By Sara Solimani, Opinions Editor
Friday, October 14th was the day of the Hispanic Banquet, hosted by the River Hill Hispanic Hawks in Sra. Alvarado’s room. This event was centered around the mix of culture and diversity displayed with the foods shared.
The 15th of October marks the end of Hispanic Heritage month, a time to recognize how Hispanic Americans have influenced the history, culture, and achievements of the U.S. The Hispanic Hawks Club wanted to commemorate and exhibit the cultural diversity within the Hispanic/Latino community by hosting a banquet consisting of foods with Hispanic or Latino origins. Volunteers were able to contribute by providing foods and drinks that were important to their culture or family traditions.
The shared foods and beverages included; Guarana, a Brazilian soda; tres leches, a Mexican dessert; pupusas, flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras; arroz con leche, Mexican rice pudding; Classic Colombian soda; Quesadillas; empanadas and much more. The feast was able to bring together those with varying cultures, regardless of whether or not they were Hispanic/Latinx. Students and teachers alike bonded over the food and shared their diverse culture from home.
Students that were able to attend the banquet shared their thoughts. Nina Solimani, a junior who attended the banquet says, “My favorite thing to drink was the Guarana and I enjoyed talking about the cultures.” Hispanic Hawks president Carolina Herrera noted, “My favorite part was meeting new people, getting to inform people about the origin of hispanic heritage month as well as explaining where the food is from!”
Going around the room, students got a taste of foods that they might not have heard of before. This new experience elicited opinions, thoughts, and discussions amongst the students and teachers.
Social studies teacher Mr. Gray, who was present at the banquet, shared that, “The diversity of foods, the diverse group of people that were there, and the overall vibe was good. It was good to learn about the hispanic varieties of these foods and the relationship to food that some people have. Sort of the nostalgia around food was interesting.” Junior Keilany Johnson contributed, “It felt like a community, Senora Alvarado taught me salsa, and everyone enjoyed and loved it.”
This event was pulled together with the help of Carolina and Fernando Barker, the vice president. Each played a necessary role in making sure the banquet could be held. Fernando shares, “We got a solid 10-20 people, mostly students, but a few teachers as well to attend. It was an interesting path for putting it together but it was a great outcome and I loved the attention it brought to the club. The community was brought together and it was a fun way to start the year,” Carolina adds on that, “We wanted to have a banquet to gather all the foods from different countries and cultures. Fernando inspired us to take this idea and turn it to reality. We wanted to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and wanted to welcome any new faces to the club.”
The banquet is seen as a great way to bring together all of the cultures in a way that everyone loved to partake in. Fernando states, “Everyone loves food so we decided to do a potluck of Hispanic food then was then renamed the banquet but it was the same concept. It was a good way to see different cultures through food and bring together the club and community.”