On Friday, April 19, Irvington’s Latino culture club MEChA hosted their annual Españolandia event. The big gym is transformed into a vibrant celebration of Hispanic culture with lively music and activities led by students. Students run booths with games, activities, food, and music which allows students in Spanish classes to immerse themselves into Latino language and tradition. 

The event includes months of hard work by MEChA officers, teachers, and volunteers. “A lot of work was put into Españolandia. We had everyone from MEChA helping out on getting supplies and everything done. Spanish 3 and 4 students worked really hard on their posters and booth games to make this an interactive experience for all the students,” explained MEChA event coordinator Ixana Vera (11). 

The planning for this event began in January, where officers had to coordinate booth ideas, order supplies like piñatas, and arrange authentic Hispanic food vendors. 

Through games, competitions, and conversations solely in Spanish, Españolandia allowed students of all Spanish levels to practice their language skills. “Españolandia represents a lot of Spanish culture because people only speak Spanish for a day, and go around to different booths which play a huge role in Spanish culture,” said MEChA event coordinator Samantha Lizarraga (11).

For volunteers like Anjali Vellanki (11), who ran the popular Pictionary booth, it was an amazing experience: “I wish I could do it again,” she said, “the whole experience was really fun, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Some moments got a bit overwhelming because there were a lot students and managing the whole booth got a little tiring.” Another volunteer, Yashas Revanakara, who ran a cultural booth, stated: “This experience was overall really fun. We were surrounded with Spanish culture and it was really nice to learn more about the culture” 

General attendees also had a great time at the event. Tara Sinha (11), stated “my favorite booth was the henna station because I loved the designs.” Nikitha Paty’s (11) highlight was “the food booth had food representing the Hispanic culture, I ate some very delicious tacos and learned that they’re originated from Mexico.” 

While some attendees were enjoying themselves at the booth, others found keeping up with the fast paced Spanish difficult at times. As Vera stated, “I enjoyed seeing everyone try their best to speak Spanish, especially for Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 students, who are still new to the language.” 

The event had an energetic “baile” with music that had everyone dancing together, creating a joyful atmosphere that “felt like we were at an actual baile. I loved to see everyone smile and laugh,” said Samantha Lizarraga (11)) . 

Españolandia brought the Hispanic cultural experience to life through authentic food, music, dancing and the shared language that united everyone to enjoy the culture. In the future, Españolandia will keep its cultural side to make the event enjoyable but also educational for all.