Hobbies And Interests
Latin-American Cooking Contest
Set up a cooking contest in which each person will prepare a dish that is popular in a particular country in Latin America. Supply each contestant with the necessary ingredients and then allow the contestants an hour to fix their meals. Judge each dish and award the top two winners a basket of Latin-American snacks.
Mock Telenovelas
Telenovelas are melodramatic serials shown during prime time on Latin American television. They are similar to soap operas and the themes deal with issues centered around class, race and gender relations in Latin America, as well as political topics. Have your guests divide into groups of three and assign each group a scenario in Spanish for them to act out in a skit. After the skits are finished, hold informal conversations on how these skits portray real life issues in Latin America and whether they are accurate or not.
Book Discussions
Act as the facilitator of a book discussion group and assign each of your members two books to read that deal with Latin American history and culture. Ask each member to write two short reports on the books they have read. In the reports, the members should examine the authors' main arguments, what the arguments' weaknesses and strengths are and what these books contribute to an understanding of Latin America.
Latin Dance Party
Another idea is to hold a Latin dance party for friends and relatives. You can play CDs that include music from various Latin American countries and have the guests bring some Latin-inspired snacks to the party. For decorations, visit some local party supplies stores and seek out colorful plates, glasses and a tablecloth with vibrant colors such as red, orange, green, pink and yellow. Play some trivia games with Latin-American themes.