My main research topic is the INTERSECTIONALITY of every human in this world, specifically the connection between the teacher and the students; this recent movie positively impacted my creative self. The capacity for communion between our different bodies: memories, personal narratives, dreams, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, for example, is the frame for my study. The subject matter is the body. This movie has created a beautiful narrative of such work and understanding. 

While rehearsing this piece, my student suffered several episodes of anxiety. I am a theatre teacher, but I am not a Flamenco expert. I was not giving her any notes. All of the judgment was in her mind while dancing. She had developed an imaginary master that was not possible to please. This experience reminded me of the masters in my head. I noticed the "Indoctrination" of the masters. I jokingly explained to my student that I saw I wanted to make dead people happy. We looked at each other and laughed; we decided that we would "disrespect" the masters, and she will dance without thinking of making them happy. To our surprise, it was tough to do. Every single time she cannot break her conditioning. We experience lots of moments of fear. In the end, the hard work paid off: For once, during this video, she was able to stay in the present: just her, without any technique or indoctrination, accessible and unique. 

On the other hand, the singer in the video has never sung Flamenco before. So the journey was entirely different for her. She had no conditioning or technique to follow. Instead, she just learned the song and performed it with enthusiasm and care—no struggles in her case. 

In this article, the author proposed a human academic relationship to counter the segregation in education. While working at a Waldorf School, I learned the value of celebrating the different social, religious, and cultural ceremonies worldwide. Understanding these rituals allowed my students and I to create awareness regarding the different ways we, as a society, honor Life, birth, and death. Honestly, I am still trying to understand if it is possible to create a classroom environment that represents social equality under the current conditions of standardized tests and the politicization of the schools. However, the teacher, again, should be the mentor of such human relationships of acceptance, care, and kindness. 

I decided to use this video as part of my Deep Dive because it was incredibly impactful to me. The reality of the children building the home of Madison was a surprise and showed me how much of the story is hidden to present a limited and biased perspective of History. Nevertheless, I did not realize until today how afraid I am to include the hard History in my class. 

After soul searching for a long time, I believe the origin of the fear started with my process of immigration. I moved to the USA in 2003, and since then, I have defended my decision using aspects such as safety and freedom in my new home. In addition, I created a family, and I adopted the ideals of a democratic society or what I thought was a democratic society. 

One by one, the experiences of immigration showed me that I am part of a racist community. I have worked hard and successfully in several aspects as an American Citizen, but the inferiority complex continues. I am afraid to expose my opposition to dogma; I am afraid of publicly defending the Critical race theory as a teacher; I am afraid my daughters will be segregated because they are Latinas from an immigrant dad. 

I used to judge Latino American parents who do not allow their kids to speak Spanish in the USA. They want their kids to blend in with the "American Culture." Furthermore, I noticed that part of me wants to do the same today. Such complex of inferiority is the same one that praises the character of the oppressor, and it gives them a status of power over me and my History. 

Today, I realized that I need to include my hard History to heal and liberate myself. My hard History is part of me, but it is not everything I am. Therefore, I should not deny it, and I should not wear it as a medal of honor. Intersectionality and Critical Race Theory should be included because it is part of our History. We need to know it, learn it, and discuss it to stop the current continuation. 

I was six or seven years old when my parents took me to see "Los Flagelantes" in Santo Tomas, a small town in Colombia. I remember images and sounds. I also remember the smell of the aguardiente, a traditional alcoholic beverage that someone else spits on the wounds to increase the pain of the flagellants. I remembered wondering about the reason for the voluntary torture. My mom explained that they asked God for a favor or a miracle, and they needed to do it to pay him back. I could not understand God's thirst for blood.

I kept asking questions and getting more confused until one image left me speechless. A child my age was carrying a giant cross. He was in shock. I asked my mom: "Why is that kid carrying that cross?" She explained that when the miracle is enormous, the flagellants will promise God that they will pain with suffering and pain and that their kids and their kids will do the same. A generational promise that two or three generations must keep. 

I was furious. 

Today, I feel this is an excellent example of the power of Oppression: Violence, Powerless, Cultural Imperialism, Exploration, and Marginalization. (González-Scott, C. 2022)

González-Scott, C. (2022). Tools for social change: The five faces of oppression. Leadership for Educational Equity. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://educationalequity.org/blog/tools-social-change-five-faces-oppression

Coroian, G. (2022, May 27). Zoot suit riots. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Zoot-Suit-Riots 

Reflection:

I must admit that as much as I would like to see my Latin American community together, we are all divided. Such division seems to result from our inferiority complex after being treated as servants for so long. Capitalism has created corruption, and our politicians know how to use that in their favor very well. We have enough to survive barely, and our inferiority complex instead consumes our individualities with the hope that our kids get good grades, go to college, and escape poverty. 

In the process of learning in this class, I have experienced an "eye-opening" experience where I am becoming aware of the critical role of art in education. 

I emotionally reacted when I learned, a few days ago, about the Zoot riots where Latin American People were persecuted and killed initially for wearing a suit or because of their non-White status. Unfortunately, it is the reality of oppression, racism, xenophobia, and segregation. Yet, I wish our Latin American communities would work alongside the black community in search of Social Justice. Unfortunately, this is not my experience. We are so worried about surviving to be able to send money to our countries and buy the new truck or TV that we are willing to pretend to be blind. However, what is the other option? Poverty. And that word is terrifying to all of us.