Exploring Afrolatinidad Through The Art of Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons 

Jady Arriaga, Afrolatinizamos Cohort 2023

Essential Question of the unit:

• What is the relationship between language and art? 

• Who is Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, and what key aspects of her life and career have influenced her artwork?

• How do identity, history, and the African diaspora themes manifest in Campos-Pons' artistic creations?

• In what ways does Campos-Pons contribute to Afro-Latin American art, and how does her work reflect the diversity within this cultural identity?

Content Outcomes:

1. Students will discuss the importance of acknowledging Afro-Latin American contributions to culture and art.

2. Students will express themselves / their identity using different mediums (words, photography, playdough, etc) 

3. Students will critically analyze and discuss the relationship between language and art, fostering independent thought and reflection.

4. Students will recognize the relationship between language and art by making connections between the keywords discussed and a short video featuring artistic themes.

Spanish Performance Language Outcomes: Students can read Spanish texts at the intermediate mid-level 

Focus Texts & Other Resources

1. Podcast: “THE NATURE OF ALL OUR FORMS”: MARÍA MAGDALENA CAMPOS-PONS ON PERFORMANCE ART 

2. News Clip: “In Salem, Campos-Pons evokes personal effects of sugar …” (access may require signing up for an account)

3. Reading: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons Notes on Sugar / LIke the Lonely Traveler

Begin by asking students in Spanish: What is the relationship between language and art?  They can discuss for at least 7 minutes and then be invited to share some of their answers with the whole group.

1. Write keywords on the whiteboard as they will serve to make connections with the short video that will be shared with them in the next step. The teacher can even create a word cloud from the keywords shared by students. 

2. Play the video Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons (2:20 minutes in English) 

3. Carry a group discussion in Spanish where students are inspired to share opinions and their expressions. Check the initial discussion document for some possible questions 

4. Ask students what words in Spanish or critical concepts from the video they should include in a vocabulary list. Use the form to create the class vocabulary list. 

Start the class by asking one of the questions from the initial discussion document again, but this time, you will do so in Spanish.

1. Tell students they will practice their vocabulary by listening to a student of arts from a university in a Spanish-speaking country. They will just need to write down the words they recognize that are also included in the vocabulary list. 

2. Ask students to share the words they recognize. Afterward, ask them to share what they understood from the recording (main ideas).

6. Allow students to work independently, asking them to read the article from the International Center for the Arts of the Americas at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: The Latina Artist (It is better for students to get a printout

7. Students will work on the interpretive reading activities based on the The Latina Artist article.

8. When students are done, you can encourage them to share their findings on the interpretive reading activity as a group discussion. 

Materials needed: Colored pencils, markers, watercolors, soft pastels, playdough, different colors of cloth tape, pencils, etc. 

Invite students to visit the Afróntalo Exhibition (curated at the California State University, San Bernardino Anthropology Museum in 2023, available as a 360 virtual tour in English or in Spanish), where they will do annotations on the KWL chart.

1. Students will discuss their charts with a partner. 

2. Tell students they will be invited to practice some of the processes that Campos-Pons goes through to create art. Tell them that the idea is that they get to express their identity and personal expressions by using photography and other mediums (colored pencils, playdough, cloth tape, etc.) 

3. Students will share their products in the next class and speak for at least three minutes, describing their process and how the piece represents their identity. 

Students’ Exhibitions and Presentations. Provide students with feedback on their oral performances. Clarify that you are not grading or penalizing their art expressions in any way. 

Suggested rubric. 

Take students on a field trip to a gallery or exhibition in town, where they can analyze art pieces from the identity perspective. 

1.  Ask them to complete an identity sheet in Spanish or English( their choice).