Central’s First Hispanic and Latino Showcase

Yolani Baron

In the past 187 years of students attending Central High School and the three-and-a-half decades of there being a National Hispanic Heritage Month, this October was the first time Central produced a showcase celebrating Hispanic and Latinx culture. As 282 graduated last year, members of 284 were elected into the presidency positions of Central’s three Latin-based clubs, CIA (Caribbeans in Action), Salsa at Central, and HLU (Hispanos y Latinos Unidos), run by Nico Cruz (284), Kristen Aviles (284), and myself respectively. Since the beginning of 2023, we have brainstormed ideas of what we wanted our showcase to be like in the upcoming fall. With the help of our cabinet, overworked sponsors, dedicated members, and Stage Crew, we made our goals a reality.

Throughout the summer, we learned to become music producers, show directors, choreographers, graphic designers, and event coordinators to ensure our showcase would be one for Central to remember. We scheduled meetings with administration and reserved spaces at school before the academic year even began to practice for October 9th to 13th, the week of the showcase.

I am proud to say that our hard work has paid off. After spending endless nights in the auditorium every day for two months, we mastered dances such as bachata to “Obsesion” by Aventura, reggaeton to “Me Porto Bonito” by Bad Bunny, and merengue to “Dale Vieja Dale” by Toño Rosario. Kristen Aviles, was the main choreographer, alongside Aleanna Ramos (284), Nelian Asport-Morales (284), Sinai Hands (283), and Senya Gaines-Ditto (284) with their merengue and reggaeton dances. Nico and I worked behind the scenes, managing the performers, act count, setlist, eligibility, costumes, and practice dates, in addition to carrying out fundraisers such as our clubs’ collaborative bake sales, to HLU’s first Puerto Rican Day Festival.

The showcase itself was unforgettable. The performers rehearsed endlessly before, during, and after school hours to perfect every move. Elian Alias (284) a performer in four different dances, shares that “the first Hispanic and Latino Showcase was a success. I was making history within my school by making myself proud as a dancer. Latinos are creating a new culture at Central.” There were numerous poems by Adamaris Lopez (285), Aspyn Reyes (285), and Amaijah Coates (284), a song by Aleanna, a solo by Kristen, and a classic Caso Cerrado skit that brought back childhood memories and a theme song for every Latino in the audience. The showcase started off with Central’s very own Kali Uchis by Grace Buckley (284) and to end our first showcase with as much energy and pride as we have for our culture, representing our countries and liveliness, we closed with a Pitbull group dance and flag show. Itzel Salazar-Barrera (284), the secretary of HLU, expresses how she hopes “the tradition we began remains in the Central community for as long as possible. Performing dances from my culture for my school is truly worth all the time and effort, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.” Everyone who helped create the showcase and supported the event by cheering during advisory and attending the night show should be proud. We look forward to what CIA, Salsa at Central, and HLU produce in next year’s showcase!