October 23, 2023

Celebrated annually from September 15-October 15, Latine and Hispanic Heritage Month honors the important people, places, culture, and traditions connected to those of Hispanic and Latine heritage. In Lower School, this year’s observance was themed “Culture is Love” and was centered around Alyssa Reynoso-Morris' Plátanos Are Love. At an assembly, professional community members who identify as Latine or Hispanic shared a short presentation about an aspect of their culture that felt like love to them. Student presenters who identify as Latine or Hispanic also shared one thing in family, community, or culture that felt like love to them and why, as well as a special memory with their family/community. 

Kicking off the Middle School assembly, Catalina V. S. ’31 explained the history of Latine and Hispanic Heritage Month. Students then presented about Latine and Hispanic artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Sophia Vergara, and Frida Kahlo. Students also learned about other inspiring Latine and Hispanic changemakers and their legacies such as Dominican-American Poet and Novelist Julia Alvarez and Afro-Latino Historian, Activist, and Collector Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

In the Upper School, students welcomed Tlen-Huicani, a musical group founded in 1973 at the State University of Veracruz in Xalapa, to an assembly in September. Tlen-Huicani is considered one of the most faithful representatives of the folklore of México and have performed in more than 50 different countries, capturing and preserving much of the music of the "Jarocho" and "Huasteco" styles in a number of recordings, and radio and television performances. While specializing in the music of their homeland, Grupo Tlen Huicani has also explored many different musical genres in Latin America especially those expressions which incorporate the folk harp.

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations at Nightingale culminated on October 13, at a morning gathering in the Student Center. Students, parents, and ProCom decorated the walls and filled the halls with music and fun while sharing Hispanic culture and traditions with one another.