As Hispanic Heritage Month draws to a close on Oct. 15, clubs at RM reflect on the celebrations of their unique culture and traditions.
One club celebrating Hispanic culture is the National Spanish Honor Society, which teaches students about the Spanish language and history. Spanish teacher Jason Colchao has been the club sponsor for the past five years.
At their first meeting, they will hold a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. They plan to present about the month’s rich history and the multi-faceted identity of students, including the difference between being Hispanic and Latinx.
This year, they will have tutoring sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the media center. Honor society members will also attend field trips to museums and continue their annual tradition of watching a play at a Hispanic theater.
Mr. Colchao is from Peru, as evidenced by the many flags decorating his classroom. He honors his Peruvian heritage throughout his daily life. “The people that I live with cook Peruvian food for me on a regular basis. I listen to a lot of Hispanic music of course,” Mr. Colchao said. “But every day, as a Spanish teacher, I incorporate Hispanic culture into my life.”
One club focused on representation is Hispanics in STEM, which empowers Hispanic students to explore opportunities in the fields of science, tech, engineering, and math.
Senior Sergio Diaz, vice president of the club, and his friend had wanted to major in computer science and become software engineers. However, they started the club when they realized that many of their Hispanic peers felt confined to stereotypical career paths.
“Not many people in our community know about STEM … In the Hispanic community, they mostly stick to one, one major or career,” Diaz said. “We try to expand into the STEM world so that we can get more Hispanics into that type of field.”
At their first meeting, they discussed their plans for the upcoming year. At future meetings, they will give presentations on different career plans and bring in guest speakers who work in STEM to discuss their jobs.
“We have one person coming in November … He majored in computer science, so he’s gonna give us a run-through of what he does,” Diaz said. “[Young Hispanics] can see there’s a better future than what they’re told they could be doing.”
Diaz is from El Salvador and celebrates his heritage through his culture’s cuisine. “My parents cook meals that represent us. For example, I’m from El Salvador so one thing we cooked last week was pupusas,” he said.
Chicas Charlando, which translates to Girls Chatting, is an affinity group that celebrates Hispanic heritage. It is tailored towards Hispanic girls at RM looking to share cultural experiences and support each other, although anybody is welcome to join.
It was started by English Language Development teacher Elizabeth Fuhrman and another counselor five years ago, when they noticed that the new Spanish-speaking students didn’t know many people in the school. They wanted to help them build relationships, learn about the school, and do service projects.
Mx. Fuhrman has taught English for English learners for 25 years. She has always been fascinated by Hispanic culture and has honored it throughout her life. “I talk a lot with students and I ask them how they celebrate … I grew up in Texas, so I know a lot of history about Mexico and Central America,” she said. “So, sometimes I go to watch a singer perform … I try to look around the community and see what’s going on.”
Senior and vice president Natalia Martinez has been part of Chicas Charlando for two years. She enjoys sharing her favorite dances and foods with the club. “I’m from Bolivia … we dance Carnavalito … we eat Majaditos, rice with steak. Also pollo picante, spicy chicken. My favorite food is salteñas,” Martinez said. “That one is good.”
She has also learned about the culture of other Hispanic countries. “Madelin is from Honduras … and she taught me how to dance Punta, and also about the food in her country, like pupusas,” Martinez said.
The club members share their different cultures during their weekly meetings. One week, they may focus on dance, while another, they will discuss food. They also hold talks where members talk about their feelings and support each other.
In addition, the club has made a series of videos highlighting different aspects of Hispanic culture. They began it last year with a focus on food. This year, they featured Hispanic staff in the school such as math teacher Josephine De La Olivia and counselor Betsy Galiano.
One service project they have done is trash cleanups at local parks. Every holiday season, they also make greeting cards to gift to the elderly in senior homes.
Senior and current club president Madelin Coca has been a member since freshman year. “In this club, the main idea is to share cultures from different countries. Also, we get SSL hours when we make letters for nursing homes,” Coca said.
On Oct. 9, the club gathered outside the library to celebrate Hispanic culture and music, dancing to energetic music booming out of the speakers. “The song [playing right now] is Bachata. We play music from different countries. For example, Bachata is Dominican,” Coca said. “We share this music and we learned the dancing because it’s really important.”
If you would like to voice your opinion on an issue you feel is relevant to our community, please do so here. Anyone is able and welcome to submit a Letter to the Editor, regardless of journalistic experience or writing skills. Submissions may be published either online or in a print issue.
