We
went to the Tesoro Cultural Center as a class for IS 201. The whole place was really neat. There were several little shops,
booths, and even a tipi. A couple
of my roommates got their faces painted with designs Native American women
would have worn in that time period.
The artifacts in the tipi were very interesting. It’s so hard for me to imagine only
living off the land and having to use animal parts and other natural objects
for everything from clothing to tools.
On the other side of the fort there were several booths set up. Each one was selling a different type
of art or jewelry. Their pieces
were so original! I had never seen anything similar to any of them. The Spanish style is so unique and
colorful. Most of the pieces were
a tad pricey for my college student budget, but if I had the money I would have
bought several items. One of my
favorite parts of the trip was watching the flamenco dancing. The guitar and percussion instruments
had to maintain a complex rhythmic beat while keeping up with the pace of the
dancer. Her beautiful costume was
an authentic flamenco dress with a bright pink design on the skirt. Her feet seem to be moving a mile a
minute. She must have to practice
very frequently to stay in such great shape. We also listened to a real cowboy talk about his experiences
with being on the range and dealing with the other cowboys. He had told some pretty fun
stories. We even got a picture
with him. While browsing around
the authentic clothing, a couple of us had a conversation with the man who
handmade everything he was selling.
He said that he has been making his living creating these items for 45
years. He definitely knew what he
was doing. He also told us how
long it took him to make some of the pieces. Some simple pieces took only a day, whereas other more complicated
pieces could take up to eight days to finish. That’s a lot of work, but it was obvious
that he loved what he did. Overall,
I think we had a wonderful time being immersed in this vibrant culture.
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