PROYECTO EXTREMADURA DAY in BURGUILLOS DEL CERRO

Continuing our visit to Spain from last week:
March 19, 2015 : Today we arrived at Burguillos del Cerro.

     Proyecto Extremadura began two years ago with Burguillos del Cerro and students from Pershing Middle School being the foundation of it. Burguillos was, and continues to be the first town where our pen-pal correspondences began. We added the tree-planting and ecological aspect to enhance our visit as our project evolved.
During the project development, Antonio Requejo, native to Burguillos was my liaison to the school, teachers and citizens of his town. It was through him that the tree-planting took hold with the assistance of the Ayuntamiento and the Mayor.
It was therefore fitting to ask our Mayor of Houston, The Honorable Annise Parker, to acknowledge their contribution for their involvement and our tree-planting, as a bond to forever seal our friendships between Houston, Texas and Burguillos del Cerro, Spain.
Mayor Parker and her office of International Affairs felt a proclamation would better represent our hard work and dedication to the cultural, heritage, language and ecological awareness of the project.

     Upon our arrival in Burguillos, we met city officials and our pen-pals at the plaza. After greeting officials, students and teachers, we walked towards the ayuntamiento, or city hall.  A welcoming speech was made by the Mayor's assistant, Ms. Carmen Timon Lozano, and I presented the city and its citizens the proclamation from Houston.

The closing paragraphs of the proclamation read:
"WHEREAS, the City of Houston commends the faculty and students who have participated in Proyecto Extremadura for their dedication to cultural education and environmental awareness.

 "THEREFORE, I, Anisse D. Parker, Mayor of the City of Houston, herby proclaim MARCH 19, 2015, as

PROYECTO EXTREMADURA DAY

in Houston, Texas."                                           

*Signed and officially sealed on march 5, 2015

     After the presentation, each member of my group was given a memento from the city. We left city hall and began our tour around Burguillos, led by Antonio.
     All the while, the students were eager to continue their conversations and meet the other students from Matias R. Martinez School. The students were laughing, smiling and using Spanish and English to get to know more about their friends. Most of my students had been anticipating this meeting for months. It was such a warm and beautiful experience when I saw how all of them were getting along very well!

Antonio at Zafra Street Cross.

     On our tour of the town, our first stop was the entrance cross on Zafra street, where the old road to Zafra and a Roman road still exists. Antonio then led the group towards the Plaza Alta and further explained the history and heritage of the area. After that, we made our way toward the castle foothills. Although part of the castle was made during the Muslim conquest, the Knights Templar reconstructed the one that still stands today.

     While in the area, we went into the Church of Santa Maria de Encina (13th Century), vital to the Templars and to the village. Nearby, we then visited the Church of San Juan Bautista, an ancient sacred site, of which has now been converted to a Research Cultural Center and Templar exhibit. While at the Templar exhibit, we learned about the involvement of the knights in Burguillos and Extremadura. We also saw and gained knowledge about the life and history of the Templars.
 


    Our last stop was at the outskirts of Burguillos where we began planting the trees. We planted ten cork trees and ten olive trees. We had studied about these trees and the importance to the ecology and culture in all my Spanish classes this past year. The tree planting was a culminating activity for our project; we hope to return one day to see their progress.
 

                           

     Also during this stop, we presented all our pals, and some citizens of Burguillos., with a recyclable bag donated by Whole Foods Markets with the following message;

REPARA, REUTILIZA, RECICLA.

Usa esta bolsa para estas tareas tan cotidianas pero tan necesarias. Tu planeta te lo agradecerá. Una bolsa para muchos usos. Con cada uno de ellos tienes un regalo.

Proyecto Extremadura: proyectobdcspain.blogspot.com

Raquel Aguilar

Y Escuela Pershing-Houston,TX

     We concluded the visit to Burguillos del Cerro with lunch at the Swimming Pool Restaurant were we shared a meal with our pen-pals.
   
 I would like to thank Juan Carlos Guerrero; English teacher of our pen pals; the City of Burguillos del Cerro, for a joyous and heartfelt occasion.
    Also big THANK YOU also to Explorica Educational Travel, for without their dedication to teachers this custom tour, to include our visits and all aspects, would not have been possible.

    I hope to continue our work and collaborations in Burguillos del Cerro and anticipate a return to the village to meet once again with my lovely friends and gracious people; it truly is a place close to my heart.


Raquel Aguilar; Houston, Texas

http://www.burguillosdelcerro.es/modulos/mod_periodico/pub/mostrar_noticia.php?id=198
This is a link to the city's article on our visit. click on the "TODAS LAS FOTOS AQUI" to view all their photos from our day.