As salsa music emanated from the MLK room’s speakers, dozens of people ate, danced and limboed during the Latinx and Allies Club’s Latinx Fiesta on Friday, Nov. 17 from 6-8:30 p.m.
Students, teachers and parents came to celebrate Latino culture and community at the event. Entering the room, they were greeted by the aroma of various foods and desserts, including buñuelos, burritos, empanadas and tortas. Chilacates and several Boston-area Latin restaurants catered food for the event, and several families brought dishes significant to their cultures.
Sophomore Adriana Oviedo, a Latinx and Allies Club member, said she appreciated the celebratory event and how it spotlighted Latino culture.
“The fiesta is always a highlight of my school year because I can celebrate the best aspects of my culture in many different ways,” Oviedo said. “I can eat my favorite foods, dance to my favorite music and honor my heritage.”
Senior Pablo Meyers, a co-president of the Latinx and Allies Club, said the event conveys the joy of Latino culture and provides a welcoming space for Latino students.
“Many of our [club] members didn’t grow up in the US, so this event reminds them of their home countries and brings back good memories,” Meyers said. “After this event, you realize that people are closer, talking more, telling jokes with each other. It’s the kind of event that forms and builds community.”
Around 6:30 p.m., Meyers, along with Latinx and Allies Club co-presidents and seniors Izzy Braun and Mariana Sanchez-Dahl, addressed the attendees, thanking them for coming and noting the importance of the event.
The Latinx and Allies Club began preparing the event during Hispanic Heritage Month, which was from Sep. 15 to Oct. 15, but the event was pushed back due to logistical challenges. Braun said that despite taking place in November, the fiesta was no less important and impactful on the school community.
“It’s great to come together and find your community at events like this. Dancing with others, eating the same amazing foods as others, you begin to feel accepted and embraced for your culture,” Braun said. “At a school like BHS, which is so big, it can be difficult to do that, so I’m grateful that the fiesta can bring people together to celebrate our identities.”
Meyers’ mother, Carolina Tejedor Meyers, echoed Braun’s sentiment and said celebrating cultural diversity and learning about others’ cultures holds benefits later in life.
“Learning to celebrate or be part of a community that is not necessarily yours teaches you how to be accepting and kind,” Tejedor Meyers said. “I always love it when students bring their friends to the fiesta so they can learn more about and enjoy all of the unique parts of Latin culture.”
Around 8 p.m., the fiesta concluded with its annual limbo competition, which Oviedo won.
Tejedor Meyers said this is her fifth year attending the event, and she is proudest of the club members who publicized and made the event possible.
“The number of people that come to the fiesta changes every year, but we’ve seen more people of a wide variety of backgrounds come in recent years,” Tejedor Meyers said. “This event takes a lot of work from the students, and their dedication to celebrating and spreading their Latin culture is amazing.”
Oviedo said the fiesta made her feel proud of her heritage and welcomed at the high school, and that she would continue sharing Latino culture with others.
“The fiesta always makes me feel so accepted at the high school, and there are so many aspects of Latinx culture that are displayed at the fiesta that other students at BHS need to know about,” Oviedo said. “Having a group of students who share my identity and culture is one of my favorite things about coming to school every day, and I can say that because of that, I feel honored to be Latina.”
