Language Lessons

I became a business owner in 1995 when I decided I wanted to create a business that integrated my talents as an artist and teacher with my desire to pass on the Spanish language to my new son, Silviano. I am Cuban-American, and my parents instilled in me a pride in my heritage and the Spanish language that permeates my life.

I began to notice that Hispanic culture and the Spanish language were being lost with the new generation, and I started an afterschool program teaching Spanish through art. The program was very successful. There was nothing out on the market like it, so a year later I decided to develop and package the concept, and “SUBE: Learning Language Thru Art, Music & Games” was born.

The original SUBE kit is a Spanish-as-a-second-language (SSL) program that comes with a step-by-step manual aligned with national standards, color-coded flashcards, card games, music videos and CDs, and story- and activity books. This multisensory approach, in two sequential levels that span preschool through fifth grade, motivates children to learn Spanish. I marketed SUBE locally, in New Mexico, for the first seven years to assure that the curriculum was field-tested successfully. This year, I developed the English version of SUBE, which uses the same model to teach English as a second language.

SUBE grew as my son grew. In fact, I can chart his growth by looking to the SUBE product. Silviano is 11 now, and when he was 3, he and a group of his peers participated in the series of SUBE Latin music videos that I wrote and produced. My community here in Taos, N.M., was thrilled to see their kids star in the videos and have been supportive as I’ve struggled to become a business owner, working two and three jobs while marketing SUBE.
The support of organizations such as the Anna Maria Arias Memorial Business Fund, Wesst Corp (Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team), and the New Mexico Community Development Loan Fund (NMCDLF) have made it possible for a small business like mine, with very limited capital, to keep growing. Thanks to these organizations I have added new products or upgrades every year to stay competitive. The Anna Maria Arias Memorial Business Fund allowed me to produce a new product that teachers had been asking for—an early-reader book series.

This year, I began marketing SUBE at national conferences, and the business, now approaching its 10th year, is growing steadily. A few years ago, I formed a partnership with the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Intel, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to realize a bigger dream—to find new technologies and new ways to preserve cultural and ecological diversity in the schools, as well as in the communities.

Through this partnership, Intel is setting up TechSitios in Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Philippines, and my company has been contracted to implement a series of educational workshops at these TechSitios called Digital Storytelling, a powerful new way to teach people with little to no computer experience how to tell their personal stories using multimedia technology. After a three-day workshop, participants—including ranchers, teachers, curanderas, artists, and writers—create a three-minute video clip that provides a microcosmic view of common social and cultural issues. We have found that the art of digital storytelling creates a profound shift from being externally directed by world media to being empowered by the creating and sharing of personal stories using multimedia technology.

I passionately believe that language is the grid in which many vital cultural traditions and identities are embedded—and that it is through these cultural traditions and identities that we stay in balance with the earth, with our communities, and with ourselves. We live in a critical time, environmentally and socially. I believe that business, like so many other aspects of our lives, is being challenged to evolve and grow in ways that meet the needs of a new global community. I am grateful that I have found a business that meets that challenge and thankful to those who have made it possible.

By Agnes Chavez organizations.