Hispanic Fest Celebrates Latin Culture

Jose Medina ’20, Victoria Bayevskiy ’20, and Eleni Karoutsos take frontstage for a musical number. Photo Credit: Justin Chow

By CAROLINE LOUIE and SHAMAIL NASEER

For the first time in Midwood history, students hosted a Hispanic Cultural Festival October 24 in the auditorium.

“The Hispanic Cultural Festival is basically a celebration of all the different Hispanic cultures that we have in the school,” said Laura Rosas ’20, one of the commissioners of the festival. “It’s our attempt to say to the school, ‘Hi, we’re here, and we also have a really amazing culture that we’d like you guys to appreciate.’”

The festival featured singing, acting, dancing, modeling, art, and music from a variety of Hispanic cultures.

“The difference between Hispanic Festival and other shows like Asian Festival is that we’re trying to tell more of a story,” said Rosas. “We want to be like, here’s our culture, but we also want to show you how our culture relates to you guys.”

Isaiah Daniel ’20, the director, explained the festival’s vision: “We have a single plot which serves as the link between dances, songs, and performances.”

William Lin ’20 and Michelle Ng ’20 model Hispanic clothing in el Mundo de los Muertos. Photo Credit: Justin Chow

The story follows a 15-year-old girl named Ana, played by Eleni Karoutsos ’20. Daniel explained that Ana is “having trouble embracing her Hispanic culture because she focuses more on her schoolwork and finding financial success. She goes through a catastrophic event that launches her into a world that not only teaches her the meaning of family, but also the importance of her culture.”

Ana visits el Mundo de los Muertos (land of the dead), where backgrounds and students’ faces are painted like “Día de los Muertos” skulls. 

Music played a big role in the production as well. In the beginning, students performed a traditional quinceañera waltz as damas and chambelanes. Near the end, the cast sang a Spanish version of “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, accompanied by Mr. Max Pinsky on guitar. Other dance and music interludes punctuated plot points in the middle, featuring “Lovely” by Billie Eilish and “Stand By Me.”

“The dancers met up on the weekends and we went to the park to get extra practice,” said Yaire Calderon ’20, one of the commissioners.

Spanish teachers also became involved in the making of the festival.

“I think it’s important for all students to have a creative outlet to express themselves,” said Mr. Pinsky, one of the festival’s advisors and a Spanish teacher. “This is one opportunity that our school is offering to do that.”

Although the festival celebrates Hispanic culture, it is also inclusive of those who do not come from a Hispanic background.

Karoutsos said, “In senior year I knew that I wanted to do more productions, and I knew that Hispanic Festival would be a good opportunity to do this while being able to learn about Hispanic cultures as well.”

Others were particularly excited for the chance to represent their own culture in the festival.

Lisbeth Juela Tenemaza ’20 introduces the show with Yaire Calderon Castillo ’20, Isaiah Daniel ’20, and Laura Rosas Vidal ’20.

Photo Credit: Justin Chow

“I’m pro-Hispanic, and to see us not only speaking and dancing gives us the opportunity to showcase other parts of the Hispanic culture in Midwood,” said Ms. Jessica Villafane, another Hispanic Cultural Festival advisor. “It also gives me the opportunity to connect more with students outside of the classroom.”

Art Leader Marlen Mendieta-Camaron ’21 said, “I love art and I like being creative. What better way to use that than to help people see the beauty of Hispanic culture?”

Leaders began preparing for the show in June with the first round of auditions and worked on gathering students to participate in the festival over the summer. They began practices during the first week of October.

Calderon said, “We’ve even started practice before we got the auditorium to get everything done so that it looks good.”

The commissioners and leaders hope the Hispanic Cultural Festival will become a tradition that will be carried on by students in the future.

Josias Gonzalez ’20, who played Ana’s father, said, “It’s really satisfying being a part of something that represents my culture. You get to see this whole thing come together and think, ‘Wow, I was a part of that.” 

Ronith Mudhuganti conributed to this article.