This past month, the Spanish Program has hosted a number of activities that were part of the Spanish Teaching Circle, a grant-funded initiative to “create new strategies for their program and improve some aspects of classroom teaching.”

Among those activities was a classroom visit to Professor Luke Michels’ Spanish for Business by Mr. Martin Murillo, owner of Jalisco Taqueria & Grill in Anniston. Mr. Murillo shared his experience in starting a business from the ground up with his older brother after they both immigrated to the United States.

Dr. Roseli Rojo’s Latin American Short Story class was paid a visit by Professor Kianny Antigua of Dartmouth College, who spoke about how her experience immigrating from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. has shaped her writing while also answering questions students had about De tal palo, tal astilla, a work of hers.

Dr. Rojo’s Latin American Short Story and Intermediate Spanish I classes are both creating Cartoneras* books as their final project to strengthen the students’ capabilities for reading and writing in Spanish and recycling awareness. The finished products will be on display in the third floor hallway of the Stone Center.

The department was also able to create the Spanish for Criminal Justice program, which will be implemented virtually during the Fall 2022 semester, with the help of Dr. Maria Hellin of The Citadel College.

In addition to the Spanish Teaching Circle developments, Dr. Eduardo Pacheco, Associate Professor of Spanish, was able to organize a weekend retreat at Camp Lee in Anniston for Spanish majors and minors. During this retreat, students hiked, played games, and learned how to do Latin dances and cook Latin food while only speaking Spanish with native speakers from the community.

*Cartoneras are Latin American books with hand-painted covers made from recycled cardboard and sold on the street at an affordable price. The cardboard is collected by cartoneros, individuals who make their living collecting recyclable materials.