was not something that was particularly accepted. Social tensions related to the Spanish language and Hispanic culture still exist today in the U.S., but at least society has progressed to the point where being bilingual is viewed as something very positive and not a negative.

We are currently in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15  in the U.S. The dates were selected to include the Independence Day celebrations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile, as well as to incorporate Día de la Raza—a holiday celebrated in Mexico on October 12 observing the colonization, exploration, and multicultural heritage of the Americas.

In honor of the occasion, this week’s podcast is a compilation of audio excerpts from two American storytellers, Olga Loya and Antonio Sacre, about the ups-and-downs they faced in developing a strong bi-cultural identity in the U.S.  Their stories are part of the  RaceBridges for Schools project, an interesting program designed to help high school and middle school teachers lead class discussions on issues related to race, ethnicity and cultural identity. The collection of materials offered on their site is high quality and you can’t beat the price – free!