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“Aztlán in the 21st Century: A Multimodal Digital Project”

The Second Life virtual island, Aztlán in the 21st Century, traces the migration of ethnic Mexicans to the U.S. The journey begins in the pre-Columbian period and moves chronologically into the 21st century and follows the movement of people to the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez borderlands specifically. In modern Chicana/o/x culture, Aztlán represents an important symbol of spiritual and cultural unity. Aztlán is the legendary ancestral home of the indigenous peoples known as the Mexica. From a spatial perspective, Aztlán is associated with the American Southwest, which consists of the cities and towns that many of our students call home. The virtual island covers three areas: history, education, and the fine arts. When the three phases of the project are completed, the island will provide reading, visual, and aural material throughout. Students, entering the island as avatars, will travel back through time to learn the historical context of the peoples of the western hemisphere, and then will move forward through time to learn about contemporary events and realities. Once completed, the island can be utilized in UTEP courses and shared with students in the El Paso public school systems, El Paso Community College, and community venues such as the Mexican American Cultural Center.