UNews - Mexico City

Canadian, Mexican universities converge for Aboriginal round table

trevor.kenney — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:18:40 +0000

Nine Canadian universities and eight indigenous universities in Mexico will together focus on improving Aboriginal educational experiences and research collaborations during a one-day round table meeting at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge on June 22, 2013.

Building on the momentum of a similar meeting held in Mexico City in March 2012, university presidents, Aboriginal advisors and elders will move forward initiatives pertaining to student mobility, research collaboration and community engagement as it relates to Aboriginal higher education.

"Continued dialogue between Canadian and Mexican universities about best practices and increased collaboration will serve the needs of students in both of our countries," says Dr. Brian Stevenson, president of Lakehead ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. "Removing barriers for Aboriginal students is a shared goal of all participants and this round table will help institutions in both countries make important progress in this critical area."

For the past 10 years, the federal and state governments in Mexico have partnered to create a number of regional universities, called Intercultural Universities, to improve post-secondary access to indigenous peoples. For decades now Canadian universities have also worked to increase access for Aboriginal students and to improve outreach to Aboriginal communities.

At the conclusion of the inaugural meeting between the Intercultural Universities and 10 Canadian Institutions in Mexico last year, Canadian and Mexican university presidents committed to both bilateral and consortium level partnerships to promote student and faculty mobility, joint research initiatives and cultural exchanges. Agreement was reached at that time to host a second meeting in Canada.

"The U of L is excited to host and participate in this important meeting," says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon. "The U of L has long recognized the important role it must play in creating access for Aboriginal post-secondary students and this round table will certainly help us shape future directions and initiatives."

Federal, provincial, municipal and Aboriginal representatives have been invited to participate in some of the sessions.

In addition to the one-day round table, and to celebrate National Aboriginal Day in Canada on June 21, participants from both countries will participate in a series of cultural activities to broaden the understanding of Alberta's Aboriginal communities. This will include visiting the Kainai and Piikani First Nations communities and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Residency opportunities a part of international pact

trevor.kenney — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:33:23 +0000

The doors to international exchanges have been opened wide with the recent signing of agreements between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Fine Arts, the Centro Nacional de Las Artes (CENART) in Mexico and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's (RMIT) School of Art.

"These accords set in place an agreement and a process for faculty artists from across the Faculty of Fine Arts' disciplines – visual art, drama, new media and music – to participate in residency exchange programs with artists from Australia and Mexico," says Dr. Desmond Rochfort, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Fine Arts dean. "Likewise, the accords provide opportunities for artists from Mexico and Australia to work and study in Lethbridge on a residency."

The agreement with Mexico's CENART, signed in November by Roberto Vázquez Díaz, Director General of CENART and Rochfort at a ceremony in Mexico City, provides opportunities for creative residencies in the National Centre's headquarters in Mexico City, as well as in its 15 satellite locations throughout the country. Three additional satellites are also in the process of being developed.

A major strategic investment in culture and the arts by the Mexican government has made these centres into major arts training and cultural facilities. They are designed to focus on creative arts education and research, as well as bring together artists from a variety of creative disciplines and different countries in an environment that combines tradition and the latest technologies.

The Australian residency exchange agreement has a more narrow focus.

"The agreement with the Artists International Residency program at RMIT provides residency opportunities for visual artists and new media artists from the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts," says Rochfort. "The accord also provides opportunities for artists from Australia to come to Lethbridge for a creative residency here."

"Both agreements are important strategic initiatives by the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts to broaden opportunities for international exchange in the field of the creative arts," he says. "Artist exchanges provide opportunities for both creative collaboration and interdisciplinary work as well as the opportunity to work in the context of a different culture."

According to Rochfort, another important component of both agreements is the development of exchanges among Aboriginal, Indigenous and First Nations artists in Australia, Canada and Mexico.

This story originally appeared in the Legend. For a look at the full issue of the December Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Residency a part of recent international pact

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:54:09 +0000

The Australian residency exchange agreement has a more narrow focus.

According to Rochfort, another important component of both agreements is the development of exchanges among Aboriginal, Indigenous and First Nations artists in Australia, Canada and Mexico.

For a look at the full issue of the December Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Lasting Impressions

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:57:33 +0000

Academic, artist, author and world traveller, Dr. Hiroshi Shimazaki is widely known for his watercolour landscape paintings. Shimazaki's career at the U of L in management and human geography allowed him to incorporate his passion for travel and painting into his life journey.

While working on research projects around the world, he has always recorded his excursions through sketches and paintings.

Here, in his own words, he recalls a trip with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Bill Cade and wife, Elsa. Fondly remembering that time and commissioned by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Shimazaki painted Solid Foundations as a parting gift for the couple from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

I wanted the subject of the watercolour to be a place with which Bill and Elsa connected through their work with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, and to reflect their long-standing interest in native cultures and their personal ties. In discussion of its subject matter with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, several choices presented themselves, all familiar landscapes: the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge environs including Waterton National Park, a Kainai site or some other place. What I ultimately chose was Xochimilco (flower field place) at the outskirts of Mexico City, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Xochimilco's history is long and, of course, complex, but what speaks to me in relation to what Bill and Elsa have done for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ these past 10 years is the development of "chinampa" in this area. This agricultural practice enabled the inhabitants to utilize the shallow lake to grow crops and thereby sustain a civilization. The foundation for the crops was created by placing large reed mats on the water, covering them with a thick layer of mud taken from the lake bottom and planting fast-growing trees that put down deep roots to anchor them. Centuries later the chinampa are now solid land crisscrossed by canals like the one in the painting. Families and tourists enjoy music and food on the "trajineras," the colourful boats that ply the canals. The title of the painting, Solid Foundations, speaks not only to the Xochimilco landscape but also to the Cades' innovative, unswerving efforts to strengthen the internal and external foundations of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, with outstanding results.

Solid Foundations, Xochimilco, Mexico City. Hiroshi Shimazaki.

The original sketch of this waterscape was created in 2002, the year the Cades, Ali Dastmalchian (then-dean of the Faculty of Management) and I visited Universidad Panamericana (UP) and Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (IPADE) in Mexico City, and UP's Guadalajara and Aguascalientes (Universidad Bonaterra) campuses to renew the Faculty of Management's first international exchange program agreement. I have wonderful memories of that trip, especially the opportunity it presented for me to get to know both Bill and Elsa better and, of course, the incredible introduction they gave me to the world of crickets as we listened to their love songs on the Aguascalientes campus.

To view the entire issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Summer program a Spanish expedition

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:10:23 +0000

This May, Luz Ospina, academic assistant, Department of Modern Languages, will accompany 11 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students as they immerse themselves in the language and culture of Mexico City as part of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's pilot Spanish summer immersion program.

"Currently we offer a minor in Spanish, but we are in the process of developing a Spanish major. The six-credit immersion course came about because of that. We were also trying to create a relatively easy and efficient way for students to acquire oral fluency in the language," says Dr. Raquel Trillia, who teaches Spanish in the Modern Languages Department. "Immersion makes it much simpler. It is more natural."

The International Centre for Students (ICS) has played a major role in getting the program off the ground.

"The professors of modern languages came to us with the idea of doing an immersion program and asked for assistance finding a Spanish speaking university," explains Laura Ferguson, co-ordinator, International Programs and Exchange for ICS. "We have a long-standing exchange agreement with the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City so we were able to use our contacts there and partner with them on the program."

Students, who must complete Spanish 1100 prior to leaving for Mexico City, will spend six weeks living with Mexican families. Monday to Thursday mornings, they will attend Spanish language classes at the university, studying all aspects of learning a language, including pronunciation, conversation, reading and writing. In the afternoons, they will be involved in various activities that will expose them to Mexican culture, art and history. They will also participate in guided field trips to enrich the cultural experience. The great bonus is that students will be continually immersed in the language: shopping, cooking, interacting with their hosts and learning about the culture through everyday experience.

"I would expect that the workload will be intense; they will be required to write papers and do presentations, and from that the students should achieve greater oral proficiency," says Trillia. "Students who come back to our classrooms having lived this experience are going to enrich our Spanish program. We are hopeful that this program will be successful and that we will be able to continue to run it in the future."

Evelyn Peters is one of the 11 students going to Mexico City.

"This is an awesome opportunity to learn the Spanish language hands-on. I expect to pick up the language much more quickly and have a better understanding of, not only the language, but also the culture," she says. "I plan to graduate with a BEd in Modern Languages. I will feel much better equipped to do this after spending time immersed in the language. I am very grateful for this opportunity. Vamos a Mexico!"

For more information, contact the Department of Modern Languages or the ICS, or send an e-mail to raquel.trillia@uleth.ca or laura.ferguson2@uleth.ca.

Aguilar headlines International Dinner lineup

trevor.kenney — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:26:10 +0000

Mexican exchange student Cesar Aguilar came to Canada under inconspicuous pretence – he just wanted to learn English. When he opened his mouth however, everyone quickly took notice.

Blessed with a singing voice as melodic and pure as it is unique, the 18-year-old first-year ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge music student will highlight the ethnic entertainment at the 17th Annual International Dinner, Feb. 12 in the U of L Atrium.

Aguilar has been in Canada since September 2006, turning what was a planned six-month stay into a now burgeoning career as a classical vocalist. He initially shuffled between Sundre and Olds, Alta. as a foreign exchange student who was supposed to spend one semester learning English and Canadian customs. It turned out he liked the Alberta way and decided to stay. He also let us in on a secret – his voice.

"I used to sing a lot and I would sing traditional Mexican music, what they call ranchera," Aguilar says of his childhood in Cuernavaca, Morelos, a city of approximately 400,000 people just 45 minutes south of Mexico City. "I would be all dressed up like this charro with a big sombrero, and I just loved it."

His vocal styling at that time was in a low pitch he used to imitate other popular singers, but under the tutelage of a Mexican teacher, he was encouraged to sing in his natural pitch, which was considerably higher. His sound would mature over time, but as he went through a natural voice change, he somehow maintained a high pitch in his singing. Now he trains as a counter-tenor, an exceedingly rare gift.

"At the beginning, you can see people's reaction when I perform, the looks on their faces," Aguilar says. "I talk low, but then when I start singing high, people aren't sure what they are listening to."

U of L music professor Blaine Hendsbee knew what he was hearing when he adjudicated Aguilar in a 2007 Kiwanis Music Festival. The two struck a chord and it eventually led to Aguilar coming to the U of L.

"I loved how he adjudicated me," says Aguilar. "I asked him at the end, are there universities here in Canada where you would suggest to pursue my singing?
"He told me of several that are good and have very good music programs but I found they are also very expensive. I had heard the U of L was very good and the only person I really knew was Blaine and the cost of the university was so much better I decided to try and go here."

Having completed his first semester, Aguilar is making the most of his U of L experience. He sang with Vox Musica prior to Christmas and is currently performing with the U of L Singers. All the while he continues to train in opera, knowing full well there are few parts written for counter-tenors.

"For tenors and baritones there is a lot of chances to get into the classic operas," he says. "For counter-tenors it's really hard because you are reduced to a certain narrow repertoire, from the Baroque mainly."

Still, it does not dissuade him from his goal, to be a performance artist.

"I want to go as far as I can in performance," Aguilar says. "I do not need to be rich, it's mainly about enjoying what I do. If you are going to pay me enough to live, then that's fine. I want to travel around and sing."

GET THE FACTS

• Aguilar has already recorded three CDs, including an English recording last summer of Canadian gospel songs he learned while living in Olds

• His mother arranges international student exchanges and has been to Canada to visit Aguilar

• Aguilar distinctly remembers seeing snow for the first time, Sept. 15, 2006, while he was living in Sundre

• Other performances at the International Dinner include belly dancing by Ammena Dance Company, the U of L Global Drums and Japan's Makoto Sakurada

UNews - Mexico City

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