A Tribute to the Hispanic Culture

By Starr Cunningham

Spanish class at Princeville High School is about more than just learning the language. Students enrolled in this course explore the culture and history of the Hispanic population alongside their studies of the Spanish language.

A major piece of the Mexican culture is the art that resides within the communities. And their artistic pasts which consist of many notorious artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Pablo Picasso being of Hispanic descent. Students of the Spanish IV class made a trip to Pilsen, a Hispanic village in Chicago, Illinois in an attempt to see their heritage in person.

In the time they spent in Pilsen, students were given the opportunity to view many of the murals that cover entire building faces. These murals in Pilsen give the village it’s personality, each one telling a different story.

While in Pilsen, the students got to meet one of the residents. Hector Duarte, a muralist residing in Pilsen inspired the Princeville Spanish class to make their own mural representing Hispanic culture. Without hesitation, Starr Cunningham stepped up and took the job.

When asked to give her thoughts on the task, Starr said “Art is about expressing yourself and telling stories. Painting this mural will allow me to give back to the Spanish class, by expressing what I have learned over the years.”

The mural will be a tribute to many Hispanic people, such as Frida Kahlo, Carlos Santana, and Selena Quintanilla. “We have learned about so many personalities who have contributed to the Mexican culture, even about book characters whose names will not be forgotten”, Starr said, “The parts they played need to be known.”

A portion of the mural will hold a tribute to Hector Duarte, the inspiration of the mural. Duarte believes that learning more than one language and understanding other cultures is important in today’s society, and the Spanish IV students want this importance to be the prime focus of the mural.

“If highschoolers can see the importance behind understanding other cultures, then hopefully the rest of the world will be able to see it too,” Starr said in conclusion to her statement on the mural.