As the school year is in session, many clubs are beginning to ramp up. One of these is Latinos Unidos, a club for students to learn about Latino culture. Their goal is to, “…showcase Latino culture from around the world and bring that to the forefront of this school because they feel like it’s lacking in that sense,” shared the Latinos Unidos’ club sponsor, Ms. Evie.
The first meeting of Latinos Unidos was Wednesday, September 6th after school. There the members discussed the commitment and required participation of joining Latinos Unidos, as it is for students who are dedicated. They also discussed the events they wanted to do, and how they plan to fundraise for it. Students had their first fundraising event on Tuesday, September 12th to gather funds for Dia de los Muertos, Cinco de Mayo, and Mexico’s Independence Day, which they will celebrate with performances, Mexican candy, and food.
At the end of last school year, senior Dinorah Lagarda started Latinos Unidos, but this year the club really started getting events and fundraising planned. Dinorah chose to start Latinos Unidos because, as she shared, “I got inspired by Black Student Union, Unified in Color, and I just really wanted to bring more Hispanic culture…I’m always seeing things online of different schools doing more culturally relevant things so I thought it’d be cool to bring it here, and I’m very proud of my culture.”
The goal of Latinos Unidos is to give students of Sahuaro a way to learn about Hispanic culture. For junior Diego Del Villar, a member of Latinos Unidos, the club, “…helps with Hispanic pride, and it helps promote our culture, and I’m glad to be part of a club where I feel included and I feel like everyone is part of something, and everyone’s doing something.”
Ms. Evie also said Latinos Unidos is important to her because she, “…grew up that way; my dad’s an immigrant, he moved to America when he was 25, started a whole life over again, and that’s just been embedded in my life since I was a baby. So I have half of my family in Mexico, half of my family here in Arizona, and I just divulge in between both of my cultures here, but it’s been something that’s been in my life forever…”
Latino Unidos is still open for new members who want to participate and make a change at Sahuaro. Dinorah said that anybody can join, “We’re not just going to close it out. Even if you are not Hispanic, if you just want to learn more about Hispanic culture, or it’s something you want to study, you can join the club.” They plan to meet every Wednesday after school; for new members looking to join the club, you can talk to Dinorah, or find Ms. Evie at her desk in the Athletics Office. Latinos Unidos also has an Instagram page, @sahuarolatinosunidos.
