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Keeping traditions alive
By CHRISTINA HEADRICK
© St. Petersburg Times,
Tomas Aguilar Martinez, a physical education teacher from Chiapas, Mexico, appeals for their attention. Once Martinez has the group watching, he demonstrates one more time how to do the turns in the Mexican hat dance. "It's one, two, three, four," Martinez says in Spanish while turning once slowly in place. The kids do the step with him the next time, rehearsing with earnest looks on their faces. Tonight, they will perform the folkloric dance as part of the first graduation ceremony of Summer Course 2001 Vacation Program, a seven-week day camp taught this year by two teachers who came from Mexico as part of an exchange program. The camp's goal: to keep its 39 participants connected to their Mexican roots. The Mexican government financed the secondary school teachers' trip here with help from the Mexican Consulate in Orlando. A group called the Consejo Mexicano de la Bahia de Tampa, the Mexican Council of Tampa Bay, found families to host and feed the teachers, as well as organizing a group of volunteers to help with the summer program.
The Mexican Council was started by immigrants from Hidalgo who live in Clearwater, but it has since broadened its mission and changed its name to indicate it works to aid all Mexicans living here. St. Cecelia offered the use of classroom space for the summer camp, which cost parents $10 per week. The rooms where the students spent time were decorated with tissue paper wheels made of red, white and green paper and other crafts the kids made during the summer. While the older kids practiced their dancing Wednesday morning, the younger kids, ages 6 to 8, stayed behind in one church classroom, singing songs like the traditional Cielito Lindo. Backpacks were piled around the room. Some little girls sat on the edge of their seats, singing. One little boy wore sunglasses. Another had flopped over the table in front of him, his head down. Nicolas Acosta, a math teacher from Hidalgo, led them through the songs. Acosta, speaking in Spanish, explained later that many of the students in the program were born here, although their parents immigrated from Mexico. Many of their parents have since become citizens of the United States or permanent residents. By the second or third generation, children often begin to prefer speaking English and forget their Spanish, Acosta said. The summer exchange program helps bring teachers from Mexico to teach courses all over the United States, which help immigrants preserve some customs and traditions even as they are being integrated into American culture, Acosta said. Kids who participated in the course seemed to be having a good time Wednesday, their last day of the program. "It's pretty cool to teach kids about Mexican heritage and culture," said Nicole Ramirez, a 13-year-old who lives in Pinellas Park and isn't Mexican, but still enjoyed the summer camp. Her parents are from the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Aurora Vidales, a Safety Harbor resident whose three sons, ages 11 to 15, participated, acted as a volunteer to keep the younger kids in line. Vidales said she enrolled her children in the program because she wants them to grow up fluent in their culture, as well as American culture. Some parents may not have enough time to teach their kids this stuff, she added, so the summer course has been great. Vidales' husband is a U.S. citizen and she, too, hopes to be naturalized. The couple works in a laundry that cleans hospital linens. Both are involved with the Mexican Council of Tampa Bay. "There are very many opportunities for people who know both languages," Vidales said, speaking in Spanish. "Muchisima," she emphasized.
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