February Update from North Valley Public Library

Hello, Everyone! It has been a while so let me catch you up since the holidays.

Oscar Mazc is teaching a formal class on Spanish on Friday nights from 6:15 - 8 pm. So far we have had about 6 or 8 weeks of classes and there are approximately 8 regular students. Oscar also recently began teaching Spanish to home schooled children ages 5-10 years old on Friday afternoons from 4-5 pm. There are approximately 6 children in that class. Oscar is teaching these classes at no cost, asking only that students donate (whatever they can afford) to the library as we begin the major remodel of our buildings. Muchas gracias, Oscar, you are one of our heroes!

In January we had two celebrations - Spanish Conversation Group "Reunion en Espanol" members Catalina Gerner (our facilitator) (on the left) and Marge Wood (on the right) both had "cumpleanos" (birthdays). We had a fiesta one week, then another the following week (boy, we sure like to party!) when Missoula members, Walter and Tricia, visited to celebrate the birthdays of Catalina and Marge.

Last week we watched the documentary film "Other Side of Immigration" produced by Roy Germano. This 2009 film won numerous awards world wide. Germano interviewed over 700 native Mexicans, many of whom continue to emigrate to the US to work. The film focused on the reasons behind the mass exodus of immigrants from Mexico to the US and the effect this is having on their family members left behind, as well as the economies of their regions. The interviews were mostly in Spanish with English sub titles which provided our audience with an excellent learning experience in the language; there were people with very different educational levels and people with many different dialects. A very informative and thought provoking film from the perspective of those who emigrate to our country. Highly recommend it!

Catalina Gerner and I are working on the edits to the North Valley Public Library website's Spanish section. Check out our website at www.northvalleylibrary.org. Suggestions are welcome!

Maybe some photos of our annual fiestas??? Or links to some relevant websites??

We will continue our weekly conversation group at our usual time of 6-7:30 pm on Wednesdays. If you are interested in joining our Spanish language class on Fridays, please do! You are all welcome. If you know of any newcomers to our area of Hispanic heritage, please invite them to join our conversation group.

Hasta Luego! Amy

Sunday evening Clothes Exchange at Ana & Tony's

Last Sunday (Dec 5th) Reunion en Espanol gathered at the home of conversation group member, Ana and her husband, Tony in Stevensville. There was a holiday "Clothes Exchange" during which members gave away clothes they no longer wanted and took home clothes they liked that others brought to share. The remaining clothing went to "Clothes Closet" the local free store featuring unwanted, clean clothes and household goods. There is a great need for affordable clothing during the winter in Montana. After our clothes swapping, we enjoyed home made pizza made by Tony and Ana and a wide variety of dishes made by other members. After dinner, we danced to salsa music while new member, Alberto, played the Congo drum. What fun! We laughed and danced and spoke in Spanish throughout the evening and a great time was had by all! Thank you to Ana & Tony Napolitano for their warm hospitality and for all who shared their no-longer-wanted clothing and delicious food!

On another note, tonight was the 3rd formal Spanish class taught by Oscar Macz at the North Valley Public Library. This class is free to the public (small donations to the Library are welcome) and is held each Friday evening from 6:15 - 8 pm in the Community Room of the Library. Join us!!

Cooking Cuban Cuisine with Colombian Chef Jorge

One of the most popular events in our annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage is cooking classes with Chef Jorge Morales. This year Jorge created a Cuban-American sandwich called "Medianoche" which means "midnight." These sandwiches became popular in Miami after the influx of Cuban immigrants during the 1950's. The story behind the sandwich is that Cuban people would go out late at night, come home around midnight, open up the refrigerator finding pork (all time favorite of Caribbean cultures), pickles, mustard, etc. - all of the ingredients put together make up a "medianoche" sandwich! Jorge enhanced the basic recipe by adding a mustard/mango salsa on top of the pork, which had been marinated with a variety of citrus fruits. There were 41 people in attendance and each person received a sample of medianoches and plantain chips. This was such a hit that next year NVPL may host two cooking classes.

Early Literacy Videos in Spanish

The Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy have created 15 videos in English and Spanish of songs and rhymes for very young children: http://www.storyblocks.org/.

The videos are one minute each and help library staff and childcare staff with literacy tips, activities, and ideas for baby, toddler and preschool storytimes.

The project was made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum & Library services.

MT libraries might want to check it out!!

Another great Hispanic Heritage celebration at NVPL! Way to go Amy....

Peru Presentation

Continuing 2010 Hispanic Heritage events, Elizabeth Ballard (member of "Reunion en Espanol" the Spanish conversation group of the North Valley Public Library) presented an educational program about Peru. "Betsy" and her family traveled recently with a tour group to experience, first-hand, weaving communities throughout Peru. Betsy shared with the audience many of these woven products including articles of clothing, bags, belts and hats. The audience viewed spectacular photos taken by Betsy, showing the many historical sites, ancient ruins, native people in traditional clothing, the diverse landscapes, as well as numerous slides of the weaving process. There were 41 people in attendance, including many members of the Missoula Spanish Conversation Group.

Puerto Rico Travelogue

Marshell Woodgates, native of Puerto Rico, presented our first in a month long series of events for Hispanic Heritage Month 2010 at the North Valley Public Library. Marshell described a brief history of how Puerto Rico came to be the last remaining territory in the US and it's current relationship to the mainland US. Ms. Woodgates showed the audience a power point presentation containing many photos from her recent visit back to her home land. She described how so many things have changed in the past 30+ years, including changes in industries, reduction of available work for locals, expansion of housing construction, increased emphasis (dependence) on tourism as well as the growing unrest among students and young adults concerning the relationship between Puerto Rico and the US. There were many audience members who were also born and raised in Puerto Rico who contributed to lively discussions throughout the presentation. After the presentation, many attendees remained to get to know each other and share stories.
It was very informative and fun-filled evening. We look forward to more occasions to work with Marshell Woodgates at the North Valley Public Library.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2010 Success!

Hello, All! You are probably wondering what has taken so long for me to post this latest blog. Well, I was very busy organizing and working on the events the North Valley Public Library held during our 3rd annual Hispanic Heritage month in September. First, at our kick-off event "Grand Fiesta" the members of our Spanish Conversation Group "Reunion en Espanol" along with members of the staff and Board of Trustees at the Library, created some delicious dishes from around the world, of course from countries of Hispanic cultures. One of our most prominent members Oscar Macz performed some of the songs he had written, singing and playing guitar, to provide lovely background music while everyone enjoyed the food. After dinner, professional dancer, Kimberlee Carlson, and her group of Hispanic dancers performed several traditional dances to the delight of the audience of over 100 people. It was a fabulous event, many dressed in native dresses, several people drove all the way down from Missoula and there was much laughter and many happy people. A GREAT way to start our month! More updates to come...stay tuned! Photos to follow..