Hispanic Heritage Night at Terra Linda High School celebrates Hispanic culture and diversity. This year marked the second annual Hispanic Heritage Night that TL has hosted. Many of our students, staff, and families came together and enjoyed the different foods, dances, and music. This event not only shined a light on our Hispanic students and staff, but it displayed how celebrating diversity and different cultures makes a difference in the community and makes our school a comfortable place for everyone.
The celebration included many forms of entertainment including a live band, face painting, and dancers. One of these dancers who performed for the community was Junior Emberly Lopez Escobar who spoke about how much fun she had at Hispanic Heritage Night. She believes that holding this event is of the utmost importance considering how many of TL’s students are Hispanic. “…because the majority of the population in the school is Latino, so having an event just to appreciate them I feel like not only does it contribute to their culture, but it also connects the whole population to the school,” Lopez said. She added that the music from the band was the highlight of the night and added a lot of energy to the atmosphere. Lopez then added, “You could experience other cultures, you could gain more knowledge, while having a good time.”
This event took many people to plan and execute, Sophomore Sydney Musial being one of them. She said a lot of work went into making Hispanic Heritage the elaborate event that it was, such as contacting vendors and setting prices. She stated that the second time planning this event was easier because they had a clearer picture of what they wanted it to look like. “Last year we put a lot of trust into vendors and a lot of trust that people would come and things would work out. This year we had a better idea of how many people would come and how much money we would make with this event.” Although there were many differences between this year and last, the central idea of the event stayed the same. It was “created to strengthen community in TL,” as Musial says, and it did so through its enjoyable, cultural activities.
This was Junior Rashell Diaz’s first time attending Hispanic Heritage Night and she’d rate the experience a solid 8 out of 10. She described the band and the food as her favorite parts of the night, “I had a pretty fun experience and I liked the music and all and the community coming together to dance.” Diaz also thought that they could’ve had more decoration to make the space feel like a more authentic Hispanic party, but aside from this, she mainly had praises to share. “It’s a very fun experience even if you’re not from a Latino area. You can go to hang out with your friends, dance, and learn about a new culture.” Diaz emphasized that she would definitely recommend the event because of the experience it gives.
When interviewing Alanis Ramirez, a senior at TL and one of the presidents of the Latinos Unidos club at TL. She stated, “A similarity between this year and last year is that it was prevalent, and it was an event that was a favorite for a lot of people. The difference was that this year we had to create it in a bigger space because last year it was really popular.” Ramirez also led the committee in creating Hispanic Heritage Night. One of her favorite parts of the event was seeing the community come together and have an extraordinary time.
All in all, this event was a great success that brought our community together to celebrate Hispanics’ contribution to TL and taught people about Hispanic culture. As the scale of the event continues to grow, this is a fast-growing tradition that will stick around for years to come!
