Captain America or Captain United States?

Translate this comic to English and explain why it is funny.

City High's Geography Legacy

There have been some Geography-Wizards that have walked through these halls. They have been immortalized on The City High Geography Warriors website.

Ian is our all-time top Geography Warrior. 

To become a Geography Warrior one must get 100% accuracy on the Central and South America Geography game under 40 seconds. 

Hot Tamale Activities -

• Click here to read and play GeoGuessr 
• play these World Geography Games, take a screenshot of your score and email it to bordner@cityhigh.org (Spanish 9) or akhand@cityhigh.org (Spanish 10).

May the Geography be with you. 

Blurred Lines in Spanish!

Thanks to Bilinguish for photo/video!

Blurred lines blurred borders as it swept across the world as the song of the summer!

Check out this video of the song in Spanish. 

Hot Tamale Activities - email bordner@cityhigh.org (Spanish 9) or akhand@cityhigh.org (Spanish 10) your responses.

• Obviously the lyrics are different because they are in Spanish. What else is different about the song? The video? What instruments do they have in the song? Where is the video filmed? Describe the similarities and differences between this version and the original.
• Translate the chorus to Spanish. Email the English and Spanish lyrics. How do they say "good girl" in Spanish?
• What do you think about this song (each version)? Do you like it? Explain your answer.
• Here is another song by this group (Hy3rid H3). What does this song talk about? What do you think about this song? Explain your answer.
• This version of Blurred Lines is in English except the rap (starts 2:28 min. into song) by Colombian rapper J Balvin. Which version do you like best and why? Write a short bio about J Balvin. 

What is Latino Alternative?

First, this is my Spanish song of the verano. :) Hot Tamale points to anyone who finds the lyrics and Spanish and English, or one hundred Hot Tamale points to the student who translates the lyrics on the video. 

Moving on. This is an 11 min. audio piece about the Latin Alternative Music Conference.

You can watch videos of the groups they are interviewing here.

Hot Tamale Activities - email your replies to bordner@cityhigh.org

• What does Latin Alternative mean to each group? In your own words, describe how each group defined it.
• What does Latin Alternative mean to you? Describe it in your own words.
• Review one of the videos from the groups interviewed. Do you like it? Explain.
• Write a biography for one of the groups interviewed. 
• What is/was your song of the summer? (It does not have to be in Spanish - email a link to the song so I can hear it!)

Extra - Listen to this Podcast discussing the festival 

• Review one of the songs/videos from the groups discussed. 
• Which group do you wish you could have seen and why?

Latino Comics

I heard this 4min. audio piece on the radio this week about the Latino Comic Expo. Listen to the story below.



Hot Tamale Activities - email bordner@cityhigh.org your responses

• Find a online latino comic/zine. Describe what it's about. What makes it Latino? Do you like it? Explain.
• The article brings up the fact that many comic books (and young adult books period) don't reflect the multi-cultural make up of the United States. What do you/could you do to seek out diverse perspectives?
• The article also mention that their inspiration is Sergio Aragonés, (creator of Mad Magazine). Write a short biography of Aragonés. Include images of his work
• They also mention Love and Rockets - check out more here and write a brief summary. What makes it Latino? Do you like it? Explain.
• Draw your own image/comic that has aspects of Latino culture!

Video of Costa Rica Trip

Top 5 from Costa Rica

I just got back from a 12 day adventure in Costa Rica with 20 students from City Highl! The students blogged about their experiences here, (you can see the previous Hot Tamale Blog Post here).

This was the 8th year that City High has taken students to Costa Rica. We do two service learning projects; one in La Carpio, an impoverished Nicaraguan neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital city San Jose, and the other in Quebrada Arroyo, a tiny 15-family village with a small eco-tourist business in the rainforest.

Here are my top five memories of the trip.

5. The Beach of Manuel Antonio

After 11 days of hard work, getting to spend the morning at the beach to relax was a big treat. It was also a nice way to celebrate the 4th of July. My favorite part was floating in the water.

4. Going to the Opera

I’d only gone to the opera in the United States once about 5 years ago, we were in the balcony so it was difficult to read the translations, and I was tired. The tickets to the Opera in Costa Rica were a gift from the National Music Center director Guillermo Madríz, who met with us earlier in the trip. We were in the third row from the orchestra, extremely close to the stage. As I followed along with the Spanish translations, I got really involved in all the drama. Also, the building was beautiful, one of the most elaborately decorated buildings in all of Costa Rica.

3. Tour of La Carpio

When we first arrived to our first day of work in Costa Rica we were given a tour of La Carpio, the neighborhood we would be working in for the first part of the trip. City High students have been working with the community in La Carpio for seven years, so much of the tour was a showcase of work that has been done by our group in the past. One of the reasons this was so important to me is that it showed that our trip is part of an ongoing relationship and commitment to help improve conditions and learn about other communities. While we may only be there for a few days, the work we do alongside the community builds upon itself.

2. The Hike in the Rainforest

While we were in the rainforest we took a hike up to the top of the mountains, where we could see the Pacific Ocean. Along the way Don Miguel pointed out various plants that were edible that we tried, plants that smelled good, and also parts of the old coca plantations before the fungus destroyed them. We even got to go in this little side elevator contraption, pictured above. As someone who enjoys hiking, I enjoyed this part of the trip immensely.

1. The Soccer Game with the people in Quebrada Arroyo.

Most of our work in Quebrada Arroyo, the small community in the rainforest, was to help complete a fence around the soccer field to help animals stay out of the field while also keeping the ball from being lost down the hill. What that meant in terms of work for us though was that we had to hike up about a quater mile of rock road to get dirt and materials to make cement, and then hike down to the field and make the cement to finish off the bottom on the fence. It was hard tedious work, that made me appreciate 4 wheel vehicles, navigable roads, and cement mixing machines on a whole new level. So when we played soccer on the field and saw how effective the fence was is helping to keep the ball in play, it gave us a strong sense of purpose and accomplishment. (Which helped balance out the embarrassment I felt about the two goals I accidentally scored for the other team.) It rained the whole time and the field became a huge mud-pit, but we didn’t care. We ended up playing two games, and I’m told we did better than any other City High group before us.

I feel very fortunate that this was such a positive, inspiring trip for many of our students, and I look forward to digesting how this will effect my teaching. If you would like to see more photos from the trip check out the collection here.

Hot Tamale Activities - email bordner@cityhigh.org your repliles

• What do you think would be your favorite part?

• What makes you want to go on this trip? What makes you not want to go?