Viva La Veta
Diamond Bar, CA
2025, Junior, Interactive & Multimedia
Project Description: After listening to Dan Barber’s TED Talk “How I Fell in Love with a Fish,” I wrote a poem about a magical fish farm in Spain that produces delicious fish by harnessing Nature instead of polluting it. I then turned this poem into a song called “Viva La Veta,” which illustrates the answer to helping our planet become more like Eden again lies in nature. I started by learning how to write a poem, then performing it in my teacher Ms. Clarissa’s garden. Ms. Clarissa introduced me to Steve for voice lessons so I could start working on my dream to sing and write my own songs. I worked on turning my poem into a song and recording it professionally, and then, over time, Ms. Clarissa encouraged me to turn it into a music video. At first, I was intimidated by the thought of filling a three minute song with visuals (especially since I couldn’t exactly fly to Spain to capture the amazing natural fish farm which I was depicting), but by using a combination of stock video and my own custom footage, I was able to create something of which I was proud. Over time, I learned to dance with flamenco arms to channel my Spanish spirit and how to act with my eyes and face and body so I could create compelling clips of me dancing and singing to my own song! It took many drafts, but when I saw my last iteration of my music video, I couldn’t believe it! In “Viva La Veta,” I sing about a family in Andalusia who learns the secret way to harness Nature to create a mouthwatering fish. Along this learning adventure, I have learned not only how to create something out of nothing, but also how to create art that changes the way people think of what is possible. In this link (https://tinyurl.com/insp8r) and also in the uploaded PDF, I have included my transformation story and links to all my Viva La Veta materials which include my poem, book, spoken word poetry video, song, music video, press release, and tips that the MY HERO International Film Festival asked me to share with their worldwide audience to inspire kids and teachers how a kid can go from a video-game watching layabout to an internationally award-winning artist!
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Reflection
Reflection
When my teacher told me about a marvelous secret fish farm in Spain that doesn’t need to feed its animals, naturally cleans its dirty water, and created the most delicious fish you’ve ever tasted, I was so surprised I wanted to know more. And so, I watched Dan Barber’s TED Talk in which I discovered the way to create a better fish farm is to allow flamingos to eat 20% of your fish. In addition, the biologist says the best way to create a healthy fish farm is to focus on the natural relationships between living organisms. From this wisdom, I learned success comes from pursuing it indirectly and through unexpected ways. I felt so amazed I wanted to write a Seussian rhyming poem about this fish farm so more people would know these truths. In addition to writing, I love singing, acting, and flying in my aerial silks.