The Foreign Language club hosted the Hispanic art gallery, an event that presented the artworks of students, and food offered at the event.
Paintings that were originally created by Hispanic artists in the past were recreated by students who are taking a Spanish class. They were then collected and put up for show. This project allowed students to deep dive further into their culture while learning a new skill.
“So, I started trying to draw on a piece of paper, just a draft, then I did the painting like three times. It took me like five hours to do it. To be honest, I didn’t enjoy doing the project because I’m not an artist or anything like that,” senior Gabriel De Castro Fransisco said. “I think the best part was the research because I was learning a lot about the Mexico artists. Because I’m not spending so much time learning about other cultures, it was really fun.”
This was not only a creative stimulant for the students, but also a stepping stool. Most students used this as an opportunity to advance the tools in their skillset.
“I did enjoy doing the project. I really liked describing it in Spanish. I feel like I improved my Spanish even though I know a little, but baby steps are still progress. I felt like I described the piece beautifully. And that’s what I loved about it,” sophomore Dessire Rodriguez-Bonilla expressed.
While there was a major variety of artwork presented, there was also coloring activities and food for guest to engage in. Yet, evidently the art was what was most featured in the event.
“I enjoyed seeing all the art. I thought all the art was beautiful, especially the 3D ones of food. Those really caught my eye. And there was one big one on display that had like all the Hispanic flags, now that one really caught my eye because I found it cool. Overall, I just liked everything,” freshman Kinelys Alvarado said.
The Spanish teachers are teaching their students the importance and the many contributions Hispanic people have been making to our society.
The Hispanic culture is something to be really proud of we have been teaching students how the Hispanic culture has been a big influence in the United States weathers it is threw food, people, influencers, in our government, music, and so much more. Having the students learn the contributions and how the Hispanics culture is impacting this nations is many positive ways for all,” Spanish teacher Krytiza Ramirez said.
It is a universal idea that teamwork makes the dream work, and this showcasing event is no exception. The foreign language club came together and brought the gallery to life.
“This took a little more time and permission from the teachers and everything so everyone could collaborate in it. And I’m glad that we actually made it,” junior Maria Mora stated. “They never did this event before. So, I feel like it was really special for us. Since we’re the representation of a culture. So, I really liked it.”
The foreign language club members were not the only contributors to Hispanic art gallery. The students in the Spanish classes chose and recreated paintings, those paintings were then taken and hung up for show Yet, that was just the tip of the iceberg according to De Castro.
“Basically, we had to ask all the Spanish teachers to ask the students to do the paintings. And it was really hard because we had we had like 300 paintings. We had to put a lot of effort in and not everybody is good at drawing. So, we had to pick expressive arts and schedule everything, we had to go buy snacks to sell, we had to organize everything like a day before and everything. It was really hard to do everything but like in the end it was worth it,” De Castro said.
Now, as this was the first Hispanic event of the year, students would love to see more Hispanic representation and all nationalities unite to bring more spirit into the school. Although, sophomore Maria Martinez says do not worry.
“We have been planning a multicultural night in February. That’s like a party with food and movies and other things that I’m excited about. I can’t say anymore currently but it will be bigger than the gallery was, so stay tuned,” Martinez said.
