Knowledge, history, creativity, and culture came together to form the exciting Mente y Cultura Hispanic Heritage Celebration hosted by AVUHSD’s Multilingual Department on October 3. The community gathered to watch students share their poetry and art creations and compete in a Latino trivia competition in the style of Jeopardy.

Ana Peña-Santos, the program coordinator for AVUHSD’s Multilingual Department and Migrant Education, said there was a collaborative effort by teachers, counselors, and other staff across the district to plan and create this event, with the overall goal being to rejoice in the culture together. 

“We focused on pride and highlighting the beauty of our culture, both in the past and in the present and making sure that our students understand where they come from, their heritage, and of course, celebrating Hispanic heritage Month,” said Peña-Santos. 

The night opened with a lively performance by Palmdale’s Mariachi Las Palmeras singing renditions of beloved Mexican classics. The main components of the event proceeded, consisting of an Art and Poetry contest and a Jeopardy-style trivia competition where schools tested their knowledge in a number of Latin culture and history categories. 

Winners for the Art and Poetry contests were chosen for their ability to capture the theme of Hispanic culture and representation through their works. They had the opportunity to present their art and read their poems to the audience during the event.

“There was such joy and pride in creating a beautiful piece of art that represented their culture,” said Pena-Santos. “It was beautiful reading those poems and seeing these kiddos just pour their souls into a piece of paper.”

For the knowledge competition, two preliminary rounds took place to determine a top five moving forward for the final event at the district office. Students spent months studying trivia questions on topics like Latinos in Science, Food, Vocabulary, and more. 

Events such as this are a great opportunity for schools to come together in the spirit of competition while getting to appreciate and learn more about different cultures. 

“It’s so important because you actually learn so much about Hispanic culture,” said Camila Espinoza, who was part of Quartz Hill trivia team. “Being able to connect it to something that I’m interested in is actually pretty cool because I know facts now.”

Thank you to the Multilingual Department, the team coaches, and the many other amazing staff members who helped to bring this event to life! A special shout out to all of the students who studied hard for the final competition and the talented student artists and poets who participated in the art and poetry contests. We appreciate you all for coming together to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture!

Art Contest Winners

1st Place: Anel Garcia Santos (Antelope Valley High School)

2nd Place: Noemi Aguilar (Palmdale High School)

3rd Place: Olyvia Arevalo Dillon (Palmdale High School)

Poetry Contest Winners

1st Place: Genesis Olivares Saravia (Antelope Valley High School)

2nd Place: Victor Callahui (Antelope Valley High School)

3rd Place: Daliannis Lopez Valdes (Antelope Valley High School)

Knowledge Competition Winners

1st Place: Quartz Hill High School

2nd Place: SOAR High School – Lancaster

3rd Place: SOAR High School – Palmdale