Information regarding participation in the travel/expedition Ruta Quetzal-BBVA 2002 scholarships granted by the Spanish financial group BBVA. Click here for the application form for Texas.

1. What is the Ruta Quetzal scholarship?

Following a suggestion from H.M. the King of Spain, this program was created in 1979, with the aim of imparting to 16 and 17 year-old students from all the Spanish speaking countries, along with Brazil and Portugal, the historical, geographical and cultural foundations of the present-day Iberian-American commonwealth of nations.

The Ruta Quetzal BBVA is a combination of study and adventure. The journey offers a broad program of academic activities, including an academic course specifically designed by the Complutense University of Madrid for the Ruta Quetzal.

This year's scholarship, valued at $10,000, covers the return flight expenses from New York, Miami or Montreal, as well as the academic course and the expedition through Panamá, Costa Rica and Spain. All meals, lodging and transportation costs are included, with the exception of the selected Texas student's travel expense from his/her home to Miami airport.

La Ruta Quetzal 2002 starts in mid-July and is completed in early August.

Students from 43 countries will participate in the 2002 Ruta Quetzal.

2. What does the academic program include?

During the expedition, the traveling classroom will study by means of seminars, workshops and lectures, the pre-Columbian history of Panama and the Fourth Voyage of Discovery of Christopher Columbus, commemorating its fifth centenary this year (1502-2002). In Costa Rica, the young travelers will visit sites of great environmental interest studying sustainable development projects and the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad at Playa de Gandoca-Manzanillo. During their stay in Spain, as is now tradition, guest University professors will give lectures to Ruta participants on the art, history, and culture of Spain.

3. What will the two stages of the study-journey entail?

America:

This year the 2002 Ruta Quetzal has the distinction of starting on American soil. Panama City will be the first meeting point for all the members of the 2002 expedition, beginning with a visit to its City of Knowledge Museum, where the travelers will be given an introduction to the history of Columbus' Fourth Voyage. Columbus embarked on this dangerous voyage in the company of his brother and expert navigator Bartolomé, and his 13-year-old son Hernando, who was later to record his memories of this trip in a chronicle of his father's Voyages of Discovery. Columbus' hope was to reach the mythical Oriental lands he had read about in Marco Polo's writings. As we now know, he discovered what corresponds today to Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the north of Panama.

From Panama City, the expedition will travel to Lago Gatún, considered the largest artificial lake in the world until 1937, when the Hoover dam was built in Nevada. Columbus reached this coast in 1502 after a two-month struggle with storms and hurricanes. Today's expeditionaries will carry out fieldwork with biologists and botanists and will visit the rainforest to heighten their awareness of the need for the protection of and respect for the natural environment. At Gatún lock, the first lock built on the Panama Canal at the beginning of the twentieth century, students will study the history of the Canal. In Portobelo, in the old Customs' building recently restored by Cooperación Española, students will follow a course entitled "Myths and Utopias of the Age of Discovery". There will be opportunities for some underwater archeology in search of "La Vizcaína", one of the Fourth Voyage ships. From Portobelo, the Ruta will return to Panama City, traveling on the first transcontinental railway line in the world, built during the California Gold Rush in 1855 and recovered today for the transport of both passengers and freight. The Ruta expediton will visit with the Kuna Yala ethnic group and hear native leaders lecture on the organizational model of their society and the maintenance of their traditional way of life.

Travelling on the Pan-American Highway to Costa Rica, the expedition will climb to the clouded tropical forest of Savegre (12.000 ft), habitat of the threatened quetzal bird, mythical Central American species now in danger of extinction. In this area the Costa Rican and Spanish governments are jointly developing the Proyecto Savegre, a sustainable development project, where local ecosystems and their species are respected in exchange for international aid. At the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (IMBIO) (National Institute for Biodiversity) at Playa Gandoca-Manzanillo, Ruta travelers will study its mangroves, coral reefs and tropical forest.

Spain:

Upon their arrival in Spain, the Ruta Quetzal participants will be received by the King and Queen of Spain in Madrid. The expedition then travels to Tordesillas, where the Tordesillas treaty with Portugal was signed, establishing the existence of Brazil as a Portuguese colony; Toledo, the city of the three medieval cultures: Christian, Muslim and Judaic; Valencia de las Torres in Extremadura, where the agreements for the Fourth Voyage were signed; Córdoba, city of the Moorish philosopher Almanzor; Seville, eighteenth century cultural link between Spain, the Americas and the Philippines; Doñana National Park; Cádiz, the historic Atlantic seaport where Ruta travelers will study the life of the cabin-boys on the Discovery Voyages; and finally Algeciras, port for travelers to North Africa.

Throughout the Spain trip, expeditionaries will attend seminars and concerts performed by the Ruta Quetzal baroque music group.

The expedition concludes with the closing ceremony at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where participants will be awarded diplomas granted by the University.

4. What are the requirements for participation?

I. Personal requirements

A. Born in 1985 or 1986.
B. Native or near-native proficiency in Spanish (Advanced or Superior according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) in order to be able to participate in the academic aspects of the expedition. (Minimum Spanish, Level 4)
C. Excellent academic record. (GPA: 90+)
D. Outstanding student with leadership qualities.
E. Must not have participated in previous expeditions.
F. Family's moral support.
G. Physical stamina, camping and hiking skills, and a positive disposition to participate in an expedition which will take place for the most part in the open air, often with accommodations outdoors.

II. Original project

In order to participate in this competition, an original project must be submitted on one of the following topics:

· Columbus' Fourth Voyage and the discovery of Panama.
· Discovery of Central America
· Spices: their History and Geography
· Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of Cocoa: its History, Customs and Traditions.
· Marco Polo and the New World
· Central American Literature
· The Quetzal Bird and its importance in Pre-Columbian Civilizations
· Recovery and Conservation of Biodiversity in the National Parks of Spain and Costa Rica.

The research paper will be in Spanish, occupying a maximum of 20 one-sided, double-spaced typewritten or word-processed pages. Apart from these 20 pages, the paper must include bibliography and may contain graphics.

The presentation of the research paper may consist of a bound copy of the research paper or may consist of a multimedia presentation on CD ROM that would include the text, typewritten and/or read aloud, and complementary materials in the form of graphics, video clips, music clips, or other media.

· Projects on topics other than those listed above will not be considered.
· Only projects from individual applicants will be accepted. Group projects will not be considered. Each contestant will submit one project.
· Other Iberian-American and European students, selected in their own countries, will participate in this Ruta-Quetzal expedition.
· Projects submitted by the selected participants may be published, exhibited, or used for other purposes deemed suitable by the Ruta Quetzal organization. These works will become the property of the organization and will not be returned to their authors.

5. What selection criteria will be used to select the scholarship recipients?

The following criteria will be used in determining the Texas recipient of the 2002 Ruta Quetzal - BBVA scholarship.

· One applicant will be selected from among the qualified entries submitted. High Schools in Regions 4-9 are eligible to recommend applicants.

· Each applicant must submit the following documentation:
~ A completed application form with all the candidate information requested.
~ A high school transcript that includes the applicant's class ranking.
~ A letter of recommendation from the applicant's Spanish teacher.
~ Document certifying applicant's birth date, e.g., passport, copy of driver's license, birth certificate, etc.
~ Written consent of parent or guardian.
~ A 200-word letter written by the student in Spanish in which he/she explains the reasons for applying for the 2002 Ruta Quetzal-BBVA program and why he/she should be selected for the program.
~ The project described above with an optional multimedia presentation on the topic chosen by the candidate as the topic.

The applicant may also provide copies of certificates, awards, and other honors received. In addition, a copy of any research project on any topic and/or original literary work carried out by the student during his/her studies may also be submitted.

Any other documentation that the student considers relevant to the application may also be included.

Recommendations:

· It is indispensable that the selected student currently have a valid passport or is able to obtain one by March 22, 2002.
· The selected student should decide, together with his/her parents, what actions to take regarding the recommendations of the enclosed "Medical Information".
· All documentation must be sent to

Carmen Gil, Director
Education Office, Consulate General of Spain,
2425 Fountain View Drive, Suite 330
Houston, TX 77057

6. What is the timeline for the process of selection?

· The Visiting Spanish Consultant of the Spanish Ministry of Education at the Texas Education Agency will provide all the necessary information regarding the Ruta Quetzal-BBVA scholarship to the school districts before February 8, 2002. Questions regarding the student requirements should be directed to Carmen Gil or Javier Pablos at (713) 974-1689 oespain@oespain.com.

· Applicants will submit two copies of the completed application no later than March 11, 2002.

· After conducting a thorough selection committee review of all applications, Spain's Ministry of Education will announce the decision to the participants on or before March 18, 2002. The committee will select a recipient to represent Texas in the national competition and an alternate. The selection committee will be comprised of a High School Spanish teacher, the Spanish Visiting Consultants, Carmen Gil, Javier Pablos, and Mary Roche; and Inés García and María Seidner, representing the Texas Education Agency.
· The selected student will submit all documentation required by the 2002 Ruta Quetzal-BBVA study/journey, including a photocopy of passport, to Carmen Gil, Consulado General de España, Oficina de Educación, 2425 Fountain View Drive, #330;Houston TX 77057 before March 22, 2002.

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