First Day of Orientation

Orientation Day at UT Austin

We spent today at the University of Texas in Austin in the Latin American Studies Building. We had the opportunity to hear 4 different presentations. My favorites were learning more about the history of Mexico and having a tour of the Latin American Library along with viewing of some of the rare special collection materials housed there. Here are some pictures of the amazing historical documents and maps archived in this library.

This is a lithograph by the artist Carmen Lomas Garza. She has written and illustrated a couple of children's books that depict day to day life. I have read and shared her books with several of my classes over the years. What I found interesting about this picture was that it was of a situation that would never make it into any children's book.

This is a map of a Mexican village from around 1580ish that not only depicts the geography of an area but also was used to show the genealogy of the community. I love the way the artist illustrated the river.

This is one of the most important maps from the new world. It is also from around 1580. The red boarders show the different community boundaries.

Both of this maps are illustrated answers to a questionnaire that was sent from Spain to be answered by the different Spanish controlled communities. 1557-1575

This is a document signed by Cortez

This is a final memoir written by Santa Ana and on these pages it talks about the Alamo.

This is one of the first books publish in the new world. It is a 3rd edition of a dictionary. Very Cool!

This is a much more recent-Mexican movie posters.

Overall-- as you can tell, seeing the special collections in the library was my very favorite part of the day! I can't wait to see what we learn tomorrow.