1. Esperanza Rising Virtual Tour
comsewogue.k12.ny.us
LIS 2568
Coreena Byrnes Michelle Fitzgerald Dana Jones Allison Mackley

2. A New Life Ahead
Abuelita squeezed Esperanza’s hand. “Do not be afraid to start over…We are like the phoenix, said Abuelita. “Rising again, with a new life ahead of us.”

3. Aguascalientes, Mexico
A Vineyard in Aguascalientes
“Our land is alive, Esperanza,” said, Papa, taking her small hand as they walked through the gentle slopes of the vineyard.”
Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy vineyard owner in Mexico, circa 1930.

4. Aguascalientes, which means “hot waters”, was given its name for the many hot springs in the area.
Colonized by the Spanish, Aguascalientes is known for its history of winemaking, impressive architecture, European heritage, and for hosting Mexico’s largest and oldest fair (San Marcos Fair).
Aguascalientes is Mexico’s top producer of guayaba (guava fruit).

5. Aguascalientes - Stop 1 Vinícola de Aguascalientes
“This whole land breathes and lives,” he said, sweeping his arm toward the distant mountains that guarded them. “It gives us the grapes and then they welcome us.” He gently touched a wild tendril that reached into the row, as if it had been waiting to shake his hand.
Our visit to a working winery will teach us how people make a living harvesting grapes and making wine.
Esperanza lives with her parents in a vineyard. Each year Esperanza is given the honor of being the first one to cut the grapes from the vine.

6. Aguascalientes - Stop 2 ¡Tamboras!
Watch a traditional Mexican dance and music performance.
Enjoy a Snack: Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus flower punch) and Flan de Guayaba (Guava Flan).
Los Madrugadores
“Las Pajamas”
Most popular Mexican-American band in California in the 1930s

7. Aguascalientes - Stop 3 San Marcos Fair
Discover the beautiful architecture of this 400-year-old colonial city.
Watch live performances including a charreada (rodeo).
Sample some of Mexico’s delicious foods.

8. When Esperanza’s father is killed by bandits, she finds herself on a long journey away from her evil uncles and the only place she has ever called home.
Esperanza and her mother are hidden in a wagon and travel from Aguascalientes to the train station in Zacatecas (about 90 km.)

9. The wagon jostled them now as it hit a hole in the road
The wagon jostled them now as it hit a hole in the road. Esperanza wished she could get to Zacatecas as fast as she had that day on the train…but this time she was buried beneath a mountain of guavas and could not wave to anyone. There was no comfort. And there was no Papa.

10. Zacatecas - Stop 4 Train Station
Sit in a railroad car and discover what the trip from Mexico to California was like for Esperanza.
Learn how the Zacatecas Train Station has changed from the 1930s to the present.
The locomotive arrived pulling a line of cars and hissing and spewing steam. But they did not board the fancy car with the compartments and leather seats or the dining car with the white linens. Instead, Alfonso led them to a car with rows of wooden benches, like church pews facing each other, already crowded with peasants.

11. After boarding the train, Esperanza and her mother travel almost 2,000 kilometers from Zacatecas to Los Angeles, CA.
For hours, Esperanza watched the undulating land pass in front of her. Everything seemed to remind her of what she had left behind…

12. Los Angeles – Stop 5 Pensameintos De Mi Tierra James Olmos Latino Book Festival
Aguascalientes Doll
Learn about the Mexican-Mestizo heritage from Petra Espinoza Rosales as she shares her work as an artist to create porcelain dolls that represent the thirty-two states of Mexico.
Esperanza opened her valise to check on the doll, lifting it out and straightening her clothes. The barefoot peasant girl ran over.
“Mona,” she said, and reached up to touch the doll. Esperanza quickly jerked it away…

13. Journey from Los Angeles to San Joaquin Valley
They were heading down a steep grade on Highway 99 when Isabel said, “Look!”
Esperanza leaned around the side of the truck. As they rounded a curve, it appeared as if the mountains pulled away from each other…revealing the San Joaquin Valley.

14. Esperanza arrives at her new home in the San Joaquin Valley
[The cabins] reminded Esperanza more of the horse stalls on the ranch than of a place for people to live.
A Mexican Migrant Worker Camp
circa 1935

15. Life at Farming Camps
Esperanza was amazed. She had never washed anything in her life and Isabel, who was only eight years old, made it look so easy.
Imperial Valley - ”People in Camps” by Dorothea Lange
Collection of the Oakland Museum of California

16. Arvin - Stop 6 Weedpatch Camp
Explore the historic section of the camp with its original buildings, a library, and The Dust Bowl Collection of artifacts.
What was it like for Esperanza to live in one of these cabins?
What types of things did the workers do while living in these camps?
This Federal Government Camp was settled by “Okies” fleeing the drought and devastation of The Dust Bowl
Steinbeck visited this camp when writing The Grapes of Wrath.
This camp is still used today by migrant workers.

17. The Dust Bowl While visiting Weedpatch, learn about The Dust Bowl:
How poor agricultural practices contributed
How it impacted American migration to California
What this meant for Mexican immigrants like Esperanza (forced deportation)
Its impact on The Great Depression

18. Valley Fever
“When the doctor finally came out, he looked grim…”[Mama] has Valley Fever.”
What does that mean?” asked Esperanza.
“It’s a disease of the lungs that is causes by dust spores. Sometimes when people move to this area and aren’t used to the air here, the dust spores get into their lungs and cause an infection.”
At the camp, learn how Valley Fever affects people in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
It is estimated that there are about 150,000 infections in the southwestern U.S. each year. In a small percentage, the illness is potentially lethal.

19. Fresno - Stop 7 Arte Americas
Arte Américas was founded in 1987 by artists and teachers to "make the Central Valley a flourishing place for Latino arts."
Explore the arts of Mexico , Latin America and the Southwest in the "house of culture," una casa de cultura. Bienvenidos a nuestra casa.
Esperanza smiled and reached over and gently pulled the yarn, unraveling the uneven stitches. Then she looked into Isabel’s eyes and said, “Do not ever be afraid to start over.”

20. When Esperanza told Abuelita their story…she didn’t measure time by the usual seasons. Instead, she told it as a field worker, in spans of fruits and vegetables.

21. Fresno - Stop 8 Vallarta Supermarket
Discover the types of foods available in a Mexican grocery store.
“Some of the other market owners aren’t as kind to Mexicans…
he treats us like people.”
Scavenger Hunt!
With a shopping list and a Spanish/English Dictionary, teams will explore this grocery store in search of items like “uvas” and “aguacates.”
Lunch will follow at the Taqueria. Click this link to view menu.

22. Sacramento - Final Stop The California Museum
Visit the exhibit entitled “Latinas: The spirit of California” to discover the achievements of Latinas who helped shape California.
How did Esperanza, her family, and the other families at the camp help to make California what it is today?

23. Hope Rising
“Look at the zigzag of the blanket. Mountains and valleys. Right now you are at the bottom of the valley and your problems loom big around you. But soon, you will be at the top of a mountain again.”
Thank you for traveling over many mountains and valleys with us to explore Esperanza Rising.