Bowling, making sugar skulls, and salsa dancing are just a few of the activities the Edward Little High School Spanish club will be participating in this year. A variety of activities is one of the many ways the club has changed over the course of a year. According to the class advisor Laura Corey, “We didn’t have very good organization last year.” This year Corey wants to gain new members and teach people about the Hispanic culture. Not only have we acquired better organization, by making the meetings less scattered and planning activities in advance, but we plan on doing more activities this year. According to Corey, her biggest mistake last year was “trying to accommodate all the members,” which resulted in a loss of meetings. This year Corey says that she isn’t going to try to accommodate everyone and meetings will be set more often.

A main goal for this year is to have more activities. We are planning on going salsa dancing and learning about Hispanic culture. Corey wants people to see beyond the “Hispanic stereotypes.” She wants us to learn more about the Day of the Dead, which is coming up November 1. “The sad part,” she said, “is that it is being taken over by Halloween.” The Day of the Dead is being seen as a sad event. That’s the stereotype. Yet it is a celebration. “We are not mourning, we are celebrating,” Corey said. On this day Mexicans bring gifts to the graves of their loved ones. “It is the only day that the gates of the afterlife are able to open up,” she explained. It is the only day those who have died can come back from the dead. In Spanish club we will be making sugar skulls and creating an offering.

Various activities this year will be decided primarily by the Spanish Club President. Elections are going to be sometime in October. Those running include seniors Daniel Poulin and Whitney Stone. Both candidates promise to do fundraisers for the club to raise money and establish fun activities. Spanish Club meets every month on either Wednesday or Thursday right after school in room 234. You do not need to know anything about Hispanic culture or even be enrolled in Spanish. All you need is a desire to learn more about the culture and the language. Besides salsa dancing and the Day of the Dead, we will be learning about Hispanic Christmas traditions, watching foreign films, cooking Hispanic foods, and going bowling.