Les Mystérieuses Cités d’or (太陽の子エステバン, Taiyō no ko Esteban-The Mysterious Cities of Gold

“Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or” is Japanese-French animated series. It was on TV in the late 80’s when we moved to France. It is a fabulous journey set in 1532.  The series describe the adventures of Esteban, a young Spanish boy who travels to the New World in search of the lost Cities of Gold and his father. I introduced them to our son this weekend as  “a super cool cartoon in French”.

However, the truth is that I want him to learn about the Mayan, Inca, and Olmecs. This cartoon perfectly mixes archaeology, lost technological wonders and science fiction. I want him to be exposed to another version of “the story” about Native Indians and Native Americans Indians. It is an attempt to expand his view on “Thanksgiving” without feeding prejudices or stereotypes. Esteban was Spanish and he befriended Zia (an Incan girl) and Tao (the last descendant of the sunken empire of Mu). Well check it out, DVDs were released in North America on April 7, 2009. According to rumors: “ A film version of the story is to be produced by the Movie Plus Group. On Chibi Japan Expo in Paris, Jean Chalopin announced that three new seasons of 26 episodes are planned with a release starting in 2011.” Legends or not, there are many stories!! I hope that our son will remember that every culture is wealthier than “ the seven cities of Gold”. 

This is my “Culturally Relevant Teaching" of the weekend!

Education is a collective rebellion against the status quo.
We are all distant relatives. Thanks to you all…

Same Moonlight for our dreams.