The goal of the Spanish School co-curriculum is to tap into the interests, the talents, and the passions of our broad range of students and faculty, and then to build bridges between those capacities and the rich culture of the Hispanic world. Toward that end, we offer an enormous variety of lectures by writers, academics, and film directors, as well as sports activities, films, theatrical events (both spectator and participant), concerts and other performances, cooking and dance classes, hiking, art, poetry...the list goes on, and continues to grow with further student-sponsored activities that evolve after our arrival. This array of activities promises to present you with scheduling dilemmas, but is one of the secrets to the success of the Middlebury approach. These activities allow you to take your classroom knowledge into the field, immediately and constantly. Your pledge to speak only Spanish draws you out of your room and into a society and a culture that shares your ambitions. Welcome to the active world of the Spanish School!

Special events

Inti-Raymi – An Andean celebration of the social relationship with the earth and nature/Festival of the Sun and Earth. The Spanish School learned of the indigenous culture, and celebrated with a parade, costumes and dancing.

Tango Show – Gird Hirschmann and his Tango Company of Vermont, along with members of the Spanish School, performed the tango, in song, spoken word and dance on the McCullough stage.

Baile de disfraces – The Spanish School wore many different disguises to the annual costume party and dance.

INVITED GUESTS

The Spanish School invites some remarkable lecturers and performers to share their talents with us every summer. The following are some of 2007’s distinguished guests.

Laura Esquivel – Known for her blockbuster novel and film Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate), Laura Esquivel presented and discussed her new novel, Malinche, along with a general discussion of her philosophies as presented in her essay Intimas Suculencias.

Noemí Lugo – Venezuelan soprano Noemí Lugo, accompanied by pianist Cliff Jackson performed for the Spanish School in the Center for the Arts.

Ricardo Chavez-Castañeda – Middlebury College visiting Professor and member of the Spanish School Faculty, Ricardo Chavez Castañeda spoke to the Spanish School about the art of writing from a novelist’s perspective and discussed his new book El libro de silencio.

SPANISH SCHOOL PERFORMANCES

The Spanish School offers several performances throughout the summer, many of which give students and faculty members the opportunity to perform together in Spanish.

Piano Concert – Professor Francisco Álvarez, Spanish pianist and Spanish School faculty member, performed works of Spanish and Latin American composers in the Center for the Arts.

Annual Poetry and Music Concert - A Professor at the University of Virginia, Fernando Operé led the Spanish School in a night of poetry and music and the annual concert. It was a tribute to both the written word and the talent of the Spanish School community.

Muy Leal – Written and directed by Spanish School faculty member José Delgado Costa, this play was performed by members of the Spanish School in Wright Theater.

Casa tomada – Students in levels 1, 1.5, and 2, under the direction of Spanish School faculty member Susana Rivero showed off their language acquisition as well as their dramatic talents in this play, based on the poetry of Julio Cortázar.

Busca un asiento cerca de la puerta, que a mí el teatro me aburre pronto – Students in levels 3 and 4 performed this play, written and directed by Spanish School faculty member Esther Hernández in conjunction with her students.

Choir Concert – The Spanish School Choir offered a wonderful concert of Hispanic music, under the direction of Professor Francisco Álvarez.

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Get involved! There are so many ways to participate outside of class! Below are just a few of the many activities that are open to students of all levels and give you additional opportunities to learn and use Spanish. Additional activities not listed below include: Radio ñ, Pluma inteligente (writing workshop for Graduate students), and Español Exprés (language workshop for level 1, 1.5 and 2 students).

Cooking Club – Students learned to make many different dishes from various Spanish-speaking countries.

Dance – Students have the opportunity to learn several traditional dances, including tango, sevillanas, and baile latino.

Hiking Club – Students relax from their studies while enjoying breathtaking views of the Vermont outdoors, still in Spanish, of course.

Art – Under the guidance of Spanish School faculty member Aquilino González Barrio, students used art to establish a connection between Vermont and the agricultural tradition of Spain. “SINDECIRNIMU” (sin decir ni mu/ without saying anything) combined a symbol of Vermont, the cow, with a well-known symbol of Spain, the bull. During the Art Exposition, t-shirts and bulls designed by students and faculty were on display.

Sigma Delta Pi – Qualifying students in levels 3 and 4, along with high-achieving students in the Graduate program, were inducted into the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.