On January 25th, a group of UBC students, instructors and seniors from Latin America came together at the South Granville Senior Center to practice Spanish conversation, share experiences, and learn from each other.

This event was organized by Maria Carbonetti as part of an intergenerational project on oral history and memory in the courses SPAN206 and SPAN402. Most of the seniors came to Canada as refugees and exiles during times of war and turmoil in their countries, fleeing persecution and violence during the 70′, 80′ and 90′. This gathering – that included a tango lesson! – turned out to be a learning experience of a very rare kind.

Images by student volunteers Rocio Holmann and Patrick Gillin.