Throughout this unit of Spanish 3 we explored the mythology of the Spanish speaking world and the magic it possesses. We explored the mythology of Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. At the end of the unit we read the book, El Ekeko: Un Misterio Boliviano.
The book, El Ekeko, was about a boy named Paco who lived in Bolivia. Paco's family doesn't have a lot of money, but Paco needs new shoes. He had been bullied for it a lot by two boys named Nicolas and Matteo. Because of this, his mom had him search through his grandfather's closet to find his old boots. In that closet Paco found a new pair of shoes, but also a strange statue. The statue slowly became more and more prevalent in the story as Paco learned about its magic. He went back to the closet and learned about its history. His ancestor had used it to keep a few people fed during a siege of La Paz where the indigenous people were trying to fight back against the Spanish. The statue was El Ekeko, a spirit of generosity in Bolivia. Paco's was real and was able to turn small, fake things into large, real things. Paco used this greedily and got video games and new shoes. This made the Ekeko's smile slowly disappear, which Paco thought was strange. In the end, Paco became too greedy and the Ekeko disappeared. Paco searched and searched, but couldn't find it. While searching for it, he saw Nicolas, his bully, being yelled at by his father because his brother was sick and needed medicine that was expensive. This made Paco sad, so he worked extra and got enough money to give to Nicolas for the medicine. He also gave Nicolas the video games and invited him to play soccer with him. Nicolas was thankful and Paco left. In the morning, Paco found the Ekeko back in his room, but he didn't need it anymore, Paco learned that he was happy with what he had.
What “truths” can we learn about the places and cultures around the world by seeking to understand their myths and stories? We can learn a lot about the world and how other cultures think by studying their history and mythology. Stories and myths show us what the culture believes and the messages they might want to tell their people. An example of this could be the myth of El Sombreron from Guatemala. In this story, a man appears under a woman's window and plays the guitar for her. She listens and is hypnotized by him. He then braided her hair and she stopped eating or sleeping. Eventually she was taken to a convent where she could be watched over and protected by God, but she was too far gone and died. This could have been a story to tell women not to look out the window at night and to not trust the people they might see. Another story is El Sibon, the Whistler, from Venezuela. In this story a boy kills his father and is cursed to go around killing others, putting their limbs in a sack on his shoulder. I believe this could be a message against patricide, but also not to go wondering in the area of the myth at night when he might attack. This could have been a warning for a dangerous place. Myths and stories have different messages depending on where they originate, so we have to take a look at the greater area and what a myth might mean to certain people.
What connections can I make between my own story/experiences and that of others? I think that reading the book made me think more about being generous to others. People in our society tend to think mostly of themselves and are selfish. This was a good way to think about resisting those impulses to give to others. This could be physical gifts, which are easy, or maybe more emotional. Everyone can use a friend, like we saw with Nicolas in the book, it is just up to someone to help them out. Most people don't, and that makes me sad.
Personal Reflection of the Unit I think that this unit went well for me. I love to learn about the cultures and stories of our world. This paired with learning Spanish made the unit fun and informational. The most interesting thing for me was when we learned about the little myths and legends of countries, like el Silbon and el Sombreron. These were entertaining and gave us a glimpse of what other cultures might be like. This isn't something that we usually get to look at here in America, so it was a fun change of standards. When I am older I want to study something global and historical, like world cultures. I believe I was focused throughout the unit as well, I completed all the assignments and finished everything we were working on.