Obra de Teatro

The third cuatrimestre Tourism A students just presented a play about Mexican/Yucatecan cultural identity and it was amazing. They wrote, directed, and produced it themselves, and did all the technical and behind-the-scenes work as well.
In the play, a man rejects his Yucatecan roots, refusing to speak Maya and observe the cultural traditions, even though it hurts his family. Our students dressed in huipiles and danced the jarana. Some of the guys were acting like village drunks and really got their roles pegged! José, the main character, goes to the United States with his wife and child to try to make a better life for them, and starts working at a travel agency. His "American," English-speaking co-workers ask him in really bad Gringo-accented Spanish : ) about his roots and he doesn´t know what to say, and feels ashamed. He fights with his wife, Lupe, because she speaks Maya and is proud of her heritage. Then she leaves him and returns to their village in Yucatán. Finally, José realizes the error of his ways, and goes back to win her back and to rediscover his Maya/Yucatecan heritage. The play ends with all the students on stage dancing the jarana.
All the students were perfect in their roles and took the production seriously. The costumes and set were excellent. The play had dialogue in THREE LANGUAGES: Maya, Spanish, and English. I was so impressed with their hard work and I truly feel privileged to have been their English teacher for two of the three cuatris this year, and to have gotten to know them.
At UNO, we are gearing up for the 10th Mayan Encuentro being held here, in which a couple hundred people involved in the academic world of Maya studies, as well as other, spiritual figures in the community (i.e., shamans and teachers) will converge in Valladolid next Wednesday through Saturday. Betsy and I are having our huipiles made in Chemax and we are going to go for a fitting some time next week, once the embroidery is done. We will be working with students, too, who will be serving as hospitality assistants to the delegates, being available to help direct them to their hotels, transportation, etc. In particular, we will be in charge of helping the Belize delegates in case some of them don´t speak Spanish (although I predict that our role will be pretty insignificant). Nonetheless, I am super excited to be a part of this event!
Well, it is just about time to go home for the weekend, so I will say hasta luego!