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Kenosha students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

KENOSHA, Wis. — From dancing to making your own maraca to sand painting and paper flowers, there was a lot to see and experience Saturday in Kenosha at Bradford High School’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

What You Need To Know

  • Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 until Oct. 15
  • Bradford High School hosted a celebration at the Kenosha Public Museum on Saturday
  • Students will also hold a “Day of the Dead” celebration at the museum on Oct. 22

Aimee Rocha is a senior at the high school. She was in charge of the paper flowers.

“You can do all different colors, and it’s very cool to see from all ages coming,” Rocha said. “Earlier there was a family where the mom was telling the kid, ‘oh this is what I used to do when I was little.’ So, it’s pretty cool to see all the different cultures and traditions being passed.”

Rocha said the students wanted to make sure all Hispanic cultures were celebrated at the event — from Spain and Mexico, to Cuba and Puerto Rico.

“We don’t want to specify on one single culture, because obviously there are so many,” Rocha said. “The tissue paper, that one’s from Mexico. We have Mexican Sugar Skulls we’re using to fundraise, and then we have sand painting, which can pertain to many different countries.”

It’s all something that helps connect students to the community and vice versa, said Lee Belanger-Gonzales, a Spanish teacher at Bradford High School.

To continue bolstering that sense of community, the school had representatives from Carthage College, Indian Trail High School and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside that worked with them on different exhibits for the event.

“The students get to learn more about their heritage, they get to share it, they feel proud of it,” Belanger-Gonzales said. “The community seems very interested and they’re enjoying it. I feel like they learn a lot and they just enjoy this celebration.”

Belanger-Gonzales said being able to experience a different culture allows people to make a connection, which then, in turn, allows people to be more accepting.

She said that is a big thing, not just for the Kenosha area, but for the world as a whole.

​“That’s the only way to overcome any sort of prejudices or racism, is by building relationships,” Belanger-Gonzales said.

If you missed the event Saturday, Bradford High School and the Kenosha Public Museum are hosting “Day of the Dead” on Saturday, Oct. 22 from noon until 3 pm

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