Nora McKoy

SHARING CULTURE. Latinos Unidos provided Conchas, Mexican sweetbreads, for students at their May Cinco De Mayo celebration. “[Cinco de Mayo] is a very Americanized holiday, and that is really the only community outreach type thing we do,” Latinos Unidos member Amalia Laguna said. She wishes there was more school-wide recognition for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Hispanic Heritage Month was from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrating the rich history and cultures of Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. According to the 2022 census, 6% of Minnesotans are Hispanic or Latino. What is the difference? Hispanic means a Spanish speaking culture, and Latinx means a Latin American culture. However, the story of celebration goes beyond the month.

Senior Amalia Laguna is Puerto Rican, a fluent Spanish speaker, and the student leader of Latinos Unidos, the affinity group for Hispanic and Latinx students. Food and language connect Laguna to her heritage.

“A big part of sharing culture is food. To me, that has always been a really important part of culture,” she said.

One of Laguna’s favorite Puerto Rican foods is pasteles. They are made of plantain and yucca, and wrapped with plantain leaves. Laguna’s aunt makes the pasteles, but she lives in Texas, so the dish becomes a treat when the family gets together.

“My aunt will put chicken in it and wrap it up in plantain leaves,” Laguna said. “They’re very soft. They’re like the type of food you eat when you get your braces off…. It is really similar to a tamale, but it is better. That is where the argument comes in,” Laguna said.

Although similarly wrapped in husks or shells, pasteles and tamales are distinctly different.

On the other side of the playful “argument” is Senior Aurelia Meza. Making tamales connects Meza to her Mexican culture and extended family.

“During the holiday season, my family always makes tamales. It’s a wonderful tradition, we definitely get very rowdy,” Meza said. Family is huge for Meza, as it is the community where she shares common experience.

Representation matters in creating a community where all cultures are valued and celebrated, and Hispanic Heritage month exists to do just that. However, both Laguna and Meza wished there was more programming at school to celebrate the month.

“The only things I saw were the library display and newsletter announcement. It would be great for SPA to do a speaker day with different Hispanic speakers, because I know we do that for other cultural things, and it would be good to get more representation in the school,” Meza said.

Latinos Unidos has discussed the lack of representation, and brainstormed ways to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month and lesser-known Latin American celebrations.

“We were talking about hosting an assembly to talk about Latinx culture,” Laguna said. “Our big thing is Cinco De Mayo, and that is a very Americanized holiday, and that is really the only community outreach type thing we do.”

What more can be done within the school? “Celebrate different holidays that aren’t Cinco De Mayo– like King’s Day or Day of the Dead,” Laguna said.

Celebration extends beyond the month, and can start with the cultural keystone for Laguna and Meza- food.