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Celebrating Hispanic Culture at Diggs-Latham Elementary
By Kim Underwood
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
OCTOBER 18, 2021 – As a way of celebrating Hispanic cultures, many students and adults at Diggs-Latham Elementary wore traditional clothing from different Hispanic countries to school on Friday Oct. 15.
Allison Lallave, who is in the first grade, thought it was great to have such a celebration.
“I think it is important to celebrate every place in the world,” Allison said.
Her mother Maria Lallave, who is a Pre-K teacher assistant at Diggs-Latham, said, “I think it’s important to celebrate all Hispanic cultures.”
Abadesa Ochoa, who is an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at Diggs-Latham was one of those wearing traditional clothing.
“It is important for Hispanics to feel proud of where they come from and how they contribute to the world around them,” Ochoa said.
“It teaches us the value of empathy and how we can better understand each other's feelings.”
Diane Castillo is the parent assistant at Diggs-Latham. Her parents were born in El Salvador. She is the first generation of her family born in the United States.
“To me, it means a great deal being the first generation in this country,” Castillo said.
She now has three boys. The oldest – Julian – is a student at Forsyth Technical Community College. Adrian and Christian go to Northwest Middle.
Third-grader Cataleya Gonzalez, whose father was born in Mexico, was wearing a traditional dress. Although she made sure to wear it on Friday, she said, she wears it other days, too, because she likes it so much.
Outside, PE teacher Barry Friedman was one of the teachers opening doors for students arriving in the car drop-off line. He was all for the celebration.
‘It represents a huge portion of our student body,” Friedman said. “It celebrates the importance of Hispanic culture.”
When he wasn’t opening car doors, Richard Sigler, who teaches music and band, was playing his ukulele.
It’s something he does each morning as students arrive.
When third-grader Laniyah saw him, she asked him to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
He did.
It’s a song she likes to hear every day, she said.
When the holiday season arrives, she will be asking Mr. Sigler to play “Jingle Bells,” she said.
Laniyah said she loves music and wants to be a music teacher when she grows up.
At the head of the car-rider line, orchestra teacher Lisa Morris was opening doors. As it happens, she said, one of her favorite pieces of music is “Capriccio Espagnol,” a piece by Russian Composer Rimsky-Korsokov. It is based on Spanish folk melodies, and he wrote the piece after traveling to Spanish-speaking countries.
Not everyone stepping out of a car was wearing traditional Hispanic clothing.
When a little girl dressed as a unicorn arrived, Morris said, “We have unicorns every day.”
After the school day started, different classes of students would be heading to the gym throughout the day during their Specials periods.
Art teacher Amanda Gordon is the Magnet Coordinator at Diggs-Latham.
“We try to celebrate multiple cultures and cultural events throughout the year as we are a diverse school with a theme of Arts Integration and Performance,” Gordon said.
“These special celebrations also lend themselves to authentic learning experiences, integration, and social and emotional development. Reviewing history, singing, and dancing, and otherwise coming together builds comradery and boosts school spirit and morale. We use common language such as ‘Tiger Pride’ and ‘School Family,’ and today built those bonds a little stronger.”
“Our day consisted of grade levels meeting in the gym during their Specials. They visited our museum of art, flags and artifacts.”
“Each grade had guest speakers including a deputy sheriff, Crosby Scholars supporter, personnel from Wake Forest Hospital, and members of the Hispanic League. The speakers encouraged students to build a legacy of making good choices and getting their education. The day ended with a virtual assembly on Zoom with student speakers, group singing, a virtual performance, and of course breaking a pinata.”
Speakers for the day included fifth-grade students Michelle Anorue and Isabella Correa. Both have family members who came from Mexico. In their talk, Michelle spoke in English and then Isabella would say the same thing in Spanish.
Both already know they want to be teachers one day.
Another speaker was Veronica Zepeda-Cortez, a deputy in the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office who serves as the SRO (School Resource Officer) at Jefferson Middle.
Her father is from El Salvador. She grew up here and graduated from Walkertown High in 2018. Along with her heritage, she wanted to talk about what it’s like to be a woman and someone with a Hispanic background serving as a deputy.
Before her talk, Zepeda-Cortez said, “I wanted to make a stand for females and the Hispanic community.”
One of the things she appreciates about this community is the support she and the other deputies receive from people throughout the community. As an example, she said, that, when she stopped at an intersection recently, the passenger in the car in the lane next to her lowered the window and gave her two thumbs up.