By: Lesly Fernadez (Senn Senior)
Celebrating culture is crucial in reflecting in what makes everyone unique. It’s an important part of what makes up the identity of each person. For Hispanics and members of the Latinx community, Hispanic Heritage Month was very special, considering the fact that it couldn’t be celebrated in quite the same way a year ago.
The Senn community celebrated their culture with an assembly on October 27, though this year’s celebration was slightly different to years prior to the pandemic.
Luz Andreu, department chair of world language and Spanish teacher at Senn, spoke on the importance of celebrating culture and the changes that have been made.
Andreu said, “I think that we live in a diverse country in which we have to celebrate said diversity and I think that celebrating Hispanic heritage is a way of applauding and welcoming what it is to be diverse but at the same time be unique. I think that we Latinos are unique; we’re fighters; we’re everything.”
She also mentioned that in order to keep the students safe, the assembly couldn’t be held in the school’s auditorium. It was held in the gym, which still allowed some students to view the assembly in person while others saw it through a live stream.
Andreu went on to mention how proud she feels about the way she has seen her students change throughout the years.
She said, “The biggest and most pleasurable change that I have seen is how my students feel proud of their roots. Every time I see more enthusiasm in representing, in sharing their dances, their traditions and that makes me very happy.”
