Happy New Year -2014 Events within the Hispanic Community Los Angeles

Dear Students,
I wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2014 ! 

La Escuela Español is celebrating its 7th year on the planet. I am very happy to anounce some very exciting and happy changes and progress.  That said, in the spirit of celebration, I'd like to invite  you out to some wonderful celebrations that will be happening in Los Angeles. There will be festivals, music concerts, Flamenco dance events, Aztec Dancers and  that will give you an opportunity to not only use your Spanish, but to enrich your life with the beautiful and colorful Latin culture.

I will also be continuing my Spanish Classes for the community. They are held on Tuesday afternoons in Santa Monica. Classes are ongoing, each class we discuss practical matters in daily life: Introductions, Directions, Ordering at a restaurant, Reserving Accommodations and even Asking someone to dance. Your first class is free with this email, please RSVP.

I also just published some articles in my blog, Learning Spanish is Fun ! that will help you learn more about Latin Culture, Music and of course the Spanish language. If you have not subscribed yet, please do so by entering your email in the subscription box on my blog page. 


Here are a list of some events that you can mark on your calender for the early this year 2014:

 LA PLACITA OLVERA: FIESTA DE LA CANDELARIA - February 2nd - Traditional blessing of elaborately dressed icons in the culmination of the Christmas season. Music and prizes.125 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 

90012

Artisanal Goods- La Placita Olvera

Mexican Folkloric Costumes 

Vendors at La Placita Olvera

LA POESÍA FÉSTIVAL- 2014, Friday, January 17, 8:00PM to 10:00PM. Celebration of Latino Poetry, Bring your own poetry.  Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center.681 Venice Blvd. Venice, California 90291. http://www.beyondbaroque.org 

LIVE FLAMENCO:   2014- January 17 ,18 & 19th.  8 pm. Fountain Theater holds Forever Flamenco once a month on Sundays.
http://www.fountaintheatre.com/perform.html


LIVE AZTEC DANCERS: 2014- Every Afternoon during the week on the Plaza of La Placita Olvera.
http://www.calleolvera.com/community/xipetotec/

SALSA BALLROOM DANCING:  -2014, January 25.  Salsa Dance Lessons every Monday Night-UCLA Ballroom Dance Society- Kerchoff Hall. Grand Salon.
please email Cynthia & James for more information atballroom@ucla.edu

FINE ART- Jack Rutberg Fine Arts Gallery.  Jordi Alcaraz Artist Extended: 2014, extended through January.
 http:// http://www.jackrutbergfinearts.com/videos.html

AMERICAN SABOR: LATINOS IN AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC: -2014, until February 9.  CSULA Fine Arts Gallery 5151 State University Drive.Los Angeles.
http://www.americansabor.org

Mambo Dancers

I hope that you will join me this 2014 to experience the beautiful Latin culture in Los Angeles and have some fun and practice your Spanish !

I look forward to seeing you soon !

best,
Sabrina

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Aztec Dance

The Aztec Dance, “Danza Azteca” in Spanish or “Mi’totiliztli” in Nahuatl, is one of the most basic manifestations of the artistic and cultural spirit of the native people of Mexico. It is a mixture of thousands of years of history of both the agrarian and militaristic ethnic groups of the area, and the integration of pre-columbian and Christian rituals as evolved over the centuries.The Aztec dancers are devoted to preserving the traditions and rituals of pre-Hispanic culture through the expression of dance and ceremony.

The Dance represents the eternal search of man for cosmic harmony and integration, both of his body and his spirit, and all the chants of Aztec Dance ritual refer to this essential process. The Aztec Dance has been referred to as a form of prayer and a total way of life and communication.

During the performance, dancers wear traditional costumes, including feather head-dresses and seed-leggings called “chachayotls” that make noise when we dance. Each time you see the Aztec Dancers you take a step back in time. The drum and sea shell alert you that something special is about to happen. The dances are very expressive and represent the forces of nature, the universal four corners of the earth, human existence and the desire to achieve balance with the four elements of earth, wind, fire, water and air. The dancers unite to create a corporal expression to worship and communicate with their gods. Aztec dance is a dance that is grounded in nature and respect for all living beings.

In modern times, Mexican people enjoy learning and dancing Aztec Dance to connect and preserve their Aztec roots long before they were conquered by the Spaniards.

To see Live Aztec Dance in Los Angeles, all you have to do is go to La Placita Olvera during the weekday afternoon.

More on Aztecs and the Spanish Conquistadors coming soon in Learning Spanish is Fun !

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Mayan Hot Chocolate

Mayan Hot Chocolate

In Mexican ancient civilizations, before the Spanish conquistadors imported chocolate to Spain and added sugar, the ancient Mayans and Aztecs drank the bitter cacao
("Ka-Kow") mixing it with wine, and adding spices: vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and chile.  Remember when Juliet Binoche adds chiles to her chocolate in the movie Chocolat ? Well, you don't have to be a movie star or an Aztec Emperor to make your own Mayan Hot Chocolate with this ancient recipe of chile-infused milk, cinnamon, nuts and vanilla. This is an excellent drink when the weather is cold or to treat yourself after a long days work, surely, it will warm you up and soothe your soul.

 Ingredients
1 chile pepper, cut in half, seeds removed (with gloves)
5 cups whole or lowfat, or nonfat milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate or 3 tablets Mexican chocolate, cut into 1/4"pieces
2 tablespoons sugar or honey, or to taste
l tablespoon almonds or hazelnuts, ground extra fine
Whipped cream

Instructions
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat water to boiling; add chile pepper. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Remove chile pepper; strain water and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream or milk, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick until bubbles appear around the edge. Reduce heat to low; add chocolate and sugar or honey; whisk occasionally until chocolate is melted and sugar dissolves. Turn off heat; remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. Add chile-infused* water, a little at a time, tasting to make sure the flavor isn't too strong. If chocolate is too thick, thin with a little more milk. Serve in small cups and offer ground almonds, hazelnuts and sesame seeds and whipped cream.

Serves 4-6
*Chile can be infused in Milk instead of water
Enjoy !

To Learn More Have a Peak at this Blog on Ancient Civilizations and  History of Chocolate


This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Part 1: History of Chocolate: Ancient Civilizations and the Cacoa Bean

 

In the book The True History of Chocolate, authors Sophie and Michael Coe make a case that the earliest linguistic evidence of chocolate consumption stretches back three or even four millenia.

The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica. Chocolate, the fermented, roasted, and ground beans of the Theobroma cacao, can be traced to the Mokaya and other pre-Olmec peoples, with evidence of cacao beverages dating back to to 1900 BC.^]  

  

Near the beginning of the 16th century, the Aztecs were believed to first make chocolate, although it goes back much farther. The Mayans wrote about cacao ( Ka-Kow) a Mayan word on their pottery as early as 500 A.D., but some believe chocolate dates back to a much older time during Olmec civilization, which preceded the Mayans.  The Mesoamerican civilization's chocolate a bitter drink made from a variety of local ingredients mixed with ground cacao beans.

 

An officer serving with Cortez observed Motecuhzoma, who was the ruler of the Aztecs.  They found that Motecuhzoma was drinking 50 flagons of chocolate every day.  This beverage, which was sometimes made with wine or water, could be seasoned with chili pepper, vanilla, and pimiento.  It was known to cure diarrhea and dysentery.  It also was believed to be an aphrodisiac.  Cortez is known to have tried the beverage, but he found it too bitter.  However he did write to King Carlos the first of Spain, calling "xocoatl" a "beverage that builds up resistance and fights fatigue." Etymologists trace the origin of the word "chocolate" to the Aztec word "xocoatl," which referred to a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. The Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods."

For several centuries in pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency. One bean could be traded for a tamale, while 100 beans could purchase a good turkey hen, according to a 16th-century Aztec  document.

Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical, or even divine, properties, suitable for use in the most sacred rituals of birth, marriage and death. According to Chloe Doutre-Roussel's book The Chocolate Connoisseur, Aztec sacrifice victims who felt too melancholy to join in ritual dancing before their death were often given a gourd of chocolate (tinged with the blood of previous victims) to cheer them up.

Sweetened chocolate didn't appear until Europeans discovered the Americas and sampled the native cuisine. Legend has it that the Aztec king Montezuma welcomed the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes with a banquet that included drinking chocolate, having tragically mistaken him for a reincarnated deity instead of a conquering invader. Chocolate didn't suit the foreigners' tastebuds at first –one described it in his writings as "a bitter drink for pigs" – but once mixed with honey or cane sugar, it quickly became popular throughout Spain.

Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical, or even divine, properties, suitable for use in the most sacred rituals of birth, marriage and death. According to Chloe Doutre-Roussel's book The Chocolate Connoisseur, Aztec sacrifice victims who felt too melancholy to join in ritual dancing before their death were often given a gourd of chocolate (tinged with the blood of previous victims) to cheer them up.

Sweetened chocolate didn't appear until Europeans discovered the Americas and sampled the native cuisine. Legend has it that the Aztec king Montezuma welcomed the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes with a banquet that included drinking chocolate, having tragically mistaken him for a reincarnated deity instead of a conquering invader. Chocolate didn't suit the foreigners' tastebuds at first –one described it in his writings as "a bitter drink for pigs" – but once mixed with honey or cane sugar, it quickly became popular throughout Spain.

 

By the 17th century, chocolate was a fashionable drink throughout Europe, believed to have nutritious, medicinal and even aphrodisiac properties (it's rumored that Casanova was especially fond of the stuff).  But it remained largely a privilege of the rich until the invention of the steam engine made mass production possible in the late 1700s.

Bibliography:

•  "The True History of Chocolate", authors Sophie and Michael Coe  
• "The Chocolate Connoisseur" Chloe Doutre- Roussel.
•  "Traités nouveaux & curieux du café du thé et du chocolate", by Philippe Sylvestre Dufour, 1685.

 More about the History of Chocolate and Chocolate Recipes in Mexican Cuisine in next installment of Learning Spanish is Fun