From September 18 to September 22, Irvington MEChA, (The Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán or Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán) the Latino club campus, celebrated the rich culture of Latinos through various events and activities. 

Hispanic Heritage Week made its return from 2021-2022 after being canceled during the 2022-2023 school year. The Week consisted of six individual events celebrating different parts of the culture.

 Monday, MEChA celebrated Hispanic life through movies. The club spent lunch together in Room 51 watching “McFarland, USA,” a movie based on a real Hispanic runner who overcame many problems to achieve their dreams. MEChA leadership spent time meeting new recruits, interns, and learning more about their community.

 Tuesday, they highlighted important figures within the Hispanic Community. The previous day, the club hung many posters around the school with important figures such as Selena Quintanilla, a revered Latin singer, Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist known for her vibrant works, and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a Puerto-Rican politician and activist. Each of the posters contains a QR code, allowing students to fill out for extra credit. These posters can still be seen around the school, especially near room 51.

 Wednesday, the club hosted a Flex event for painting macetas, or flower pots, to honor Hispanic artistry and color. The flex filled up quickly, with many people arriving hoping to paint, learn more, and spend time with their friends. MEChA played popular Spanish music, and each table of students was provided with a variety of paints and brushes to decorate their flower pots. After the paint had dried, students were given a small flower to place in the pot, and allowed to take it home. 

Event coordinator Ximena Toral-Villegas (12) explained, “A lot of people showed up that weren’t even signed up for the event. Although it did create problems with supplies, it was really cute seeing everyone create their little macetas and have fun with their friends. 

The Thursday event centered around Quinceaneras, a fifteenth-coming of age birthday party for females. Quinceaneras are a popular Latino within, however, people outside these communities rarely know about the event. To bridge this gap, event coordinators Marisol Ureno (12) and Ximena Toral-Villegas(12) ran an all-encompassing slideshow with videos and music, followed by a Kahoot, in hopes to engage the audience. During the course of the event, students were given Quinceanera dress coloring pages, and participated in a dress competition, based on the color, look, and design of the dress. 

MEChA ended their event with a bang on Friday, hosting a vibrant Folklorico (Mexican folk dance). Folklorico began practicing for this dance three weeks in advance and enjoyed a sweet victory after a perfect performance. 

At the conclusion of the performance, the Folklorico troop made a quick switch to handing out Pan Dulce (a Mexican sweet break), appeasing the large crowd while receiving applause for their performance. The students then handed out extra Pan to the teachers around campus before the lunch bell rang.

After the success of their events, Spanish teacher Alberto Ballado, the MEChA advisor, revealed that the week “Brings awareness to Latin American influence and culture, and what we have brought to America. We exist. We are part of this community, and we are here to stay and to help this country be better.” Hispanic Heritage week emphasizes the building of community and strengthening the bonds between latin culture and the Irvington student body.

Isabella Cisneros (11), a daily attendee and Folklorico participant, expresses, “I had a lot of fun participating and bonding with people! I grew relationships with people from the same ethnic group as me and learned a lot about my culture at the same time.” She participated in both the Macetas event on Wednesday as well as the final performance and handouts Friday. These were the most popular events, with over 150 attendees combined, plus teachers and staff.

Hispanic Heritage week is the first of many large events that MEChA continues to host throughout the school year. During the week, the club advertised internships for future events. 

Señor Ballado conveyed, “We want to make sure that a student has a platform to better themselves and to know they are valued and they are part of this school.”