By McLean Grimes
Executive News Editor
Costa’s Hispanic Heritage Assembly was held in the Mustang Mall on Oct. 28 to honor Hispanic Heritage Month and educate students on Hispanic history and culture.
The assembly was organized by the Latino Scholars Union (LSU), a student-run club that meets on Tuesdays in room 73 to provide a safe place for students on campus. According to LSU President and senior Dayana Horta-Ramirez, the club also raises money for charities such as Common Hope, an organization that helps children in Guatemala pursue education.
“The purpose of the assembly was to celebrate the different cultures within Latin America,” said Horta-Ramirez. “[It also] talks about the effects that history has on the present such as the caste system and modern day colorism.”
The assembly started with a video created by senior Sean Kim that outlined the schedule for the event. Throughout the process of making the video, Kim worked with juniors Kaden Socrates and Gabriella Fish.
“This video was dedicated to LatinX history that wasn’t taught in school, but it was also an opportunity for students of Hispanic and LatinX backgrounds to have their voices heard,” said Kim. “The video included a myriad of individuals from different backgrounds, as well as some of my own favorite references to LatinX culture that I got from my dad, a die-hard Argentinian.”
The video also featured several members of LSU who gave student interviews. They discussed how Hispanic history has impacted their lives, if colorism should be talked about, the effects of it, as well as their favorite parts of LSU.
“We focused on untaught history and colorism within the Hispanic community,” said Vice President of LSU and senior Natalia Herrera. “The members of LSU really put a lot of hard work into this assembly, and we are really proud of them.”
After the video, students were released to the Mustang Mall, where several booths sold food to students who could pay with cash or venmo. Pupusas sold for $8, arepas sold for $10, plátanos fritos sold for $7, and churros sold for $5.
“We sold out of 300 pupusas, 300 churros, 100 arepas, and 50 plátano plates,” said Herrera. “The assembly was really successful, and it was great to see all the students and staff enjoy themselves.”
Various booths were placed across the Mustang Mall to display Latin American regions including South America, Central America, Mexico, Spain, and the Caribbean. Each booth
contained a photo and facts about the region such as the countries within it, common foods, famous musicians, types of dances, and fun facts.
“I bought a pupusa, and I really liked it,” said junior Juju O’Brien. “I love pupusas, and the one from the assembly was top notch.”
As students went from booth to booth, a mariachi band played on the Mustang Mall stage. In addition, dancers outside the cafeteria taught students traditional dance moves to Latin music. Blankets were laid across the grass hill in the Mustang Mall for students to eat their food on.
“My favorite part was the Costa conga line,” said Horta-Ramirez. “I honestly didn’t think it would get so big. It was a great physical representation of Costa coming together; even if it was to do something silly, we were all having fun together.”
According to Horta-Ramirez, LSU started planning the assembly in the summer to create the theme of history and its influence. LSU advisor Sandra Martinez-Sellan, Vice Principal Daniel Pestle, Principal Dr. Karina Gerger, and the custodian/grounds staff worked together to make the assembly a success. The Black Scholars Union, Pacific Islanders Club, and Link Crew also
helped.
“As club president, I was in charge of overseeing everything; my main goal was to have as much planned out as possible so the assembly would go smoothly,” said Horta-Ramirez. “We wanted to bring Costa together, and I feel like the assembly was able to do that; everyone was in the same place enjoying music and food.”
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