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Village Voice: October 1987
Gringo Lingo
By Lisa Earl
 If you think that language is for people to communicate, if you think that grammer school should help you understand a language, not alienate you from it, and if, above all you think that language can be fun, informal and even irrevent, then you should study language at TALLER LATINOAMERICANO" --Novelist Grace Paley |
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Whatever your motive, if learning a Latino language is your objective, forget about Berlitz. TALLER LATINO AMERICANO is the place to go. Formerly located in a Chelsea loft, the Taller (workshop) recently went Underground97literally under the protection of the Holy Virgin Cathedral, a Russian church at 63 East 2nd Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues). The Taller is a cooperative run by artists from Latin and North America, the Caribbean and Spain. Its basic premise is cross-cultural exchange in an open environment. Members include painters, musicians, actors, dancers, poets, photographers and filmmakers. At the Taller, language classes provide a natural forum for cultural exchange: dissolving linguistic obstacles eliminates an obvious barrier to cross-cultural communication. Languages taught at the Taller include Spanish and Portuguese, Haitian, Creole and English. The Taller's approach to language learning is a unique one. It is based in part on the ideas of radical Brazilian educator Paulo Freire whose theories developed from his work in adult literacy in Brazil and Nicaragua. This theory, shunning textbooks and a predetermined curriculum, instead uses the personal backgrounds and experiences of the students in the class, thus making the content of each class unique. The Taller's method also employs an analysis of the natural cadence of spoken language, a technique conceived by Bernardo Palombo, an Argentine composer and musician, and Artistic Director of the Taller. His approach, designed to help students quickly acquire an ear for the language, stresses the rhythmic structure of Spanish, with emphasis on expressing individual personalities in the new language. This method has been praised by linguist Noam Chomsky, and novelist Grace Paley, both former students of his who speak highly of the Taller. The Taller is however much more than just a place to learn a language. There is a gallery, performance space, an 8-track recording studio, a film-editing room and a darkroom. They have presented concerts and lectures and events as diverse as Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal and the late Argentine writer Julio Cortazar, folk singer Mercedes Sosa and the then unknown Beastie Boys; exhibits of the work of major North and Latin American painters, including Frank Stella; produced a performance of the Nicaraguan folk mass 93La Misa Campesina94 by Carlos Mejia Godoy, and served as musical consultant to Philip Glass for his score for the forthcoming film Powasqasti, a sequel to Koyaanisqatsi The Taller's next session of language classes begins the week of October 12. More information about classes, concerts, and other Taller events can be obtained from the Taller Latinoamericano, 63 East Second Street. | |||||
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