Hispanic Heritage Month

In a cross-departmental collaboration between the History and Spanish Departments, middle school students created a Latinx Heritage Month display in the lobby of 86 Fourth Avenue. The exhibit featured student work celebrating notable Latinx figures, both past and present, in the arts, literature, and politics. 

Antonella Dominguez, Grace’s Diversity Programs Coordinator, spoke at the Lower School Chapel about representation in movies like “Encanto” and danced with the students to Carols Vives’ “Colombia, Mi Encanto.” 

In the high school, Latinx chapel featured Spanish guitar and a salsa band. Many members of the Grace community, including students from the Latinx affinity space, ¡HOLA!, and High School Learning Specialist Jessica Prophías Gardiner, shared speeches about their Latinx identity. Grace alumni and current parent Eduardo Padro Sr. brought Luis Esquilin’s Salsa Vive band to Grace, and the chapel service ended with students and faculty dancing to their salsa music.

Celebrations at the high school continued as ¡HOLA! hosted a bake sale to mark the end of Latinx Heritage month. But the celebration continued, and last week, teachers Emilie Hotz and Jonathan Buckingham shared the traditions of Día de los Muertos with the Early Childhood and Lower School.