Vibrant music and dance brought lunch to life for Kingwood Park students and faculty. The Latin American Student Organization (L.A.S.O) brought in the Humble High School mariachi band and ballet folklórico dancers for their spirit week to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and spread Hispanic heritage and culture.
Whether it was the halls, the music at lunch, or the banners in the common area. Senior Andrea Hernandez, vice president of L.A.S.O., helped organize everything for the preparation of their spirit week.
“We stayed two hours after school every day for a week, and that’s the flags, the flowers, the papel picado in the Spanish hallway, the display case outside of the library, Then we had to get approval for the spirit week,” Hernandez said. “I had to make the flyers we had to send out. We had to make the spirit week presentation that was shown in advisory. It was definitely a lot more than it looked.”
For Hernandez, being able to be a part of something that organized all of this means a lot to her.
“When I heard the mariachi music play, it was like, I’m in my grandmother’s house, and I teared up because I couldn’t believe that this was happening at my school, and that I was in the organization that made it happen,” Hernandez said.
Humble High School junior Gabriella Castro feels the same pride and joy in being a part of something that can bring her and others closer to her culture. Castro wasn’t always a musician, but loved to sing and wanted to be a part of the band in any way that she could, so she could share her culture and passion with other students.
“I like coming over here and sharing culture with people because this is the only mariachi group in the district,” Castro said. “It’s really nice to be able to share this with other people and seeing people smile and get along.”
Spanish teacher Eileen Quiñones sponsors L.A.S.O. and was happy the week was such a success.
“It was a great opportunity to showcase culture,” Quiñones said. “Music is so important and the mariachis is a universally known music, rhythm and style for Mexico. So we thought it was a great opportunity for the students to enjoy the music.”
