In the near future October will be known for more than just Octoberfest, this October 15th the high school cafeteria was filled with Hispanic music, food, and so much energy that it could power the whole city of Palm Beach. The reason for this cheer was that the first Spanish Heritage Month Festival, hosted by the Spanish Honor Society, was being held. This festival was designed to aid students in understanding Latin culture and gave them the feeling of traveling to all sorts of Latin countries, from Mexico to Argentina and across the ocean to Spain. The festival offered mouthwatering treats like Argentinean styled Flan and Mexican styled tamales and performances by the Bachata Club and Somerset’s very own Azul Cepeda and Carlos Alvarado.

“This is a fusion of culture, from Latin America to the United States”, said Ms. Maldonado, the high school French and Spanish teacher.

Throughout the festival, each country had a station with student-designed projects and presentations of the country they chose while sharing a plethora of fun facts like the country’s currency, founders/leaders, and holidays.

 Ms. Maldonado went on to state, “That this will help [students] to travel through their minds [and] through a taste of different cultures.”

In ths, the Bachata Club’s first performance, they depicted the beauty of Latin dances through the cl0se chemistry between the dancers creating story lines through the use of costumes and gracful movements. Bachata is a style of romantic dance that originated in the Dominican Republic and is popular throughout the Caribbean. Afterward, A Mi Manera and Coma La Flor were performed by Somerset students with true cougar spirit and love for the Hispanic culture.      

Carlos Alvarado, a ninth grader, felt that by preforming at the festival he was given the opportunity to share the Latin culture he grew up with through song. Any observer would agree that the dancers felt the same way, when watching them preform the graceful and sensual movement of latin dance.

With festivals such as this one, the Somerset campus will continue to explore and celebrate the diversity of its student body. Hopefully all students who attended, left the festival with a new appreciation for Latin culture; and looking forward to next year’s festivities. The many cultural and religious clubs at Somerset afford students a plethora of opportunities to explore different cultures and flavors in life, here’s hoping that other clubs or organizations will participate in similar festivals throughout the school year. 

Danielle Garzon, an organizer for the festival, said, she was honored to be the founder and president of the Spanish honor society and that she was very proud of how the club flourished over the last 4 years. Ms. Garzon has certainly set the bar for other club presidents to participate or create festivals celebrating their organizations.