PARKVILLE, MD—This school year, a group of students at Parkville High School are conducting a year-long series of exhibitions titled “Conoczamos Nuestra Cultura” (Meet Our Cultures), focused on sharing knowledge about different cultures within the Spanish-speaking community. The group’s hope is to shed light on the rich diversity of heritage within Parkville High. The BCPS blog was recently invited to Parkville High to take a first look at the debut presentation, centered around the Day of the Dead.
The project was started by seniors Mariela Bonilla Amaya and Belsy Gomez, who wanted to increase visibility of Hispanic/Latino students. Guided by Spanish teacher Edwin Pérez with support from ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Department Chair Art Wong, their ambition quickly became a reality. Together Pérez and Wong assembled a group of AP (Advanced Placement) Spanish and ESOL students to take part in planning and executing each exhibition.
Mariela shared her personal inspiration behind the project. “Many times we come to this country and others don’t really understand or know our culture,” Mariela said. “We often end up forgetting about our culture and who we are because of this. We want to share all of our culture with others, which is why we showed others what the Day of the Dead is.”
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