Hispanic Heritage Month Wraps Up At Eulalie Rivera And St. Croix Central High

ST. CROIX — Eulalie R. Rivera Elementary School and St. Croix Central High School culminated their month-long observance of Hispanic Heritage in grand style on Thursday, October 13 and Friday, October 14, respectively.

Eulalie R. Rivera Elementary School students in grades K – 6 th gathered in the auditorium and took to the stage to entertain classmates in song, dance and verse all with a Hispanic theme.

Prior to the class presentations, invited guests from the Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico (V.I-P.R.) Friendship Committee set the tone for the lengthy program. Longtime musician Mr. Salvador Fragosa rendered a version of “La Borinquena,” the Puerto Rican National Anthem, to the delight of the students. (See Video clip: Fragosa sings PR National Anthem) Mirza Saldana-Lampe, a retired Pearl B. Larsen Elementary School ESL teacher and the grand marshal for the VI-PR Friendship Parade, along with Mrs. Diana Fragosa-Wilson brought along several traditional instruments as an accompaniment to their presentation on the Bomba dance, which they demonstrated before the students.

Class presentations included the Mariposita song by Kindergarten students; the Chilean Acrostic by first graders; the La Macarena dance by second graders; and facts about the South American country of Bolivia and a Bamba dance were contributed to the assembly by two, third grade classes.

Also, the fourth grade class presented a poem titled, “My Family is Everywhere,” fifth graders poetically described “The Coast of Peru” and sixth graders danced the “Dando Vuelta.” A group of intermediate students closed out the celebration with a lively limbo dance.

Longtime Special Education Resource Teacher Mary McIntosh, serving as mistress of ceremony, kept the momentum going by providing tidbits on Hispanic countries and culture between presentations. Marie Hennemann, ESL teacher and chairperson of the Hispanic Heritage Month Committee at Eulalie R. Rivera School, coordinated the program for the school.

Meanwhile, ESL Chairperson Zulma Torres at St. Croix Central High School, along with other staff members treated teachers and guests to a grand Hispanic Heritage Month breakfast on Friday, October 14. Patrons enjoyed traditional dishes such as the Mexican Pico de Gallo, authentic Mexican-style chips, Puerto Rican Arepas, Dominican Republic Mangu, along with Virgin Islands style bread, barbecue wings, crab and tuna fish salad, sausages, macaroni salad, pastries and lots of sweets to be washed down with coffee, bush tea and a variety of juices.

Ms. Torres also coordinated a week-long Hispanic exhibit at St. Croix Central High’s library as part of the school’s observance of Hispanic Heritage Month 2016.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed September 15 to October 15 in the United States and other countries to honor the contributions of Hispanics and to celebrate their culture.