Members of local dance group Tonalli perform on Oct. 4 in the CCHS bus loop. Tri-M Music Honor Society Treasurer Avril Mata, a senior, believed that the involvement from young children in the afternoon’s performances allowed them to be able to appreciate their heritage. “I really liked the traditional dancing; that was probably my favorite part,” Mata said.”These little kids, they’re gonna grow up and realize that when they were little, they were appreciated by their people.” Photo by Daniel Cruz
The CCHS Tri-M Music Honor Society held the Hispanic Heritage Festival on Oct. 4 in the CCHS bus loop from 5-7 p.m.
On Oct. 4, the Clarke Central High School Tri-M Music Honor Society held the Hispanic Heritage Festival in the CCHS bus loop, which became home to a vibrant display of Hispanic culture as the sounds of cheering and aroma of traditional Hispanic food filled the air.
The Hispanic Heritage Festival was CCHS’ first-ever festival specifically dedicated to celebrating Hispanic culture and included traditional food and drinks, dance lessons and dance performances.
“(The Hispanic Heritage Festival) was very entertaining – a lot of events, music (and) dancing. It really showed a lot about Hispanic culture and it was just a good time,” senior Randall Swoopes said. “It was one of my first (exposures to Hispanic culture).”
CCHS students and community members participate in a dance lesson from UGA Lecturer of Spanish for the Professions Fuad Elhage and UGA Senior IT Manager Stephanie Lynn. Elhage was motivated to come since he believed that dancing is an inherent part of the Latino experience. “For us Latinos, dancing is part of our social life. You don’t dance, you don’t interact with people,” Elhage said. Photo by Aza Khan
The festival’s activities commenced with dance lessons from UGA Lecturer of Spanish for the Professions Fuad Elhage and UGA Senior IT Manager Stephanie Lynn.
“(We wanted to demonstrate) the rich culture of other Spanish speaking countries, so we did merengue, salsa and bachata, which are more Caribbean rhythms. At the end we did tango, which is from Argentina and Uruguay,” Elhage said. “For us Latinos, dancing is part of our social life. You don’t dance, you don’t interact with people.”
“For us Latinos, dancing is part of our social life. You don’t dance, you don’t interact with people.”
— Fuad Elhage,
UGA Lecturer of Spanish for the Professions
The festival also featured a quinceanera fashion contest where contest winner CCHS freshman Adamary Garcia and CCHS senior Danitza Ulloa demonstrated their quinceanera dresses to attendees. As the night began to come to a close, local dance group Tonalli performed for the festival’s attendees.
“I was very energized by the dancing, all the kids participating and all the families who joined us,”fine arts department co-chair and Tri-M advisor Eunice Kang said.
Tri-M Treasurer Avril Mata, a senior, came up with the idea for the event and believes that the festival is a way for Hispanic culture to get more representation in the school and local community.
“The Black History program that just got approved in 2023 in the beginning of the year gave me inspiration,” said Mata. “(Hispanics are) not represented that much. I just wanted to be the pushing force for that, so that next year, (the festival) can be bigger and bigger.”
