This past Thursday, Fieldston students were treated to this year’s Latine Heritage Month Assembly, “Here to Stay: The Dream of Our América.” The hour-long assembly touched upon various issues which plague the Latine/Latino/Latina community in this country, from microaggressions and erasure of Latine history, to the struggles of Latino immigrants (such as dreamers) and those caught and kept in detention centers along the Southern border. These topics are inherently difficult, but still necessary, to learn about. Spanish teacher Señora Rodas-Ramirez, who helped to plan the heritage assembly, wanted to balance the seriousness of headline issues being discussed with an infusion of lively cultural pieces built around music and dance.
As the first real assembly of the year, time was short to plan and rehearse. Those involved only had about a week or so to decide upon content, figure out what to include, write speeches, finish making slides, and choreograph the dance routines.
“We had to get all of the content approved. Which meant we had to split up the work, and spend both class and homework time curating all of the information that we would present. Everything had to happen quickly, and it got really intense, ” says Form V student Gabriel Dayan..
To be under so much pressure and constraint is less than ideal when it comes to planning something that will be seen by hundreds like an assembly. Yet despite the time constraints, this year’s Latine Heritage Month assembly turned out to be a success. Students clapped thunderously after speeches and especially after the dance numbers, including Señora Rodas-Ramirez’s very own, which inspired several Fieldston students to storm the stage and join in on the fun, demonstrating the simple effectiveness that audience participation and fun can have on the impactfulness of an assembly.
Following the assembly, a number of students attended a talk given by the prolific Mexican film director/producer Carlos Hagerman in the Student Commons. Spanish teacher Maura Furfey, organized the event built around a discussion of Hagerman’s films, a number of which touch upon issues of immigration, home, belonging and displacement. Hagerman’s films include “No Place Like Home,” “Home is Somewhere Else,” and “Those Who Remain.”
