Latino Connection dances for the Day of the Dead
On Friday, Oct. 29, Thousand Oaks High School lit up their campus with flashing lights, traditional decorations, and a plethora of delicious ethnic foods. Organized by the Latino Connection Club (Thousand Oaks High) and Latinos Unidos (Newbury Park High), TOHS held its first ever Día de Los Muertos Dance (Day of the Dead Dance), open to all highschool students in CVUSD.
The Latino Connection club, also known as Latinos Unidos at Newbury Park High School, is a district-wide club that brings together Latino students to celebrate their culture and heritage. Alondra Padilla, senior at TOHS and co-president of Latino Connection, has managed many events for this program for Latino students in Westlake, Newbury Park, and Thousand Oaks. “[We] aim to provide a safe, inclusive space where Latino students can learn about leadership opportunities, could go on field trips, meet new guest speakers, have like food and just have fun together,” Padilla said.
Frida Moreno, senior and co-president of Latino Connection, explained the importance of the holiday and the idea behind it. “A lot of people think it’s gonna be like, a sad day since you’re talking about people who have recently departed, but it’s more so a celebration that they’re still they’re still there, they’re still present, but rather just like in spirit and not like, physically,” Moreno said.
Moreno and Padilla worked tirelessly to hold this dance for students a few days prior to the actual holiday on Nov. 1. With a turnout of about 160 tickets sold, Moreno feels like the dance was a great success. “Honestly, my favorite part is the fact that we didn’t only have like Hispanic students. We had students from all schools and stuff, all that were excited to come to the stands and were just willing to learn about the culture that isn’t necessarily theirs,” Moreno said.
Many students and staff were fortunate enough to attend the dance on Friday, including Seth Geher, Spanish teacher and World Languages Department Chair at NPHS. “I really enjoyed just talking to my students there and talking to other students in Spanish, and just watching the kids have a good time,” Geher said. Geher was happy to see all sorts of students attend the dance and believes more dances like this should be held in the future. “It doesn’t matter if you speak Spanish or not, or if your heritage is Latino. It’s just open to everybody. And it’s just great just to have fun, listen to good music and hang out with your friends,” Geher said.
Padilla feels that this dance was a huge success, and hopes to see more activities and celebrations like this from the club after she’s gone. “I feel like these dances are very beneficial to the club, and I would really like to see them continue to be as successful as they have been so far,” Padilla said.
