Nuestros Colores

Since the beginning of the year, my second grade POP class has been working on a literacy through photography project to explore our cultures and celebrate diversity. Our project is called Nuestros Colores, Our Colors.

Our goal is to create visual poetry on E 138th street through the students’ art and writing. One of my students ended her essay asking, “And what is your color of self?” The beauty of this type of project is that these images will not be confined to the walls of a gallery but will return to and be viewed where they were generated. These portraits were not only taken in the community but will return to the community- to the exact store window in some cases where the food was purchased for the photograph. The images will be displayed within a block of the school in hopes that this public accessibility will not only give the students, their care givers and the store owners a sense of pride for their “colors, foods, community and culture” but will awaken a youthful curiosity within the local members of the community and deep reflection on the message presented will be a result.

We hope you enjoy our project. It has been a creative way to explore issues of self-concept and diversity while appreciating our cultures and the resources we have in our South Bronx community.

Pedagogy of Photography Exhibit

Come see our exhibit on East 138th Street between Willis and Alexander Avenues- off the 6 Train in the South Bronx. The student's work is exhibited at Pioneer Super Market, The Bronx Fish Market, Pizza & Taco Restaurant, Tropical Resturant, El Rinconcito Mexicano & Ceilito Lindo Restaurants!

Community Exhibit/ Publishing Party Pictures

Our end of the year photography exhibit, publishing party and community walk were a great success! We had very proud students, parents and community members. Everyone appreciated the accessible art exhibit we created in the store windows in the community!

A Year In Review

We spent a school year discovering the diversity of ourselves and community which included self reflections, community mapping, writing about and painting our colors.

Yo Soy Pan de Platano

My Skin Color is Like Banana Muffin

By Leazah

I chose banana bread as my skin color for the community walk but we did not find banana bread so we chose a banana muffin at a place called Tropical Resturant. We were taking pictures with our food. My mom helped me find my recipe for banana bread. My mom makes it at our house. I like to taste it. Banana bread tastes delicious. It is smooth like a pillow.

Yo Soy Un Mango Batido

What is photography?

Photogrpahy is when you take a picture. When i was little my big bother put a ppicture of in eassbinng time. It was when i i fell down and i didt like it . The picture is at home. Why did he take the picture when nobody thinks itis funny?

Yo Soy Un Batido
Isnael


The walk felt really exciting. The mango batito was my color because my skin is light like my Mom. My mother told me a story about where she lived in Puerto Rico. I was there in 2001 when I was a baby when we switched back to Puert 0 Rico. The mango tastes sweet . My mom MIX IT with cinnamon and a bit of vanilla too. It has sweet stuff inside and it is light colored. I know this because my mom use to make batito. It was great to come to the community walk. Learning about our color and tryinh different foods made me feel like learning about my culture. I like school because it has taught me many things about myself.
My favorite part of the trip was when I tooked a picture in front of the police car and of the store. What is your favorite picture?

Yo Soy "Jamaican Dumplings"

Photography by Rosemarie

My farvite picture is when I was a baby and I had on a liittle blue
baby clother with a little bear on it I was playing with my sister and my borther my eyes were big I looked cute that was my farvite baby picture.I love the picture because I like how my eyes looked when my mom took my picture I was in my crab in my apartment. I was excited. Why was I excited? Because it was my frist time I got my frist picture take.


Jamaica Dumplings by Rosemarie



I chose dumplings because I think dumplings are the color of my skin. 
I chose them because they come from my country Jamaica.
I eat them with soup. They taste sweet like the sauce on the dumplings.
We bought Chinese dumplings because we could not find Jamaican dumplings on the community walk. It was very hot when we took pictures. It was very bright and the sun hurt my eyes. My feet were also burnt from the sun because I wore sandals. I wonder how it would have felt to pick my color when it was cold? Actually I think it would have been hard because it might have been windy and dirt would be flying everywhere. I
would have worn more cothes to keep me warm. I am glad I took my picture when it was sunny because it was easier to find dumplings in soup that were just like my color.

Yo Soy Horchata

Photography- By Nelson

You can take a photo of a proson and a Creature. I took a photo of my sister sleeping and waereing` a mud mask and Eating` chocolate. My sister got vary mad because its` emberosin when someone takes` a photo of you eating but this is still my Favorite photograph.

Yo Soy Horchata By Nelson

I chose HORCHATA because my mom is from Mexico. HORCHATA is made in MEXICO and my mom made me some at home. Horchata is a cold drink and it represents my skin color. Horchata is like a milk color. Horchata does have rice but it taste like milk and its refreshing for Summer days.

Yo Soy "Skittles"

What is Photography

The phy at the end of the word reminds me of Daffy Duck from looney toons.the word photography has two words in it photo and graph.i use to be working on graphs in math.photogrphy is when you take pictures of things.pictures of stuff.pictures help people because pictures bring back memories to people.I like photos because you can look at them any time.and when your stressed out pictures can relax you so you can be calm you can take pictures of; the statue of liberty, a pizza pie,a recipe,a cat,a book,a dog,a baby,a house,a car, and a motercycle.




Learning our colors & Community walk. By Masai.

I learned that learning our colors is very hard because you have to mix alot of colors and have to have the right colors. What I learned on the community walk was to get the food we chose. We chose our food at the begening of the year.I chose skittles, Stacia chose fish her type of fish was whitning fish. Sheyann picked a dounut with chocalate frosting & sprinkles . I chose skittles because they have a dark brown one. Stacia picked fish because it reminded her of her grandmother. It reminded her of her grandmother because she tricked Stacia and said it was chicken. Sheyann picked a dounut because she likes chocalate. We all had fun.

Yo Soy "Franks and Beans"

What is Photography by Davion

Photography is when somEone takes a picture of something and sometime he or she puts the pictures on the computer and people can look at them. i have some pictures of my house any I was smiling i look the same. it was a pictures of my face on christmas. I do not have a lot of pictures but some people do. I do not take a lot of pictures i take a little. on my computer it is fun to take pictures of people and things.

My Community

I picked franks and beans because they are like the outside of my skin. Every time I see franks and beans they make me want to lick my fingers and suck my thumb. My auntie makes them for me. She makes franks and beans for me at my house. She makes them on the stove.

i Live in the Bronx. Around my block it is crazy. I am a little crazy but i’m still good. My block is crazy because people stab and shoot each other. My mom's boyfriend's cousin was shot. His name was Shon Bell. Also someone around my block threw theie baby away in the incinerator.

I like my communitity because I have a big family and I play football here. On my community walk I went to the corner store and my teacher bought franks and beans. My aunt cooked them for me. When she made them they tasted good, so good every time I lick my lips and suck my thumb.

Yo Soy Una Chuleta

What is Photograohy

Photograohy is in portan to me because it brings bake memores that patess away. I love a pictrure of my Dad because he lives in another place. It brings me joy to see his picture. My dad’s picture is special because I love him. The people said I look like him.And it feel good because I love him.



Ribs

The ribs are my family’s favorite. My mom’s dad makes good ribs. My great great grandma taught my mom’s dad how to make ribs. Ribs taste hot and good like my great great grandmothers recipe. Ribs are like the color of my skin because they are dark brown.

Yo Soy Una Torta

Pictures by Juan

I know about pictures. They are like photograpthS with Lot of
Color. There are pictures of eyeballs. They Look perfect . There are pictuers at the beach and at the pool and at Central Park where there are boats . Do you know central park ? It is awesome plues to take pictures there with my little boat MR BOOZE. HE IS FASTER THAn everyone ELSES BOAT.` `






TORTA MAN by Juan


I choose Torta a type of hamburger in Mexico to represent my skin color my mom and dad came from mexico in an airplane when I was a baby in my mommys stomach. There is meat, salad and cojoles in a torta. Cojoles is the best food I have ever heard of because it is deliciouss. When I bite into it I feel l ike a Torta man who throws tortas at everybody. Torta man to the rescue!

Yo Soy Un Bistec

Learning our colors

By Lamar

The meat that I saw was steak. When I cook the steak it was black and a little brown. I picked steak because the steak was the color of my skin when it was cooked and my family likes to eat steak. When the steak was cooked it was almost the color of my skin, I went to the super market and we went inside were they cut the meat it smelled stinky like meat. It felt good when I colored my skin because when I colored my face I color the steak the same way . The steak tasted fabulous.

Yo Soy Tostones

Pictures

Photography is pictures.I like to smile in pictures. I also like to make a shakira pose in my photos. I look beautiful. I t makes me feel happy because I like photography. The most photo I think of is the photo where I look like a princess. It makes me feel like dancing.

Draft

Hi, my name is Syra and I was born in Portowerko. When I whent on the c amunaty walk with Ms.Katie, I ate tho thones. That is my family’s faverite food. We eat it in Portowerckow because my Mom ate them there when she was a little girl. My skin is like the color of thothones, light and pretty. Thothones are yamy and crunchy. I eat them with rice and beans and pork chops. Excellent!

Final

Hi, my name is Syra and I was born in Puerto Rico. When I whent on the community walk with Ms.Katie, I ate tostones. That is my family’s favorite food. We eat it in Puerto Rico because my Mom ate them there when she was a little girl. My skin is like the color of tostones, light and pretty. Tostones are yummy and crunchy. I eat them with rice and beans and pork chops. Excellent!

Yo Soy Flan

By Alexis 6-5-07

I know about photographers.

They take pictures and when you press
the button the flash comes

out. People take the pictures. When I
had my pictures taken I was

the Puerto Rico queen. I think I Look
pretty and Beautiful and I was

in the newspaper. I have a papa that he is special

to me. One day my papa went to the store

and when he went inside

he saw the newspaper. He took the

newspaper and he cut pictures out

and put it in a frame. When i pass by

it every day it makes me feels special

because my papa died. I Love he

and he is special to me too.




Making Flan

By Alexis Hernandez


My mommy makes flan and

My family like it. It tastes

Really good. The juice tastes

Like honey and the flan

Tastes like cake but it

Has more juice and it is

Softer too. Flan is so good

I could eat it every day.

It feels like a cloud in my

Mouth. You know how clouds

Are soft and you can go

Through them. It feels like

That a little to me when i

Eat flan. Does your family

Like flan too and are you

Purto Rican too?

Yo Soy Avena

Photography is a passion. A passion that makes you yourself. When you want to do it don't let anybody stop you from doing what you like to do. Take for instance Miss Katie she likes to take photos / be a photographer but,she needs something to take pictures of. So, she takes pictures of room 2-305. I like photography because it makes me feel happy and yesterday I took pictures at my sister's violin concert . My dad taught me how to take pictures of his storage house. I have a favorite picture at home of me at Holloween when I was three years old dressed up as an angel. I like the picture because I looked cute. I was laughing and it is a memory.


THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



-Valerie Ann Cruz.



Why I choose Oatmeal?




I choose Oatmeal because it is my skin color.I also choose Oatmeal because I eat it everyday for breakfast. I really like to eat Oatmeal.


I like to eat Oatmeal because it reminds me of my great, great grandma that passed away when I was in kindergarten,2004. Her name is abuela Mimi. She liked to eat Oatmeal. She came from Puerto Rico. She moved to NY close to my titi. My titi moved . Later on, abuela Mimi died. Her husband died 3 weeks later. My mom now makes me Oatmeal everyday.



The End!!!!




-Valerie Ann Cruz : )

Yo Soy Un Helado

Photography is when you take picture’s. of the food of your skin color like briana’s skin. Her skin is a cream color and she picked a taco and the taco was the same color so that’s why she picked it.
My favorite picture is when a man took a picture of me and the chocolate ice cream sundae. It make me feel hopeful because my wish came true.


Do you know why I choose Ice Cream? I chose ice cream because it is my color. That’s why I chose it and also because my mom takes me to get ice cream every day. I like to eat ice cream because it reminds me of my grandma because she passed away and I miss her very much. She lived in Puerto Rico. My mom took me to my grandma’s house and my grandma had ice cream in her fridge and she gave me some. It was vanilla and chocolate strawberry ice –cream. It tasted like a delightful milkshake.

This story is by quianna 6-11-07

Yo Soy Arroz y Habichuelas

Kiara

My mom and me like to take pictures.


You know what my mom and me like to do? We like taking pictures. I like
taking animal pictures. And my mom
likes taking picture of peapil.

I have a picture of my mom. I like the picture because it is new. She is 27 years old. She had a short skirt and a long shirt.

My mom likes to see pictures too and she likes to paint it also like we do in the classroom. One time I was in a party. and she wanted to take all the pitchers.

What does my mom do with the pictures? She collects them and put them in the wall.

My trip to the community walk

By Kiara

In my community walk I saw my grandmas building. She was not there. She went to Florida and I miss her but she is coming back.

Next we saw Jesus’s mother and father. They gave Alexis, Briana, Jesus and me atole and tamales. They taste like crema, the food that we eat when we wake up.

Then we went to a shop. It was called Pioneer. We bought
rice and beans. My teacher took a pictures of me standing with the rice and beans at my grandma’s buildng. I chose to take the picture at my grandma’s building because the color of my skin is Puerto Rican food and my grandma is from Puerto Rico. I eat rice and beans from Puerto Rico too. and I am Puerto Rican. . My teacher took the picture and we had fun.

Also we went to the park. My teacher took a picture of us sliding on the slide. And we ate our tamales too. Jesus said the tamales had raisins , sugar and
no meat in it. The red one tasted like candy.