Academy Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Students pose for a picture at the Latinx dinner. Nataly Delcid/ The Exonian
By LUCY JUNG AMY LIN, and ELAINE QIAO
The United States National Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) starts on Sep. 15 and ends on Oct. 15.
On a national level, the month is a form of tribute and recognition regarding Hispanic Americans’ contributions to the United States. On the Exeter campus, Hispanic Heritage Month means an abundance of celebratory events that foster warmth amidst the cooling temperatures by bringing the community together. In addition to the assembly planned by La Alianza Latina (LAL), an affinity dinner for Latinx students was held at Principal Rawson’s house on the following Saturday. Both events are in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Faculty and students shared what Hispanic Heritage Month means to them. “To put it simply, it’s a time to emphasize the pride we have in being Hispanic,” upper Maemi Carrillo said.
Dean of Multicultural Affairs Sherry Hernandez added, “To me, Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month is about making our Hispanic/Latinx students and adults feel seen, and strengthen their sense of belonging. It is highlighting their contributions and experiences at Exeter over the years and celebrating those who are in the community today.”
“I hope this doesn’t come as a surprise, but believe it or not we didn’t really celebrate HHM,” senior Joseph Alvarez said. “Rather, we celebrated our culture over the course of the whole year. Being from Newark, New Jersey, everyone was surrounded by Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban culture so it was already in our daily lives. Exeter, however ,is of course a different story as I went from a predominantly Black and Latinx community to a predominantly white community. So, representing my culture is huge for me and I look to HHM to allow others into our world with events like movie screenings, our Día de Muertos ofrenda, and the Día de Muertos festival.”
The assembly presentation directed and led by the LAL coheads was one entertaining way of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on campus. “We wanted our video to be informative and representative about how Hispanic students at Exeter felt about Hispanic Heritage Month and about their culture. But we tried to do it in a telenovela sense because that way it would make it more interesting than just people talking. So it would increase engagement with the audience and also, as a side note, kind of show a different aspect of a culture,” LAL co-head upper Laura Saldarriaga said.
Carrillo added, “Our Alianza Latina board did a lot of brainstorming for our video. We wanted to involve as many Latinx students as we could. We then decided to take on a telenovela-esque style with our video, to highlight this special type of media in Hispanic culture, while also making it fun for our audience to watch.”
The affinity dinner hosted by Principal William Rawson on Saturday “was one way for Latinx students and adults to get together with the Principal in the Principal’s home for good Latinx food, fun conversation, and to simply enjoy being together in community,” Rawson said.
Rawson continued, “I certainly enjoyed the laughter around the table and hearing students share a bit about their Exeter experiences. Inviting students to my house helps me get to know students better and supports a strong sense of belonging for students who are able to come. My impression from the students who attended is that the dinner was a success in all these ways.”
“Dinner at Principal Rawson’s was beautiful. Food just really brings communities together. So, it was lovely to be at his house with so many different kids from different Spanish-speaking countries and just eating as a family, because that’s what LAL is. It’s a family,” Instructor in Modern Languages Jacqueline Flores said, recalling the night.
“You could see by their faces that they were happy to be there. What I loved most was watching the kids eat and celebrate. We ate Mexican food, and it was beautiful to see students enjoy what is close to home. Although the food may be totally different from Dominican food, Puerto Rican food, or Colombian food, the food still connects us. We’re different, but at the same time we’re one,” Flores added.
“The food was really good. It was Mexican food. It was nice and we all sat together and laughed and spoke and it felt like a nice family dinner,” Saldarriaga said.
“The dinner at Principal Rawson’s house was wonderful. The food was delicious (shoutout to Vida Cantina) and the company was great. Students were able to chat with some Latinx teachers as well as connect more with our principal,” Carrillo said.
Students and faculty members both see room for improvement regarding Latinx visibility on campus. “While the Latino population on campus is relatively small, it makes celebrations like these and clubs like LAL all the more special. In the coming years, we’ll hopefully see more admitted Latino students,” Carrillo said.
Flores shared her views on the representation of the Latinx population on campus. “Because we live in Exeter, it’s unfortunate that we don’t have a lot of time to not [only] educate people, but to expose people to our culture because we are so many from the Spanish speaking world and not everybody’s represented on campus.”
“It would be nice if students know the differences between a Mexican and a Bolivian or a Venezuelan and a Salvadorian, making sure that our community knows that we’re very diverse and we’re part of the American continent,” Flores added.
“I would love to have a speaker come to speak at the assembly, someone well-known or someone who can talk about his or her profession and talk about what it’s like to be Latino,” Flores suggested. “[I would also love] more presence. Maybe we [can] have our flags up in EPAC [to show] we’re just so diverse. It’s unfortunate it’s only one month. We have so many famous people who have already left us, but did they make huge contributions to the Latino culture? Absolutely. We are a lot of famous people, and [they’re] powerful in every area: in the arts, in Hollywood, politics, the sciences, you name it, there’s a Spanish-speaking person, a Latino in each field. And I’m very proud to call myself Latina.”
Hispanic Heritage Month activities on campus were designed with the purpose of increasing this visibility. In addition to the assembly and dinner at Principal Rawson’s house, “there was also a viewing of the “In The Heights” movie, a Broadway show turned film by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a proud Puertorriqueño artist who has created other works like Hamilton and scores for movies like Moana and Coco,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez spoke on Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA)-sponsored events related to the Latinx culture that will follow Hispanic Heritage Month. “We have been partnering with [the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES)] co-heads since spring 2023 in preparation for the upcoming ALES 55th celebration on [Oct. 28 and 29]. We are very excited about this upcoming event that continues to center and amplify the voices of our Afro-Latinx community. In addition, our LAL members and OMA proctors are busily putting together Día de Muertos celebrations including La Ofrenda at Phelps Commons from [Oct. 29 to Nov. 3] and Día de Muertos Festival at Thompson Gym on [Nov. 3]. The intersection of celebrating Latino and Indigenous cultures for this event demonstrates to our community our focus on intersectionality.”
Assistant Director of Equity and Inclusion Kevin Pajaro-Mariñez shared, “I have passed through the Día de Los Muertos ofrenda or offering space on campus in past years. And, for me, that display helps to capture how different Latinx groups process their identity. More broadly, the ofrenda shows the entire PEA community one of many practices related to what it means to honor people, especially the dead. I think it’s really cool how the ofrenda exists as a symbol for commemorating and remembering the histories of people — our loved ones, family members, and others — who came before us.
When asked about whether the Academy’s HHM celebrations were reflective of Latine culture and cultural experience, Pajaro-Mariñez responded, “Latinx culture is always evolving. How people understand Latinidad within themselves and in relationship to others is always shifting. What I will say is I believe our school community, especially the Office of Multicultural Affairs, is always thinking about how to be inclusive of all cultural groups on campus through programming and events. For me, I look at Latinx Heritage Month as an opportunity for the Academy to see how Latinx people honor who they are by way of food, art, dance, culture, and more. Like any school community, we are not perfect and there is always room to grow. At the very least, however, I believe our school’s programming around Latinx Heritage Month helps to bring awareness to the Latinx experience. My hope is that Latinx Heritage Month on campus sparks a broader curiosity to engage across difference and learn from one another in ways that build meaningful and authentic relationships.
