Maria's accomplishments were almost lost in history. Early in the effort to uncover the mystery of Maria Moreno, filmmaker Laurie Coyle hit a lot of dead ends. People knew of Maria’s work, but could never say what became of her. Using flyers and even radio announcements, Laurie’s efforts paid off when Maria’s granddaughter reached out.
As you view the short video, think about Maria’s accomplishments and how they almost faded into history. Think about the history maker you named on the previous page and how we might ensure that her/his story is remembered.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
Narration:
The farm workers today are generations removed from Maria, who worked in these same orchards many years ago. Maybe the distance from here to the past is just too great. Searching for Maria is like looking for a needle in a haystack…or finding this worker singing deep in the orange grove.
Song:…Adios amor, adios amor, no te dejaré, no te dejaré, no siga llorando.
Translation:Goodbye my love. I won’t leave you, so cry no more.
Narration:
The song has ended and the workers are gone. It seems that Maria has disappeared again into the past. And yet maybe she’ll step out of history shadow if I can piece together the fragments I’ve found.
Just when it seems I’ve reached the end of the trail, a package arrives from Maria’s granddaughter. She heard about my search and tracked me down. She writes, “Thank you for taking an interest in the greatest woman I’ve ever known, my grandmother. She wrote her own history, only history forgot to include her.” There are letters and clippings and an obituary.
It's time to put together everything you've learned about Maria Moreno and her work for social justice on behalf of farm workers. In this activity you will write about Maria Moreno and the history maker you identified in the last activity. Using your notes from the previous page and other notes you have taken throughout the lesson, compare and contrast Maria and your own history maker. Explain what is similar and different about their stories and accomplishments.
Your culminating activity for this lesson is to write a short piece about Maria Moreno and your history maker from the previous page. Compare and contrast the two figures. Your essay should include:
1.) An introduction to the main idea/topic and your purpose for writing about it.
2.) Two–three paragraphs explaining and contrasting the work of Maria Moreno and your history maker. What issues and situations led Maria and your history maker to act? How did they express themselves as history makers? In what ways are Maria and your history maker similar or different?
3.) A conclusion, which includes suggestions on how to continue the lessons of what Maria and your history maker have accomplished. How can we ensure their stories are available for future generations?