What is Signing Fiesta?
| A small business that develops, produces and distributes trilingual educational sign language videos nationwide. |
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Who operates Signing Fiesta?
| Connie Salvador, owner, holds an Ed.S. degree in Education from Gallaudet University and a MA in Special Education from San Jose State University. She has also taught Deaf preschoolers for five years, Deaf K-1st grade for one year, was an instructor in an Interpreter Training Program, and has been a free-lance interpreter for the Deaf more than 19 years. |
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| Merced Gonzalez, consultant, is a native Spanish speaker and has interpreted for the Deaf for over 8 years. |
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| Victor Salvador, computer technician, is a native Spanish speaker from Mexico, and has conversational sign language skills. |
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When did Signing Fiesta evolve?
| In 1995, in a small town called Santa Maria, CA, Connie and Merced worked together in the Santa Barbara County's Deaf/HH program. Connie worked as a teacher and he worked as an educational mainstream interpreter. The majority of the students in the program were Latino with parents who only spoke Spanish. Connie and Merced often worked with these families teaching them sign language and helping them better understand their child's deafness. Connie approached Merced and asked if he was interested in completing an instructional vocabulary building video. This is when the video idea began. |
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Where is Signing Fiesta?
| In a beautiful new office located at 4567 Desert Varnish Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80922, 719-622-0218 or 719-648-9700. Connie's husband Victor is active duty military in the USAF, that makes it difficult to keep the same address for to long. Connie encourages people to check with the web page for the most current address and phone #! |
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Why did Signing Fiesta begin?
| It is a challenge to teach ASL or Signed English to Spanish or Tagalog speaking individuals. This is largely due to the languages' conflicts in culture, syntax, meaning and grammar. This is where Signing Fiesta has assisted by pioneering unique trilingual videos. The lessons are easy to follow and fun to learn! |
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How did Signing Fiesta begin?
| In 1995, a local producer, New Rule Productions, made the first video that was piloted at the March, 1996 Cal-ED convention. While producing this first video Connie and Merced brainstormed company names. Although the exact discussion is not clear, Connie and Merced were talking about making the videos lively and fun - like a party! That is when Merced said, "Hey, it'll be a signing fiesta!" While laughing, Merced and Connie looked at each other and yelled, "Yeah!" Without discussion it was decided on "Signing Fiesta" as the company name. |
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People just love the videos!
"The videos are great! I'm so happy there's finally something available for Spanish speaking people."
- Claudia Vazquez
Bilingual parent of a Deaf child
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"The actors, Connie and Merced, were fun to watch...The format was well thought out and flowed well."
- Tom R. Cox
Communication Specialist
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"I am working with a Spanish speaking family...I took the videos to them...They were so excited and pleased."
- Rebecca Barnett
Eastern NC School for the Deaf
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