Inspired by Donna Barba Higuera's book Xolo, the 2027 Habla Mérida Teacher Institute explores what happens to stories as they travel—across time, place, and through various artistic mediums.

At the center of her book Xolo is a classic Mesoamerican story. Higuera draws upon the Nahua stories of Xólotl, the dog-shaped deity who journeys into the underworld, and asks us to imagine the story differently: What if Xólotl were the real hero? Her novel and the recent Odyssey movie remind us that stories are never simply preserved. They are retold and reimagined.

Over five days in Mérida, we will follow stories as they move from page to image, image to sound, sound to performance, and past into present. We will also look beyond Xolo, exploring how stories have been carried through the art, places, and cultural traditions of Mexico and the Yucatán with an included excursion to a cenote, museum, or archaeological site. 

Through collaborative workshops, fieldwork, and studio experiences, teachers will experience ways of slowing down, looking closely, making meaning, and transforming what they encounter into something new. Throughout the week, we'll ask:

How do stories travel across time, place, and artistic mediums?

As always, the Habla Teacher Institute will demonstrate how we can create spaces that amplify our students’ stories, lived worlds, languages, and their creative and intellectual capacities. Teachers will receive a set of concrete, interdisciplinary tools that can be applied across disciplines, age groups, and settings.

At this institute, teachers will learn how to:

• integrate multiple modalities in student work, including visual, textual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning
• move beyond traditional delivery models toward experiential, inquiry-driven approaches
• apply strategies and structures that engage every student and support differentiated learning
• build classroom communities that honor identity, story, and cultural knowledge
• design learning journeys that culminate in meaningful exhibitions of student work

The Habla Institute will be highly interactive and participatory. Sessions are hands-on workshops where participants will “learn by doing.” The institute will culminate in a final exhibition of learning, modeling how student work can transform classrooms into spaces of meaning, beauty, and connection.

The institute is designed for educators across disciplines and age levels, from early childhood through higher education.

The Power of the Room

Throughout the institute, we’ll make space for the ideas and experiences that participants bring with them. Participating educators will have the opportunity to lead a 15-minute workshop or interactive activity for fellow participants. Sharing is completely optional, but if you’re interested, feel free to bring along anything you might need—slides, photos, objects, materials, or simply an idea you’d like to try out.