On May 5, Aragon held the Latino Cultural Festival in the South Gym. Planned by the Latino Parents Organization, the festival was hosted to celebrate and share Latino culture.
“[We wanted] to provide our community [with] a sense of getting together as a family, and to [recognize] the cultural diversity that we have here,” said family engagement coordinator Edwin Martinez. “In 2014, one of the parents had the idea to have an event in which we show who we are as a culture, [and so we did] the first festival in 2015.”
The organizers of the event highlight the importance of the festival in a multitude of ways.
“The main purpose of the festival [was] to create community, to showcase our diversity and to fundraise for our Latino community,” said Erica Smulever, co-vice president of the Latino Parent Organization Board. “We are the Latino Parents Group, so we promote this community and we want to help our community grow.”
The festival also served as a scholarship fundraiser for Latino students. Attendees could buy tickets, which could be ex-
changed for food or entered in the raffle.
“All of the funds that we raise go back into our community,” said Sonia Cole, president of the Latino Parent Organization Board. “We are going to award seniors of Latino descent in all areas of outstanding achievement, from GPA to sports and art to leadership.”
The festival featured representation from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru and Guatemala. Each country had their own table presenting their own unique dishes, such as choripan from Argentina and panes con pavo from El Salvador.
There were several dance and music performances. “Straight Aths” performed a set of songs, and there were singers from Colombia and Mexico. Folk dances from Colombia and Peru were also performed.
“We had a very extensive list [of performers representing] a lot of different cultures,” Cole said.
The organizers viewed the event as a success.
“The festival [was] very successful, [and] we prepared for it for many months, with many meetings,” Smulever said. “My favorite part [was] looking at people around and noticing that they’re happy; They’re happy to be here, they’re supporting the school and our community and we are creating a stronger community.”
After a hiatus due to COVID-19, the return of the event marked a revival of a tradition for the Latino community at Aragon.
“I think it [was] a smashing success,” Cole said. “I am very excited. We [have] been working very hard for many months. Coming out of COVID-19, people were very excited to go back to the community and do things together with other people, and this is the first time we’ve been able to go back and use the gym to mingle and be together.”
Attendees enjoyed the range of cultures represented at the festival.
“[My favorite part] would be how many cultures get to come together,” said freshman Maria Medina. “There was Spain, there was Colombia, and you get to know the culture of every country and different types of cultures. It was a very good mixture.”
