Students at Stevenson High School began an early celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Through two planned field trips, students could learn about Mexican culture.

During the in-school field trip, all students enrolled in a Spanish class had the opportunity to attend a performance by Grammy Award nominated music group Sones de Mexico. Additionally, AP Spanish Language and Culture classes had a field trip to Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, where they learned about roots of Mexican heritage. 

Latin American Student Organization (LASO) partnered with Odyssey to invite the musical group Sones de Mexico, who also held a public performance later in the afternoon. Spanish student Abhay Boba ’28 attended the performance during the school day and appreciated the exposure to Hispanic culture.

“I think it improves the sense of community and belonging because everyone learns to respect each other’s culture more,” Boba said. “You get to know the world and people around us better.”

While students taking Spanish classes could see Sones de Mexico as part of an in-school field trip, other fine arts classes such as acting and choir also attended during different class periods. Livee Dodt ’28, a member of choir, had a different perspective on the concert.

“The members of Sones de Mexico each contributed something different to create the overall sound, similar to the way everyone in choir works together to create aspects like the dynamics,” Dodt said.

Through the performance, Dodt learned about culture while she connected the musical aspects back to her class. The performance Dodt experienced was different from the performances for Spanish classes. Boba watched a performance featuring multiple different acts where the band and actors switched in and out of costumes and band members highlighted their unique instruments. 

“The costumes stood out to me the most, along with the special instruments, because in most art and music forms, they haven’t been used,” Boba said. “So it was very interesting for me.” 

While students attended the performance by Sones de Mexico, others taking AP Spanish Language and Culture travelled to Pilsen for a field trip, a Hispanic dominated neighborhood of Chicago. AP Spanish Language and Culture teacher Manolo Rider-Sanchez chaperoned the field trip. While the in-school performances provided exposure to Hispanic culture and community, Rider-Sanchez sees similar themes reflected in the trip to Pilsen. 

“We value connecting language in the classroom to culture outside the classroom, and feel that after this experience, being so close to the Spanish speaking community, students make more connections to the topic we are studying in class,” Rider-Sanchez said.

During the trip, students visited the National Museum of Mexican Art and ate at Taqueria Los Comales, a Mexican restaurant. To finish the trip, students participated in a mural tour guided by Luis Tubens, who worked many years at the National Museum of Mexican Art before becoming a mural tour guide. Santiago Guillen ’28, a student on the field trip, appreciated Tubens’ passion and knowledge surrounding the community’s murals.

“It was very interesting learning about all of the murals, and the stories and motivations behind each one,” Guillen said. “The museum also had some very beautiful art.”

The tour guide in the museum and the guide for the mural walk both taught Spanish students about themes in the art such as the importance of preserving history. Some murals depict historically important figures to Mexican culture, such as the Virgen de Guadalupe or Popocatépetl, a figure in Aztec legend. 

While many historical depictions fill the brightly colored walls, ideas surrounding current gentrification in Pilsen are also present in the art. One mural, on a building providing affordable housing in Pilsen, depicts a tornado lifting homes away. Tuben explained how Pilsen’s ideal location near downtown Chicago has caused rent to go up, forcing long-time residents from their homes.  

Similarly, works in the museum also explore both past and present ideas. A prominent theme in the museum is the struggle of Mexican immigrants as their cultural roots blend with aspects of culture in America. Rider-Sanchez hopes that through the experience, students understand culture is not simply a stagnant aspect of history. 

“The Mexican Art Museum shows the history and identity of Mexican culture, but also the connection with the present,” Rider-Sanchez said. “They want to create a shared identity between their home country and where they are here in their new community.”

Stevenson has continued to celebrate the month with chalk drawings outside the school’s main entrance. Hispanic Heritage month will end on October 15.

“It’s important that schools share cultures considering that it is such a big part of our future,” Boba said. “By letting us experience these celebrations, we are able to have a better sense of the world around us.”