On, Tuesday October 14, the Academy had its annual Hispanic Heritage Convocation put together by the Spanish Club. President Anna Skubis and Vice Presidents Marina Llano and Maddy Odom put together an action-packed celebration of Spanish culture.
Skubis started the convocation by giving a brief history of important figures in Hispanic culture. The first person she talked about was Cesar Chavez, who fought against social injustice and is remembered for his resilience in establishing the National Farm Workers Association. His catchphrase, “Si se puede,” was used to empower farmworkers to fight for equality and rights. Chávez’s story is used to inspire people to fight for rights and independence from poor working conditions and can be seen as a face for Hispanic equality worldwide.

“Creating the presentation was time-consuming and a lot of hard work to figure out how to make it perfect. It was all worth it though and I was so excited to see everyone come together and celebrate Hispanic heritage month with the Spanish club,” said senior Anna Skubis.
After this, the guest speaker was introduced, class of 93 Academy alumni Carolina Esparza, a choreographer and dancer known for her work across Florida. She has choreographed for performers at the St. Pete Orchestra, like “Cameron,” “The Tempest,” and many others. Additionally, she performs at the Columbia as a flamenco dancer and teaches weekly workshops at Taco Salsa for young girls wanting to learn how to flamenco dance. She is very proud of her heritage and stated that, “It all has a story,” when referring to her dances she performs and choreographers.

“When planning the Hispanic Heritage month it was a lot of fun because I learned new things about Hispanic Month that inspired me. Being Vice President of the Spanish Club has made me feel like a leader in something that is even my heritage,” said Marina Llano (‘27).
Esparza also taught the girls different types of Flamenco dances, she wanted the girls to get a glimpse into the “rich spanish life” she was raised by. She was born and raised in Tampa with a mother from Spain and feels her heritage is her most important thing to her. She has two sisters and grew up wanting to be a painter, but when her mother got sick she attended Spanish dance classes. She eventually joined the Columbia Restaurant Group as a dancer and is still dancing for them. Her journey made her grateful for her heritage and the way she grew up constantly surrounded by traditions. She also took time to perform different types of flamenco dances. She brought castanets, a red scarf also known as a “Mandon”, and used the props to give the audience an in person experience.

“We met during flex times to rehearse, the beginning was rough and bumpy but eventually we came to one sound,” said senior Yasmeen Luzod.
After Esparza wrapped up her presentation Skubis introduced seniors Yasmeen Luzod and Sasha Paloma, and sophomore Mariana Zuluaga to perform “Como la Flor” by Selena. Paloma and Zuluaga sang while Luzod played guitar. It was a beautiful performance in complete spanish and was not only an ode to hispanic heritage month but also to Selena.

“It was so fun to go on stage and hit the pinata after guessing a song correctly, and you could feel the whole school cheering all of us on the stage,” said Valeria Taguja-Catano (‘28).
To end the convocation the president and vice presidents played some fun games, where the winners got a chance to hit a pinata. The first game was to guess the flag, where three girls one, the second game was to guess the song, where another three girls one. While the student body cheered, girls swung at the pinata that eventually broke and the winners threw the candy into the crowd. Overall the Convocation was a huge success and was an amazing celebration of hispanic culture and hispanic heritage month.
