They learned about Fidel Castro's transition to power fifty years ago and we were all surprised to learn a day or so after we began our unit that Castro resigned as leader of Cuba. The children already knew the name of his succesor and brother, Raul Castro, because we had discussed that many people believed his brother was already making important decisions because of Fidel's failing health. The children were impressed to learn that he had been in power for so long especially when they reflected on their own and other international leaders. They also were intrigued that Castro's Cuba has had such an interesting and often unfriendly relationship to the United States. This was a marked departure from most of what they hear about the United States at our school.
As criances passaram boa parte deste terceiro periodo aprendendo sobre Cuba. Aprenderam sobre a transicao ao poder de Fidel Castro cinquenta anos atras e ficamos todos sorprendidos quando alguns dias depois de comecar os estudos que Castro renuncio o cargo de presidente de Cuba. Os alunos ja conheciam o nome do novo presidente que eh tambem o irmao de Fidel, Raul Castro. Ja tinhamos discutido que muitos achavam que tinha outros tomando decisoes importantes no governo porque a saude de Fidel parecia nao muito boa. As criancas ficaram impressionadas ao aprender um pouco da historia interesante e nao amigavel entre o Cuba de Fidel e os Estados Unidos. Foi muito diferente do que outros noticias que eles normalmente ouvem sobre os Estados Unidos em nossa escola.
Castro today.
Raul Castro
We also visited and talked about the U.S. Naval Base and the region it is in, Guantanamo, but more as a reference for the children to the song they would be singing at the International Festival, Guantanamera.
Tambem visitamos e discutimos sobre a base naval americana e sobre a regiao na qual se encontra, Guantanamo mas era mais como referencia para as criancas a cancao que eles cantariam no jantar internacional, Guantanamera.
We also talked about Cuba's unique position in the history of the Western Hemisphere. They learned about Christopher Columbus' sense of adventure and courage in undertaking his famous first voyage across the Atlantic in search of an easier route to India and its precious spices. Tambem falamos sobre a posicao unica que Cuba tem na historia do hemisferio occidental. Eles aprenderam sobre o espirito de aventura e a coragem de Cristovao Colombo de inventar fazer uma viagem na procura de uma ruta mais facil de chegar a India e acesar suas especiarias preciosas.
They learned that Cuba was the second island visited during the first of Columbus's four voyages to what would later be called the West Indies and to South and Central America. We discussed that it was on this voyage that he first encountered natives of the Taino tribes scattered throughout the islands of the Caribbean Sea. Eles aprenderam que Cuba foi a segunda ilha visitada por Colombo nessa primeira de quatro viagens a o que depois serao chamadas das Indias Occidentais, America do Sur e America Central. Falamos que foi nessa primeira viagem que Colombo conheceu pela primeira vez os nativos Tainos que viviam espalhados em quase todas as ilhas do Mar Caribe.
They also learned that it was the natives that helped give Cuba its name. It was they who answered the inquisitive Spaniards when they asked where the natives had found their gold trinkets, by saying "cubanacan" which meant "in the center of the island." We also spent time discussing the negative impact the arriving Spaniards had on the native population and how their quest for riches, which caused them to enslave the natives as well as the diseases they brought with them from Europe against which the natives had no immunity, ended up decimating the natives. We also discussed how these events eventually influenced the arrival of African slaves to the island.
Chango
Xango
The kids were reminded that Africans were forcibly brought to places like Cuba because the natives were dying or resisting working for the Spaniards and workers were needed for mining or agricultural purposes. Much as the children can see here in Salvador, there were elements of African cultures that arrived in Cuba with the slaves.
Eu fiz as criancas lembrarem que os africanos eram forcados a vir a lugares tal como Cuba porque os nativos ja tinha morrido ou resistiam trabalhar pelos espanhois e lavradores eram necesarios para trabalhar nas fazendas ou nas minas. Tal como aqui em Salvador, chegaram juntos aos escravos, elementos de culturas africanas.
Eu expliquei para as criancas que o fato dos espanhois ser rigidamente catolico, eles proibiram os africanos a venerar os seus deuses e deusas. Os africanos eram obrigados a procurar uma forma segreda de continuar de venerar os seres divinos que eles procuravam para socorrer e orienta-los. E foi assim que nasceu em Cuba a pratica de Lucumi ou Santeria. O que surgiu foi que os escravos rezavam em igrejas catolicas e faziam referencias a santos catolicos mas na verdade eles continuavam venerando os seus deuses e deusas so com a diferenca de uma verniz mascara catolica. Chango, um deus guerreiro africano de trovao armado com um machado e vestido de vermelho (retratado acima) era chamado de Santa Barbara, uma santa catolica que tambem usava uma espada e uma capa vermelha.
Santa Barbara.
The children learned a famous Cuban song that makes mention of both Chango and St. Barbara, Que Viva Chango.
As criancas aprenderam uma cancao famosa en Cuba que faz referencia a ambos Chango e Santa Barbara, Que Viva Chango.
Yemaya, whose color is blue and who is an African goddess of the ocean.
La Virgen de la Regla, a Cuban Our Lady often depicted dressed in blue and floating above the water. A popular story has her saving three sailors all named Juan.*********************************************************************************************
We also spent a good amount of time exploring the flora and fauna of Cuba. Cuba at some point in time was connected to either South or Central America and after separating, the animals that remained on the island were related to animals found in both Americas and yet developed over time into unique species that are endemic to the island.
Tambem passamos um bom tempo estudando a flora e a fauna de Cuba. Cuba, milhoes de anos atras, estava conectado a ou America do Sul ou America Central e depois de separar, os animais que ficaram na ilha eram parentes de especies encontrado em ambos Americas mas que com o pasar do tempo viraram especies bem unicos e endemicos a ilha.
This Cuban frog is tied with a frog from the Amazon rainforest as being the smallest frogs in the whole world. They each measure only one centimeter. The Cuban frog is a recent discovery.Esta ra esta empatado com uma da floresta amazonica pra ser a menor ra do mundo entero. Cada um deles so mede um centimetro. A ra cubana foi descoberta recentemente.
The Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the Western Hemisphere and only found in Cuba.
The Cuban Jumping Crocodile. It propels itself out of the water to catch animals foraging in overhanging trees.O Crocodrilo Cubano Pulante(?). Ele se propulsiona fora da agua para pegar animais se alimentando nos galhos de arvores a beira da agua.
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Celia Cruz
Finally, we spent some time learning about the life and times of Celia Cruz, a Cuban singer with a unique life story and even more unique artistic style. She had an amazingly long and successful career. She only stopped performing when she was no longer able to get up on stage or into the studio which was only a year or so before her death in 2003. 200,000 people attended her wake in Miami. Celia was Cuban yet had many fans throughout Latin America and the world.
Finalmente pasamos tempo aprendendo sobre a vida de Celia Cruz, uma cantora cubana com uma historia unica e um estilo de artista ainda mais unica. Ela disfruto de uma carreira super longa e cheia de sucesso. Ela so parou de cantar quando no dava mais pra entrar no estudio para gravar ou para subir no palco e isso aconteceu mais ou menos um ano antes da morte dela em 2003. Duzentos mil pessoas foram ao velorio dela em Miami. Celia era cubana mas tinha fas em toda america latina e no mundo entero
The children really enjoyed her singing as well as her over the top style of dressing!!As criancas gostaram muito dela cantando tanto como seu estilo exagerado de se vestir!!
It was a special pleasure of mine to help my students develop an appreciation of Celia Cruz because as an artist there are few that have enriched my life as much as she has. She was truly a queen. 
A big hug, Um forte abraco,
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