Art/Music Resources

Combining poetry and visual arts, students will gain a holistic understanding of the diverse and impactful contributions of Afro-Latino artists from Latin America and the Caribbean. By integrating discussions on the cultural significance of themes such as resilience, resistance, and community students will be able to connect these themes to broader discussions on social justice and activism. 

Students will explore how Afro-Latinos have shaped the cultural, social, and historical landscape of Latin America and their significance. Through the use of research methodology students will create a project to show their comprehension of Afro-Latino history. 

Students will explore the rich contributions of Afro-Latino individuals to history, culture, and society through engaging online articles, videos, and readings. By the end of the lesson, students will gain a deeper understanding of the diverse Afro-Latino experience and its impact on various fields. 

Through the use of videos and music, students will examine the impact events had on the Afro-Latino community and identity. 

Students will analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry, identifying their connotation and denotation. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry. Students will learn to identify sound devices in poems. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry. Students will learn to identify figurative and macaronic languages within poetry. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry. Students after completing poetry packs 1-4 will review and complete a task in written or art form.

Students will examine Afro-Latin American contributions to culture and art, analyzing and discussing the intersectionality of language and art. Using examples from Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the lesson through creative means.

Students will learn the history of the Garifuna and explore their community. Students will then identify challenges they faced, while highlighting their contributions to Central America.

Completed within the context of the collaborative work between the teachers from the Escuela Normal Superior N°2 “Mariano Acosta” located in Buenos Aires and the Agrupación Afro Xangô. The units were developed by student teachers with the supervision of Mr. Esteban Sottile, a teacher at the institution. This section contains the final work of Mariano Acosta students: María Belén Iglesias, Soledad Canteros, Ileana Di Vruno, Paola Kler, and Lucas Barrientos. 

On day 1, students begin with the free listing of words or phrases they associate with Cuba (teachers can first practice with a more known subject, like “summer”). These lists are shuffled and redistributed. Working in groups, students analyze the lists based on provided questions, followed by an open discussion. In the same groups students analyze one of nineteen photos (questions provided). They then read an article on the photographer (David LaFevor) – teachers may want to only include the photos in the article in order for students to receive information on their specific photo, not all images are explained. Students write a reflection or discuss questions based on what they learned, and complete a jigsaw activity. Days 2 and 3 are optional extensions: A) Images of Your Community (students plan, take, and share images of themselves, classmates, family members, or neighbors) and B) Researching Cuba from Multiple Perspectives (students use the photographs, poems/articles, and discussions from Part I to research an aspect about Cuban history, culture, and society through multiple academic and artistic perspectives/sources, choosing one art form and two non-fiction sources to explore their topic). 

Notes: Access to “The Eyes and Souls: Images of Cuba” Nancy Morejón’s poetry is no longer available. There is a poem dedicated to the Cuban five she recites on youtube video (first read in spanish then translated in english).

Supportive resources: Methods for Teaching with Photographs

A 60 page file that is an educator's guide to the film They Are We. It contains a film synopsis, notes about the director, and eight pages of information on the African-Latin American slave trade and Afro-Cuban culture and influence. There are four lesson plans to accompany the film, and 28 discussion questions. 

Note: They Are We is available for $4.99 if you have Apple TV or Amazon Prime. It is also available through the Docuseek database. 

Art activity 85 pages 

Content available through third party platform for a fee

Art activity 85 pages 

Content available through third party platform for a fee

Art activity on the topic of race, ethnicity and identity (not strict to Afro-Latinx but can be incorporated with other lessons)

“‘They Want to Erase That Past’: Examining Race and Afro-Latin@ Identity with Bilingual Third Graders” is an academic article by Melissa Adams and Christopher Busey explaining their incorporation of Afro-Latinx content through a month of curriculum content in a third grade classroom, aligning with subject-specific learning standards in social studies, reading, math, and art. Topics covered and curriculum standard alignments are included. A short list of children’s books is also provided.