Senior Sara Gomez encourages students to join the Hispanic/Latino Club to feel represented and have an enjoyable experience in group activities, such as dancing and making decorations.
“You can gain a deeper understanding of someone else’s culture,” Club President Gomez said. “I want everyone to have a safe space where everyone can just be themselves and learn about each other.”
As a new club this year, Hispanic/Latino Club is not just for Hispanic and Latino students. It works to help students embrace their heritage through engaging activities, dances and more. It welcomes students of all backgrounds to learn about the various Latino cultures and to learn about each other. Recently, students made friendship bracelets, colored flags representing their heritage, learned Hispanic dances and shared foods of each other’s culture.
“I think other students can learn more about other Hispanic countries and their cultures and traditions,” junior Daniela Partida said. “That helps expand their knowledge on their community and be more united with other Hispanic students.”
Every other Thursday, the club meets in Room 20 to eat lunch and participate in the planned activity, which is arranged by Gomez and Vice President Alejandra Iniguez. Spanish teacher and club sponsor Glenda Hurtado makes her classroom available for the meetings and provides any assistance needed to carry out group games, dances and activities.
“In the past, we’ve had students decorate the flags of where they’re from and another time we had merengue lessons where students learned to dance merengue,” Hurtado said. “Awareness is a key factor of what is involved in the Latino club. It’s just bringing awareness to the cultural aspect of what it is to be Latino.”
