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Senior Victoria Merida sings La llorona, a cultural favorite song. She wore traditional makeup and clothing associated with the Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos.
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Students set up an ofrenda on stage, an important part of Mexican culture used in Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos. to celebrate those who have passed. The ofrenda on stage was decorated with colorful cloth and statues, mimicking the vibrancy of real Mexican ofrendas.
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Pasión Latino performs Bachata and Salsa, both culturally significant dances. The dance team practiced extensively ahead of the event to ensure they were well prepared to showcase their culture to the student body.
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Senior Amelia Rizik performs a spoken word poem on the urgency of climate change. A student dressed as a butterfly appeared behind Rizik because, in Mexican culture, the butterfly is a symbol of transformation. “We wanted them to become like monarch butterflies and embrace change,” Rizik said.
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Seniors Elizabeth Hernandez and Luis Siancas of Pasion Latino dance to Spanish dance music.
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Students filed into the auditorium on Friday, Nov. 22, ready to watch the annual Hispanic/Latino Cultural Assembly. The Hispanic/Latino Student Union worked hard to plan an enjoyable, educational performance that consisted of dancing, singing and information about the different cultures that Hispanic students belong to.
“We partnered up with the minority groups and they did the introduction because we needed to make sure that the assembly was informative and educational,” senior vice president Maria Valencia said. “We were there a lot of the time, until 5:30 p.m. practicing for the assembly and also doing the artwork.”
On top of everyday rehearsals, everyone took time to contribute to a speech where all the students participating could say a few words about Hispanic culture.
Co-presidents Veronica Anzola and Jacobo Gutierrez of the Hispanic/Latino Student Union took major leadership roles in the organization of the assembly.
“We worked with the administration and our sponsor to set the date of the assembly,” Anzola said. “We planned the event so that we would follow the new rules this year for assemblies. We wanted to set an example for what a good assembly would look like.”
All of the students participating in the assembly were divided into groups to represent the different celebrations such as the Day of the Dead and the Quinceañera.
“I was part of Pasión Latino, and we danced the Salsa and the Bachata. ew of us danced the Quinceañera as well,” sophomore Daniella Carreno said.
Students representing Chile performed the Cueca dance. Cueca is a style of music and dance specific to the region of Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. It is an especially significant part of Chilean culture.
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in Mexican culture to honor those who have passed, celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2. The segment of the assembly dedicated to this celebration was a memorable opportunity for some club members who were able to showcase this unique part of Mexican culture.
Another highlight was when a group of students came out of the various doors waving flashlights, running to the stage during the Carnival celebration.
“We wanted to do something more active, not something that you just watch, but something that you can feel as well to engage the audience and to make everyone feel more excited,” Valencia said.
The organizers made a point to integrate lessons to help educate students on different types of Hispanic heritage and its overall importance. Students came in to talk about their experiences as well.
“There were some people representing other Hispanics that have achieved big things here in the U.S. being an immigrant using their knowledge to share with the students to represent their culture to let it out in the world so that the Walter Johnson community can also learn about Hispanic culture,” Carreno said.
Looking back on the assembly, members of the Hispanic/Latino Student Union were pleased with how the event went.
“Our message was that Latinoamerican culture is very diverse. It has lots of different parts and groups. I think we were able to demonstrate that,” Anzola reflected.
This story was updated on Dec. 19 from a previous version to correct generalized and inaccurate statements in the article and the captions of images.
