FestivalesPart A is in Spanish. Part B is in English.

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A) Begin the forum by answering these three questions in Spanish:

• ¿Dónde trabajas? i am in the unites states army
• ¿A qué hora terminas tu trabajo, típicamente? depends on what type of day it is but i try to leave no later than 1700
• ¿Cómo pasas tu tiempo libre? with my boys finding some extra curricular activities to do
• Mi respuesta: Trabajo para APUS y termino mi trabajo a la medianoche. Paso mi tiempo libre con mi familia en las fiestas nacionales.

B) This part of the forum is in English.

Celebrations provide a great release from the duties of the work we do. Here is a youtube video about “Día de los Muertos:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqJ_8QQwtig

Some background on “las fiestas de los hispanohablantes.”

Spain, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries celebrate hundreds of exuberant festivals throughout the year. Their passion and dedication is evident in how they prepare for the festivals (whether religious or cultural). The villages and cities have their own festivals in addition to the numerous national holidays. Regardless of the venue, the people show a unity of purpose in how and why they observe these fiestas.

In contrast, our Great American Melting pot (or better said, our Big Mixed Salad) has national holidays and other celebrations that are carried out, yet we all have our own twist on how or why we celebrate. Some people do not celebrate certain holidays and have personal reasons for or against recognizing and participating in certain celebrations. Our traditions are no less firm and many of us are very passionate about our celebrations, yet the unity and sameness of how customs are practiced is varied. This parallels with the very first forum we had on Spanish greetings. We discussed how the Spanish greet each other in a rather formulaic fashion. In the US, we have greeting customs that vary from a handshake to a pat on the back, with or without eye contact, sometimes non-verbal, sometimes with no touching at all, and other times with a nod and smile. Greetings and celebrations in the US vs other countries are indicators of how diverse our population is. There is no right or wrong in this contrast, just a difference that points to our unique patchwork that is “American life.”

Keeping in theme with the topic of celebrations in Spanish-speaking countries, your assignment is to explore one celebration that you have never heard about in a Spanish-speaking country. Día de los Muertos is excluded as most have heard about it. Please respond to the following questions:

1. What is the celebration/festival? When did it originate? What is its purpose?
2. Who participates? Where does it take place?
3. How is this festival celebrated? (What does it look and feel like to be there among the participants?)
4. Why did this celebration get your attention and would you like to participate in it? Why?
5. Think about a celebration or holiday you celebrate here in the US and compare and contrast how and why your celebration is similar and/or different than the celebration you are presenting.

Please post some images, sounds or video of people, places and food related to your celebration.

Initial post 250 words by Thursday 11:55 pm

Using third-party material: If you use other people’s words, academic research requires us to cite our sources. At the bottom of your forum post, include the links to the websites used to gather information for your topic. If your sources were not from the web, reference the name and author of any book or article that you consulted. Please remember that text directly quoted from other sources must be in quotation marks.

Please respond to two peers and consider the following:

1. Post at least two comments and two questions to each peer–using logic, inquiry, and reasoning to further the discussion.
2. Can you identify any cultural values of the Hispanic populations that celebrate these festivals?

Replies: 100 words each by Sunday 11:55 pm