'National Piñata Day' is observed on 18th April each year. No one on this planet doesn’t love candy. You don’t have to stop at just one sweet; instead, go ahead and shatter a colorful candy container known as a piñata to get as much candy as possible. Those who haven’t yet attempted to open a paper-mâché donkey may do so on this 'National Piñata Day'.
This CST activities page takes the opportunity to celebrate Mexico and South America generally. It looks at famous people, native animals, food and drink and music from the area.
Begin the session by asking members who has visited Mexico or another South American country?
What places were visited, what were the people like, what are your most memorable tourist attractions?
Round 1. Tourist Attractions
The Chicxulub crater is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is offshore, but the crater is named after the onshore community of Chicxulub Pueblo. It was formed slightly over 66 million years ago when a large meteorite, about ten kilometers in diameter, struck Earth. It is believed that this extinction level event killed all the dinosaurs on the planet over several days. Why?
In which country & mountain range would you find Machu Picchu?
Anyone fancy taking the "staircase of death"?
In which city & country would you find 'Christ The Redeemer'?
Off which country would you find Easter Island?
How old do you think the Moai statues are, a. 524 years old, b. 1,524 years old or c. 3,524 years old?
Off which country would you find the Galapagos Islands?
Which naturalist & explorer visited them in 1835, which led him to develop his theories on evolution?
What was the name of his ship?
In which country would you find 'Angel Falls'? Factoid. This is the world's highest waterfall.
The Iguaza Falls, which can be found at the point where Brazil, Argentina & Paraguay meet, are somewhat more impressive.
Which Irish artist had a hit in 1988 with 'Orinoco Flow'?
Song break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTrk4X9ACtw
The Amazon Rainforest is huge, as you can see.
Which is the longest river in the world, a. Amazon River or b. River Nile?
How much of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the Amazon rainforest, a. 5%, b. 10% or c. 20%?
The Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas) sit off the coast of Argentina.
What year did we go to war to protect them and keep them as British dependent territories & who declared the war?
In which country would you find the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza?
Which two different countries did the Aztecs & Incas come from?
In which South American country would you find a significant Welsh speaking population?
Which peninsular is south of Cape Horn?
Do penguins and polar bears happily co-exist, i.e. not eat each other?
Here are a few other things Mexico is famous for ...
November 1st & 2nd - 'Day Of The Dead'
Mariachi Bands (see below)
Cliff diving in Acapulco Mardi Gras
Which would you prefer to go and see?
In which country would you find Sugarloaf Mountain?
Which famous beach overlooks it?
Which American artist had a hit in 1985 with a song about a nightclub on this beach?
Song break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKR2n-G-wdM
And then we have classic South American dances ...
Rumba - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2vuLuCT9oI Samba - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CABJfSW6MXE Paso Doble - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZEeMP8tR1c&t=1s (from the movie 'Strictly Ballroom') Mambo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPj2Kk2TaTE Cha Cha Cha - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_AbBKReYo
And of course, there's the Bolero - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNCSij0hUp8
Take a look at one or two of them ...
Round 2. Animals
Simply name the animals indigenous to South America ...
Oh and then of course, there's this little doggie ...
Round 3. Food & Drink
Simply name the food or drink ...
(I left out a picture of a roast guinea pig!)
Factoids ...
Mexico is the largest producer of avocados & they originate from the region.
Once tequila was granted protected status, the worm in bottles was no longer needed.
Habenero chillis are 100 times hotter than Jalepeno peppers.
Chocolate's 4,000 year history began in Mexico. It was here that the first cacao plants were discovered.
Mexico is the world's biggest producer of limes.
Peppers originated in the Mexico region.
Round 4. TV & Movies
 | Name the hero? What was his real name? TV intro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Bh2SE-g5A |
 | 'The Magnificent Seven', 1960 Name as many of the actors as you can? Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yulmgTcGLZw |
 | 'Fistful Of Dollars', 1964 Name the actor? What type of coat is he wearing? |
 | 'Buch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid', 1970 Name the actors? Which hit song accompanied the movie? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VyA2f6hGW4 |
 | 'The High Chaparral' Name the family? TV theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sBfY9HKUss |
 | 'Loony Tunes' Name the characters? |
 | 'Three Amigos', 1986 Name the actors? What hats are they wearing? What plant is behind them? |
 | 'The Mission', 1986 Name the actor? Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy-zRZQo79Q |
 | 'Evita', 1996 Name the actor? Which hit song accompanied the stage show/movie? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD_1Z8iUDho |
 | 'The Mask Of Zorro', 1998 Name the actors? |
 |
'Spectre', 2015
Name the latest James Bond actor?
|
Name the other James Bond actors?
& complete the movie titles:
'Dr. **'
'From Russia **** ****'
'Gold******'
'Thunder****'
'You Only **** *****'
'On Her Majesty's ****** *******'
'Diamonds are *******'
'Live And *** ***'
'The Man With *** ****** ***'
'The Spy Who ***** **'
'Moon*****'
'For Your **** ****'
'Octo*****'
'A View To ****'
'The Living *********'
'Licence ** ****'
'Golden***'
'Tomorrow ***** ****'
'The World Is *** ******'
'Die ******* ***'
'Casino ******'
'Quantum Of ******'
'Sky****'
Here is a great medley of all the James Bond songs, or you could play a few of the originals from YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmD_uTsg2d8
Round 5. Music
Play a clip of the songs and ask members to identify the song and name the artist ...
Spotify playlist ... https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ggCv2cGt6UsLpzk964N1D?si=5d1e29215133403b
Here are some more songs to play, perhaps during the practical activity.
Reminiscence
Does anyone remember Margarita Pracatan, who featured on the Clive James TV show.
Practical Activity
Have members wear a sombrero and take it in turns to hit a piñata with a stick (forget about the blindfold to make sure no-one else can be hit). Play some of the above music as they do this. Then share around the candy.
Dinosaurs became extinct after the Chicxculub meteor because of a nuclear winter that lasted years and them being cold blooded
Peru / The Andes
Rio De Janiero / Brazil
Chile / 3,534 years old
Ecuador / Charles Darwin / 'HMS Beagle'
Venezuela
Enya
River Nile is 4,132 miles long, River Amazon is 4,000
1982 / Margaret Thatcher
Mexico
Aztecs - Mexico; Incas - Peru
Patagonia
Antarctica / No - polar bears are only found in the Arctic Circle & penguins are only found in the Southern hemisphere
Brazil / Copacabana
Barry Manilow (Barry Manilow fans are called Fanilows)
Sloth
Anaconda
Llama (Alpacas are very similar)
Toucan (advertised 'Guinness')
Guinea Pig (baked as a savoury dish in Peru)
Scarlet Macaw
Flamingo (pink because of the shrimp they eat)
Anteater
Armadillo
Condor
Capybara
Tapir
Tamarin
Caiman
Jaguar
Iguana
Chihuahua
Avocado
Guacamole
Tequila
Nachos
Jalapeno
Chocolate
Lime
Chilli Con Carne
Corona Beer
Salsa
Nachos
Peppers
Magarita
Mojito
Tequila Sunrise
Zorro / Don Diego de la Vega
Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz
Clint Eastwood / Poncho
Robert Redford & Paul Newman / 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head'
The Cannon Family
Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzales & Sylvester
Steve Martin, Chevy Chase & Martin Short / Sombreros / Cactus
Jeremy Irons
Madonna / 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' (a hit for Julie Covington in 1976)
Catherine Zeta Jones & Antonio Banderas
Daniel Craig
The others are:
Sean Connery (1962–1967, 1971, 1983)
David Niven (1967) (not pictured)
George Lazenby (1969)
Roger Moore (1973–1985)
Timothy Dalton (1987–1989)
Pierce Brosnan (1995–2002)
'Dr. NO'
'From Russia WITH LOVE'
'GoldFINGER'
'ThunderBALL'
'You Only LIVE TWICE'
'On Her Majesty's SECRET SERVICE'
'Diamonds are FOREVER'
'Live And LET DIE'
'The Man With THE GOLDEN GUN'
'The Spy Who LOVED ME'
'MoonRAKER'
'For Your EYES ONLY'
'OctoPUSSY'
'A View To A KILL'
'The Living DAYLIGHTS'
'Licence TO KILL'
'GoldenEYE'
'Tomorrow NEVER DIES'
'The World Is NOT ENOUGH'
'Die ANOTHER DAY'
'Casino ROYALE'
'Quantum Of SOLACE'
'SkyFALL'
Music answers are in the playlist
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