Valor Students Journey through Mesoamerican History at Cal State LA

In September, Valor Academy Middle School’s 7th graders stepped into history!

During a special field trip to Cal State LA, students explored how ancient Mesoamerican civilizations recorded knowledge, created art, and shaped cultural identity. They had an unforgettable, hands-on experience with real historical materials.

For Mr. Carlos Somoza, who leads Valor’s annual field trips to Cal State LA, this experience is about more than just a visit. It’s about opening doors to the past and to students’ futures.

“The purpose of the field trip to Cal State LA has been to expose our students to the archives,” said Mr. Somoza. “This allows them to engage with primary sources in a very real way. Being on a college campus also allows our students to gain exposure to what that college campus has to offer them.”

At each interactive station during the incredibly rich and robust visit, students uncovered different aspects of Mesoamerican life:

• Codices & Writing Systems: Students compared ancient manuscripts like the Dresden Codex (11th or 12th century) and Codex Mendoza (16th century Nahua codex), to learn how Spanish influence transformed indigenous bookmaking. They also decoded Aztec pictographs from the Boturini Codex to trace the legendary migration to Tenochtitlán, modern-day Mexico City.
  
  
• Art & Materials: By handling samples of amate paper and deer hide, students discovered how these natural materials became the pages of history. They saw firsthand how books like the Codex Borgia were painted, folded, and preserved as sacred texts.
  
  
• Astronomy & Religion: Students explored how the Aztec and Maya used intricate calendars to guide planting, ceremonies, and even warfare to connecting science and spirituality in extraordinary ways.
  
  
• Culture & Influence: From the Aztec Sun Stone to Chicano movement posters, students traced how ancient symbols of identity and resistance continue to inspire artists and activists today.
  
  
• Hands-On Creation: In the final stations, students painted symbolic skulls inspired by Mesoamerican art, wrote their own names using Aztec pictographs, and even tried movements from Ulama, the ancient Mesoamerican ball game.

Every year, Mr. Somoza sees how powerful this field trip can be for students:

“It’s had a profound impact on my students,” he said. “I’ve heard many students express interest in attending Cal State LA after visiting the campus. Exposure to the archival space has also created connections with our Mesoamerican curriculum. It really helps bring the unit to life.”

As a passionate advocate for Ethnic Studies, Mr. Somoza sees trips like this as essential to helping students understand their place in history.

“Ethnic Studies has allowed my students to make very real, tangible connections to their culture, and to other cultures they may have known little about,” he shared. “Being able to take my students to the archives, a place that is typically locked by gatekeepers, really creates a decolonizing space where students get to engage with these amazing resources and make connections to their lives.”

Through this immersive, hands-on experience, Valor’s 7th graders are connecting with a legacy of knowledge, art, and identity that continues to shape the world today. They’re also paving the way for their own very bright futures.

Learn more about Mr. Somoza’s work and his reflections on these field trips in the new book, High School Ethnic Studies: The Stories, The People, The Struggles available now! His published piece shares how experiences like this one bring Ethnic Studies to life for students across Los Angeles.