Palapa Society, Todos Santos

Student Blog

Welcome Paty Baum, New Director for the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska

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Patricia (Paty) Baum was born in Lansing, Michigan, where her father taught literature at Michigan State University. In 1962, he accepted a teaching position at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Books were the central focus of the Baum household; the family made frequent trips to the Multnomah County Library and area bookstores, including Powells. Baum attended Riverdale School, Metropolitan Learning Center and John Adams HS. She eventually pursued a BA in film production at San Francisco State and an MEA from University of Guadalajara. In 1995, a surfer friend told her about Todos Santos, and she and two friends spent a life-changing month in southern Baja. The visit inspired her to make a permanent move to Todos Santos in 1996. She inherited a surf shop from her business partner, then moved it to Los Cerritos, where she lived in a trailer on the beach for 13 years. She married Daniel Garcia Sosa; their son, Silvio Carlos Garcia Baum was born in 2000. He attended school in Pescadero and Todos Santos. In 1999, with 500 books from her father’s library, she founded what is now the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska.

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During her 26 years in Todos Santos and Pescadero, she inspired, facilitated and participated in many community-based social and environmental projects including: spay and neuter clinics and educational outreach, making Playa Los Cerritos car-free, beach and arroyo clean-ups, the first community recycling program, three sea turtle groups, two libraries, a bi-lingual school, four youth-in-video films with the Escuela de Cine Leonard Perel, a ten-year stint with her Future Biologist’s field learning, ocean safety program in Pescadero, and numerous collaborations with like-minded environmental educators. She co-authored two social science research papers about Baja, and authored, The Illustrated Guide to Sea Turtles in Baja California, which was distributed free-of-charge to Baja Sur middle schools. Her love of books and life-long learning has not waned over the years, so her full circle back to the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska is a natural progression.

A Fond Farewell to Joy O’Brien Director of the Infantil Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska

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Joy O'BrianFive years after Joy O’Brien moved to Todos Santos in 2009, she decided she might be ready to volunteer with The Palapa Society. Joy poked her head into the little house on Calle Obregon, the former location of The Palapa Society, where English classes were being taught to local children. Donna Viglione called out to her, “Good timing. Watch this class for an hour. I’ll give you your own class next week.” Joy ran away.

Five years later, in 2014, Joy returned. Serena Saltzman, Director of the Puente al Inglés (Bridge to English) program for children, took things a little slower than Donna Viglione, and recruited Joy to be a Teacher’s Aid. Soon after, The Palapa Learning Center was built, and Joy was promoted to Director of the Infantil Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska. As a former pediatric registered nurse in Louisiana, Joy thought, “I’ll see what I can do. I love kids. I love to read. And, I feel like I can figure out what appeals to kids.”

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This incredible endeavor was not easy. First, the library needed to be moved to the new location. In August, a team of volunteers helped sort, clean, label, and move the books. Without air conditioning in either location. (Joy notes, the library still does not have air conditioning.) Next, the book shelves were too tall for the new location. So, Joy convinced a few carpenters to take them apart, reassemble them, paint them and install them correctly to be sure they didn’t topple over. Then, she created reading nooks, with the help of Merci Todos who made the cushions.

Once the library was opened, Joy quickly learned that the local children did not understand the concept of a library. She and her team of volunteer librarians needed to show the kids that this wasn’t a free bookstore. Books were to be borrowed, and returned. So they provided an incentive to return the books by giving a little prize, such as a pencil, a bookmark, or a sticker. And it worked!

Also, it was important to Joy that the library be kid-friendly. Kids do not know the names of authors or titles of books. So, instead of using the Dewey Decimal system like in the United States, books were shelved by topic such as ‘Animals,’ or ‘Poetry’ or ‘Mysteries,’ similar to retail book stores. This method also helped young cardholders develop critical thinking skills. One youngster asked where he could find a book about sharks. Like every good librarian, Joy challenged him to figure it out. “What is a shark? Where does it live? If you wanted to find a book about sharks, which section do you think it would be?”

One of the crowning achievements is Joy’s Saturday Reading Circle and Craft Hour. Joy picks a book every week, and reads to the children in Spanish. Afterwards, they work on an art project based on the book that was read. On average, 30 children attend this free program – 20 of them are regulars, who then bring friends, cousins, and neighbors. This program brings Spanish- and English-speaking children together, and fosters a life-long love of reading. One of Joy’s fonder memories was when she asked an English-speaking girl if she enjoyed the book that week. She nodded affirmatively, then added, “But I didn’t understand a word you were saying!” Another great memory was when Joy organized a children’s shoe donation drive around Christmas time, inspired by the children’s book “One Thousand Tracings – Healing the Wounds of WWII” by Lita Judge. The kids spent one Saturday in December wrapping the shoes, to be given to the kids in the migrant farm worker camps in and around Todos Santos. One little girl really admired the pink tennis shoes with sparkles, that were just her size. She wanted to keep them. Joy explained that she already had tennis shoes, and that these were a gift for another girl who didn’t have any. That day, that little girl learned the joy of giving to others, just like the family in the book.

As you can imagine, it is with a heavy heart that we announce Joy’s retirement from the library.
She’s moving back to Louisiana next month to be near her grandchildren. When asked what she’ll miss the most, Joy’s voice beamed in her rich Southern drawl, “I love seeing the kids coming in, plopping on a beanbag chair while they wait for mom to pick them up from English class.”

Joy is quick to mention that the children’s library wouldn’t be a success without her team of volunteers – Terry Pearson, Debbie Thomas, Maryann Douglas, Adry Cota, and Marilourdes Geraldo, all of whom have been at the library since it opened.

Joy wants to thank the Palapa community for their support with books and monetary donations, and to share this reminder to the full and part-time expats: “It is important to immerse yourself in this wonderful community. Make friendships. Don’t hide behind Facebook to ask questions for help. Try to learn Spanish, and use it every day. These community ties make the difference in the world. Also, please continue to support all of Palapa’s Education programs. School is a huge opportunity to change the future of this town. Generations of futures. Not only will the kids benefit, but the families will benefit, and YOU will benefit.”

Joy, thank you for creating a magical, wondrous place for the children in our community. We imagine these young readers will keep your legacy going in this town forever, starting with teaching their own children how to read.

The Survivor / Perseverance

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by Anna Castillo
“Fernando Lopez Nieto”, said our 11th grade guidance counselor to the parents’ meeting.  “Be careful with that teacher! We’ve had many complaints about him.” We were 15 years old and nervous. When he entered the classroom, he made us stand up.  He was a 60 year old man, not too tall, a little chubby, balding snow-white hair that contrasted with a tiny little black mustache and a nose that seemed too big.  He always wore a suit. The first thing he told us is that in his class, everybody dances; those who don’t, leave. He taught us to dance to a song that said “When I die I want to be buried with a pennant from my University”, and at the end of every class we would finish with a University cheer (Goya!). The class itself was Logic. He would put forth a topic and the homework was always research. Class would begin with him asking each student to say something about the topic.  If you didn’t bring anything, you were out. Because he didn’t tolerate “people who come to steal knowledge.”
Ana Castillo
The third test (after collaboration and dancing) was memorizing Jaime Sabines’ poem “The Lovers” and reciting it in unison with the group.  If you didn’t know it, guess what…? You’re out! After three months, there were about ten students left out of 50.  He would call us “the survivors”. Additionally to all this, active participation in class was required.  We all had to back up our arguments and positions. We had to think about each word we were going to use. Many didn’t like that he would call us oxen or cows, but I laughed about it… and appreciated that he included cows!
After the 5th month I stopped going to his class.  I would see him in the hallways and he’d say hello.  I was embarrassed, but he would say that they missed me in class, and were wondering when I’d return (of course, in order to return I would have to catch up on ALL the late work). After two months, I was caught up and returned to “the survivors”. After that I was consistent. He didn’t even look at my final paper, and the exam were questions about my learning experience, my perspective on his class and my expectations as a person.  Seven of us saw the class all the way through. To this day I thank him for pushing my boundaries, for being so rigorous and demanding, and for showing me the power of the collective. Years later I still enjoyed reading his Monday column in the newspaper.

Honoring Donna Shultz’s Decade of Volunteer Service

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“When world-renowned writer Elena Poniatowska arrived at the library for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, there were hundreds of people in attendance. Elena quietly lamented to me that she had left her copy of Joan Didion’s ThDonna Schultz Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska The Palapa Societye Year of Magical Thinking on the airplane. Imagine her surprise when I told her we have that book, and I proudly gave it to her!”

A decade’s worth of memories came pouring out of Donna Shultz, after we received her letter of resignation as Director of the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska, the largest bi-lingual library in Baja California Sur.Donna started volunteering when the library was just a little room on Calle Obregon. This was shortly after building a home in the area with her husband Walt. She had just wrapped her role as the Wicked Witch in Teatro Luna Azul’s production of The Wizard of Todos Santos and wanted to immerse herself into the community that had embraced her from the beginning. When Library Director John Warner left, Mary took over, and together, they relocated the library into the Casa Verde house provided by Peter Buck, in the San Vicente neighborhood. Mary left, EJ took over, and three years later Donna followed as the Director. Donna spearheaded the move to The Palapa Learning Center, which took two weeks with the help of dedicated volunteers in the October heat.

Donna Schultz Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska The Palapa Society“I always say that Palapa Volunteers are unpaid not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless. The library wouldn’t be possible without them. For me, my payment was the joy we brought and contribution we made to the community. It’s been so rewarding – I see the impact the library has had on the entire community every day.”

CONTINUED FROM NEWSLETTER: This thought led to another memory of when Roberta Jackson, the US Ambassador to Mexico under the Obama administration, visited The Palapa Learning Center. She was impressed by what was created by donations and volunteers. The Ambassador stated, “This library exemplifies what can be accomplished when the foreign community works with the local community to build something positive for everyone.”

Donna Schultz Happy Days The Palapa Society of Todos Santos Donna’s passion for books and for connecting with her team and the community was evident, even when planning fundraisers to purchase new books. Her Happy Days – Dinner and ‘50s Dance Party at restaurant Gallo Azul was a huge hit and included a dance contest, awards for best costume, and a raffle for a Cate Thomassen mosaic table. On Valentine’s Day, we could count on Donna and her team when they hand-made thousands of chocolate truffles to sell at the library. Since COVID-19 these sales have moved to pre-orders and remain popular.

Closing the library doors during the first few months of COVID was heartbreaking, but for Donna, it was another opportunity to show her commitment. Every week during quarantine, Donna would email her team of volunteers to stay in touch, as they had become family to her. Together, they donned their masks to clean and maintain the library regularly, so that the books were in good shape for when it was time to re-open. This period also gave life to one of the most important programs under Donna’s direction.

Volunteer Melody Condon had the idea to create Little Free Libraries, which are neighborhood book exchanges in the form of a public bookcase, thus creating another option for the closed library. Donna ran with it. It took six weeks to get permission from Delegado Tito Palacios to place the libraries at Pinos Park in the center of town, in front of The Padrino Children’s Foundation in the San Vicente neighborhood, and near La Esquina Café in the San Ignacio neighborhood. She recruited her husband Walt to build the library structures and pay for the materials. Then she found a volunteer to set them up at each location. Evie, a student from The Palapa School who loves reading, went with Donna to fill the boxes for the first time. At the park, they saw a mom and daughter who walked up to see what was inside the bookcase, and the daughter took a book. Evie and Donna’s eyes welled with tears of excitement.

“This is why we do it,” says Donna.

The Palapa Society’s Little Free Libraries of Todos Santos are officially registered with the international non-profit Little Free Libraries, which has over 100,000 libraries worldwide. You can view the plaque at the library kiosk in Pinos Park.

When asked what she’ll miss the most about being Director, Donna effused with gratitude for her team, especially her right-hand Maryann Douglas, who has been a library volunteer and patron since the beginning, over 18 years ago. Not only is Maryann a sounding board and confidante for Donna, she has also kept the library open through the summer months year after year. Donna enjoyed getting to know the likes and dislikes of the regular visitors like cardholder Johnny Walker, who can’t get enough of a certain genre of books, which may or may not be trashy romance novels.

Donna Schultz Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska The Palapa Society“There isn’t a day that I’m not in wonder of what we have accomplished here. And I want it to keep going. I’m surprised at the books we have here – all interests including how to play guitar, biographies, classics, best-sellers…”

She asks that everyone continue to support The Palapa Society and the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska by becoming cardholders, donating during fundraisers, and spreading the word that the library is for everybody.

It’s no surprise when Donna lets us know what she plans to do next. “Oh, I’ll still volunteer here every Wednesday from 10am to 1pm.”

The Palapa Society thanks Donna Shultz for her leadership, her professionalism, her dedication, and for giving her all to the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska. It wouldn’t be what it is today without her, and she is leaving big shoes to fill.

Student Projects: TV Projects

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Teacher Citlali created a fun an innovative project for the 9th grade History class. Students created cardboard television displays to illustrate the Mexican Independence of 1810.
“On September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, launched the Mexican War of Independence with the issuing of his Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of Dolores” (Dolores referring to the town of Dolores, Mexico). The revolutionary tract called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico, redistribution of land, and racial equality.”

Student Projects: Computer Science Projects

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The project first investigated the major components of a computer:
Processor (CPU)
Monitor
RAM
Power Source (PSU)
Hard Drive / Storage
Inputs and Outputs: Mouse, Keyboard, Camera etc.
Motherboard
Afterwards, they made a mockup of a Desktop-style computer and recorded a video explaining the process of making it or explaining some of the components.

Student Projects: Basics of Náhuatl By Perla C.M.

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During the week of January 25 – 29, 2021 our seventh grade students prepared presentations to share with their fellow classmates and present during classes.
Perla and her classmates prepared a presentation about the basics of the indigenous language of Náhuatl. It’s so amazing to share such creative and talented work by our students with you.
Nahuatl Básico

Student Projects: Drawing Dreams

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The students from the eighth grade, as a part of their Spanish class, attended a workshop called “Literary Cafe” in which they explored and developed reading and deep reflection skills. In this part of the course they read “The Old Man and the Sea” by E. Hemingway.
The activity was to focus on a scene in which the character expressed his dream while observing life in the sea. The student had to express in a drawing their own dreams to achieve, taking the example of reading and making a brief explanation of the drawing.
Drawing Dreams