Hispanic resources, Okaloosa

This collection contains an audio cassette tape which is a sampler tape of the survey, and was deposited in several public libraries near Mexican American communities. The Mexican American Music Survey was created to document the musical traditions of Florida’s various Mexican-American communities: Apopka, South Dade County, Immokalee, the St. Johns River Basin, and Central Florida. Funded by a grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Community Folklife Program, the survey was conducted between 1994 and 1996 by folklorist Robert Stone. Among the musical traditions were serenatas, conjunto, quinceanara ritual music, ranchera Michoacana, mariachi, norteno, Tejano, and pop music. At the end of the projct, ea sampler music tape was created by the Florida Folklife Program for distribution to various libraries. (You can also go to www.floridamemory.com/Collections/folklife.)

Essay, "In Search of a National Identity"

This site is a long essay with links that highlight some of the most important historical events, beginning in the 1800s, that contributed to the definition of Puerto Rico's historical and cultural identity. It is part of the American Memory, a digital collection from the Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/puertorico/bras.html

Bruner Middle School, Ft. Walton Bch. FL, celebrates Hispanic culture.

An article in the Northwest Florida Daily News, written by Kelli Hernandez, is posted on the school's website. View the entire article at http://www.brunerspartans.com (2008)
"What began last year as a day of sampling Hispanic food in the Bruner Middle School Spanish class, has evolved into the school's first Hispanic Heritage Month Cultural Fair. Students gathered in the school's library Tuesday for day two of the celebration eager to see Panamanian dancers share a colorful part of their culture. Monday and Tuesday consisted of a number of programs including guest speakers from Puerto Rico and Panama, and performances by a famous Columbian singer and a group of professional Fred Astaire dancers.
"We wanted to include important points that the children and the community would be interested in," Spanish teacher and coordinator of the fair, Lorraine Perry-Jimenez, said. "The students' favorite part so far has been the dancers." . . .Along with each project, the library displayed artifacts gathered by parents and teachers from Panama, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Spain and Mexico. Perry-Jimenez said that the projects took three weeks to complete and every student from her Spanish classes participated. The fair will continue to grow and will be a part of Hispanic Heritage Month at Bruner for years to come, according to Perry-Jimenez.

Hispanic Heritage Month contest winners.

An article entitled, "Governor Crist Recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month Contest Winners" and other reports can be viewed on MyFlorida.com. Dated October 14, 2008, it releases the names of three outstanding Hispanic educators are being honored with the Excellence in Education Award for their contributions to education in Florida. Each will receive an award check for $1,500. The winners are as follows:

Mrs. Barbara Jarrett, Valrico Elementary School, Valrico
Mr. Hector Veras, Crystal Lake Community Middle School, Pompano Beach
Mr. Salvador Mucino, Wellington Community High School, Wellington

About the Essay Contest

The essay contest is open to all Florida students in kindergarten through 12th grades. One winner will be selected from each of the three grade-level categories, elementary (grades K-5), middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). Winners will receive a full four-year tuition scholarship to a Florida college or university of their choice, provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. Essays should answer the question: “In what ways does the foundation of Florida’s Hispanic legacy help to build the future of Florida’s innovation economy?”

Guidelines

Entries must be mailed to Executive Office of the Governor: Hispanic Heritage Month Committee, 400 S. Monroe Street, Suite LL-10, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, postmarked by Wednesday, October 1, 2008.

Each student may enter only one essay, no longer than 500 words and typed or handwritten in print, rather than cursive writing.
Essays must include the student’s name, home address, telephone number, school the student attends, grade level and essay title.
Essay must be accompanied by a parental waiver form, which can be found at www.FloridaHispanicHeritage.com.
Nomination forms must be mailed to Executive Office of the Governor: Excellence in Education Award Committee, 400 S. Monroe Street, LL-10, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, and postmarked by midnight of Wednesday, October 1, 2008.
Forms can be found at www.FloridaHispanicHeritage.com. Nominations may be submitted by a principal, teacher, parent or student.

Book entitled, "Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States"

Written by Francisco Lomelí, Nicolás Kanellos, Alfredo Jiménez, Claudio Esteva Fabregat; Contributor Francisco Lomelí, Nicolás Kanellos, Claudio Esteva Fabregat. Published by Arte Publico Press, 1994. ISBN 1558850740, 9781558850743 (For more information, google by book title)

Baker Block Museum Educational Services. Baker, FL (850) 537-5714