Los Pensamientos (Warm Up)

Homework on desk: Colored and labeled Maps (pg 17),

Country Fact Sheet (pg 14)

Índice del trabajo/ Table of Contents:

Pg 18 Apuntes/Notes: Yanga Powerpoint
Pg 19 Independent practice: Letter to Yanga

Los Pensamientos:
What is the definition of diaspora?
During the African Diaspora, where were people coming
from? Where did they go?
 Trabajo perdido (Absent work)
When you are absent…
• Fill out your Table of Contents and get the
papers you missed using the “Carpeta
Superior” (Master Binder)

• Go to the website http://espanol1nativos.

posterous.com

• Ask a friend for help

• Talk to Ms. Mehl during office hours
 African Diaspora
• Diaspora = the spreading of a group of
people from where they used to live
 African Diaspora
Afro Latinos = people from Spanish
speaking countries that have African
heritage

Diaspora = the
spreading of a group of
people from where they
used to live
 Objetivos de hoy/ Today’s Objectives
• Describe who Yanga was, what the
Yanga community was, and why they are
relevant to Afro Latinos and Spanish
speakers in general.
•Connect Afro Latino history with
your own African American history
by writing a reflection letter to
Yanga.
 Apertura (Opening)
Think of your personal answer to this question:
Do you think the history and experiences of African
Americans is similar to the history of Afro Latinos in
Mexico, Central or South America? If so, how?

Watch the intro video to get more ideas for your answer
Be prepared to share your answer
http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/afrolatin/multimedia/vid1.html

CHAMP “la lección” (lesson)

 “Yanga”
• Get out page 18 “Yanga powerpoint”
apuntes/ notes
• Fill in the notes as Ms. Mehl tells
Yanga’s story by reading the complete
notes on the screen

CHAMP “la lección” (lesson)

 “Yanga” Comic Strip
• Read the instructions on the top of your
notes
• Draw comic strip pictures like Ms.
Mehl’s under the section “Ms. Mehl’s” to
illustrate what happened in Yanga’s
story
 Freedom in the
Americas
Important to our story is the spirit
of freedom, the spirit of the
maroon, that ancestral legacy
that refused to accept
enslavement and oppression.
The spirit of the maroon that
created sacred spaces of
liberation recreating and
inventing systems of survival and
liberation that continue to inform
and impact the African
philosophy and practices that
vibrate throughout our cultures in
the Americas.
So, who was this Yanga?
Yanga was an enslaved African
in Mexico who became the
founder of the first town of
free slaves in the Americas
January 6, 1609.

Freedom for Africans in the

Americas began in Mexico.
Gaspar Nyanga
• Gaspar Nyanga or
¨Yanga¨ was a native of
Gabon, West Africa.
• Around 1537, Yanga was
brought over from Africa
as one of over 200,000
enslaved Africans
shipped to the country´s
Gulf and Pacific coasts to
work the sugarcane fields
and mines controlled by
the Spanish crown in the
mid 16th and late 17th
century.
In which he conveys his history:
-Yanga was taken from Gabon
at a young age.
-The Spaniards came to take
the Africans because their
indigenous slaves were dying
– 7 million of them died.
-After bringing the Africans to
Mexico, the Spaniards thought
that the Africans would revolt
since they outnumbered the
Spaniards.
 Your turn!
Finish making a comic strip with a picture
illustrating each section of your notes
Be creative, this is YOUR way to tell
Yanga’s story in pictures

CHAMP “trabajo independiente”

Independent Work
 A letter from Yanga…
Turn to a partner next to you and read the
letter from Yanga together
You do not need to move desks, but you do
need to read the letter together
 A letter from Yanga…
As you read think about the following:
• How is life as an Afro Latino like my life as
an African American in LA?
• If I could talk to Yanga and ask him
questions about his letter, what would I ask?
examples: I disagree with you because…
What did you mean when you wrote….?
Reflection on Yanga’s letter…
• Get out page 19 “Letter to Yanga”
•
Reflection on Yanga’s letter…
• The letters that we read in class were
fictional letters written by Marco
Villalobos in the voice of Yanga. They
were written for a fictional African-
American woman living in the U.S, and
were intended to explain to this woman
the unique predicament of Africans in
Mexico. YOUR job is to respond to each
of Yanga’s letters.
 Reflection on Yanga’s letter…
• Your letter should include the following things:

• -1 paragraph that asks Yanga questions about what

he says (at least 5 sentences)
• -at least 3 questions for Yanga about what he says
in the letter
• -1 paragraph that explains the situation of African
Americans in Los Angeles (at least 5 sentences)
• -This paragraph is your point of view! You can
explain current events. You SHOULD compare
the situation of blacks in Los Angeles with the
situation of blacks in Mexico. You can make
connections between black culture and the
culture of Spanish-speakers here. Be creative!
My 3 questions for Yanga that are specifically about
the letter:

1.
____________________________________________________

2.
____________________________________________________

3.
____________________________________________________
African Americans Afro-
Mexicans
 Now, write your letter!
• Using the notes on the front of the
page, write a letter to Yanga
• Follow the requirements on the top of
the page

CHAMP “trabajo independiente”

Independent Work
 El cierre
Closing
Get out your Agenda Española and look at the box “Pregunta
del cierre” (Closing question)

In that box answer these questions:

Why is Yanga and his Afro Mexican community
important to Afro Latinos and African Americans?
Your reasons should be specific and mention at least one
thing from the letters we read today.

Get out your intervention card when you finish.