Lasting from September 15th to October 15th, Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration that embraces and honors the Hispanic roots in our blood, communities, and culture. On September 20th, at 12 PM, the Northshore Hispanic Association publicly raised the Hispanic flag at Ed Lucey Plaza, proudly showing the pride that Hispanics around Malden feel.
To celebrate the culture-rich month on a smaller scale, Malden High’s Latin American Club has hosted movie nights, bake sales, and fundraisers for the community. Senior Rachel Valladares Lanza, current President of Latin American Club, aims to “represent Latin America in the school because I feel it’s not as represented as it should be; I just want to leave an impact.”
But what does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to individuals? Valladares Lanza believes “It’s about representing our ancestors and family, and everything they went through.”
Yahaira Marquez, Teacher Leader of the English Department, shared, “As a Latina, Hispanic Heritage Month is a time when I specifically set time aside to reflect on where I came from, and who I am.”
Officer roles consist of Senior Vice President Gabriella Lemus, Senior Secretary Ashley Mejia, Senior Treasurer Jenayah Moreno, who is also theEditor-in-Chief of Print for The Blue and Gold, Senior Social Media Coordinator Christina Robinson, and President Valladares Lanza. The club is currently thinking about appointing someone new to be their event coordinator. You do not have to be of Latin American descent to be a part of the club; Valladares wants the club to be “mainly to have fun and leave an impact on this school for people to continue on.”
As of now, the club does not have a proper room to call its own, but they are working hard towards their goal of finding a place in MHS. To learn more, see their Instagram page @lacc.mhs or Google Classroom with the code “ysywtq6”.
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