Two Week Spanish Intensive:
When My Tongue is More Problem Than Tool

August 14th to 21st
Marfa, Texas
Two levels: Beginning and Intermediate

Teachers:

Rocio Salceda Rodriguez, artist, Barcelona/New York City, Anhoek teacher in NYC.
TBA

"Sometimes language is more problem than tool" states Fernand Deligny when speaking of his own pedagogical investigations.

In Marfa, Texas, sixty miles from the Mexican border, students will develop their language skills, in this instance Spanish, even as they simultaneously uncover and disavow the power structures (in regards to gender and militarism) that inform the vocabulary and grammar.

Moreover, Spanish for home visits and future business trips is generally the functional framework of a Spanish language course. The content of these daily 4 hour Spanish lessons intends to displace the mainstream consumer framework of language acquisition. Instead of starting with the question of where to shop we can begin with "donde esta la policia?" We can continue by dissecting the lyrics of narcocorridos, or discussing why nary a copy of Gloria Anzaldua's La Frontera/Borderlands shows up on, well, La Frontera.

Each evening, students will attend outdoor screenings of films and videos in Spanish, ranging from the 60's cult genre of Mexican lesbian vampire horror films to Eisenstein's Viva La Mexico, from Rocio Salgeda Rodriguez's Franco era home movies to contemporary art videos.

These screenings are open to the public and hosted by El Cosmico.

Classes will be broadcast live via shortwave so that anyone in the community can listen in and participate at home or work.

Daily Schedule:

9-1 Class at El Cosmico
1-7 Free time/ Solo study
7-8 Partner study
8-10:30 Screenings at El Cosmico

We will aim for an equal number of local and visiting participants.