On Tuesday, Feb. 11, students taking Spanish 3 Honors visited downtown Hartford to view different murals.
Spanish teacher Kathleen McLean first thought of this field trip when her class read “La Calaca Alegre” by Carrie Toth. The book takes place in a Mexican-American neighborhood with vibrant murals and galleries. Ms. McLean wanted her class to experience a neighborhood like the one in the book and decided Hartford would be the perfect place to see impactful and engaging art.
Students left school in the morning and, while driving to a mural called “Fierce Women,” passed by many other artworks. “Fierce Women” was painted by Micaela Levesque to honor former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and former Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso. Ms. Levesque spoke to the class about the artistic process of creating the murals and how she incorporated different symbols into her artwork. Specifically, she used the Puerto Rican flag for Justice Sotomayor, who is Puerto Rican and painted former Justice Ginsburg wearing earrings that symbolize gender equality, a cause which Justice Ginsburg devoted her life to fighting.
The next mural, “Reawaken Wonder,” was also created by Ms. Levesque. This mural depicts a Puerto Rican boy named Sam holding a glowing jar. The mural is an impressive 18 stories high and is one of the tallest murals in New England. Ms. Levesque hopes that those who see the mural will be inspired.
After seeing Ms. Levesque’s inspiring murals, the students headed into City Hall to see “Trabajando en la Remolacha,” or, “Sugar Beet Workers.” In this work, Carlos Hernandez Chavez painted migrant workers holding up a table draped in the American flag with bowls of fruit on top, symbolizing how their work supports the U.S. There are Día de los Muertos skeletons depicted as well, showing that in death, we are all the same. Additionally, the Ku Klux Klan is shown, referencing how they used to burn crosses in fields to terrorize immigrant workers. Mr. Chavez was there to speak to the students about his work, which was a unique experience for them.
This field trip collaborated with Rise Up Arts, the nonprofit organization that created the tour, which helped curate a fun and inspiring day for the KO Students. “I would say the benefits to my students would be meeting and hearing from artists and being exposed to Hispanic culture right around the corner from KO,” Ms. McLean said. “Furthermore, they learned about the importance of the Puerto Rican population in Hartford.” The trip was impactful and helped the students improve their Spanish skills, as some artists spoke about their artwork in Spanish. It was a fantastic experience for students and a great way to get students out of the classroom and into a vibrant community.
