Arts & Culture

Dia De Los Muertos

By Alexia Duran - Dec 8, 2025

Dia de los Muertos is a multi-day holiday that many people celebrate and love. From the decorations to the food, Dia de los Muertos is important because it's the day that our passed loved ones cross over to visit us. On Monday, November 3, 2025, Edgewood celebrated Dia de los Muertos by having director and choreographer Lucia Parra and four dancers perform for Edgewood. The performance was beautiful and so amazing.

Let's ask some Wildcats what they thought about it: Joecelyn Diaz (8th grade) said, “I thought it was very nice, and I loved all the dresses and the makeup.” Adrian Medina (7th grade) said, “It was really nice and very interesting, and I loved seeing all the culture.”

I completely agree with both of these students. I personally thought the performance was amazing and the decorations added a beautiful touch. Dia de los Muertos isn't meant to be filled with sadness and grief over past loved ones; it's meant to be a vibrant celebration of life and death. People who celebrate Dia de los Muertos honor and respect their past loved ones. Many people even build altars with a picture of their passed loved ones with their favorite food, colors, and hobbies. The movie Coco is a great way to show the culture of Dia de los Muertos. With all the colors, food, and decorations that are used during Dia de los Muertos, there are many symbols of the holiday, like the marigold flower, sugar skulls, and pan de muerto. Marigolds are the flower of the dead, where the bright orange color helps guide our loved ones to cross over. Calaveras, known as sugar skulls, are meant to represent the soul of a family that has passed. Pan de muerto is a sweet bread shaped like bones and is eaten throughout the holiday.

Overall, Dia de los Muertos is a beautiful celebration that many people love to celebrate as a way to remember their past loved ones and celebrate them.

Son of Spergy: Daniel Caesar

By Jocelyn Diaz - Dec 10, 2025

Who just released their fourth studio album? If you guessed singer, songwriter and producer Daniel Caesar, you're right! Son of Spergy made its debut on October 24, 2025. This is his highest charting album, ranking number 4 on the top 200 chart. Millions of fans are listening and even making Tik Tok trends to his songs on the album.

Daniel Caesar was born on April 15, 1995 in Toronto, Ontario, being the second oldest to three other boys. Caesar grew up in the suburbs of Oshawa. He was raised in an Adventist Christian home. The church belonged to his father, and because of that he was very involved in the church. Almost every Sunday he would perform at the church and sing. This heavenly world influenced his love for not only all music but especially gospel and soul music.

Daniel didn't have it easy because when he was only 17 years old, he left home to pursue his dreams of being a singer. All he had to rely on was talent and his experience from singing in his father’s church. In fact, at times he was homeless, and he had to work multiple jobs to not only support himself but also to fund his studio time. All that hard work paid off because in 2014 he released his first EP, also known as an extended play, called Praise Break. This EP was so good that it landed on Rolling Stone’s list of 20 Best R&B Albums of 2014.

This success inspired him to make another EP in 2015 called Pilgrims Paradise. Caesar career took off when the single "Get You¨ was released in 2016 and when his debut full-length album Freudian was released in 2017. His debut album earned him two Grammy nominations and the title "Significant R&B artist.¨ The following year, he earned a Grammy for ¨Best R&B Performance¨ for the song ¨Best Part.¨ After Cesar blew up, he then made three more studio albums including the latest Son of Spergy.

This may be surprising, but the album Son of Spergy was inspired by his parents. He wanted this album to reconcile with them. He also wanted to reflect on his own life after turning 30. Fun fact, the name ¨Spergy¨ in the title was actually his father’s nickname. As we can expect, the album was really personal to Caesar. These songs also really reflect the realization that Caesar is becoming similar to his father as he is approaching the same age his father was when he was born. This album also really reflects his Christianity and his role that he had as a gospel singer when he was younger.

Personally, I think that Son of Spergy is one of his best albums. I don't know about you, but listening to Daniel Cesar is the best part of my day. Not only does this album have a lot of depth, but the lyrics in the songs are so powerful and meaningful. It's almost like he has superpowers when he sings. Alexia Duran (8th grade) says, ¨I thought it was very elegant, and I really loved all the songs. I feel like it really touched my heart, and I loved all the songs.¨ Ashlynn Cardoza (8th grade) says, ¨I thought some of the songs on the album were very good. I really liked the songs 'Baby Blue' and 'Who Knows.'" In conclusion, I think that the album Son of Spergy was very good and many others can agree with me.

Halloween

By Sophia Cordon - Dec 9, 2025

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. It's where kids and families go out at night trick or treating. On Halloween you're supposed to dress up, and you can be anything you want. You can be someone from a movie or show. The rules are every time you go to a house that is giving out candy, you must say, "Trick or treat," so they can give you candy. If you don't, then the houses are not supposed to give you any.

Here at Edgewood we have our own traditions. Like every year the day before Halloween, the school always has a haunted maze where families can go to and kids pay $5 to get in the maze. And it's pretty scary. On Halloween, students are not allowed to wear a mask at school for safety reasons. Many teachers dress up too and have a costume contest. At lunch they do a little performance for the students, and the students vote which department of teachers was the best.

Halloween is a scary night. Some people don't go out trick or treating, and that's okay. A lot of people just stay home and watch scary movies, bake cookies, carve pumpkins, and jump scare each other.

Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a major celebration from ancient history. It was celebrated at the end of the harvest season and the start of winter. The evening before, October 31st, became known as ‘’All Hallows Eve,’’ which was later shortened to ‘’Halloween.’’ Some ancient traditions were lighting bonfires and wearing costumes (often animal skin) to ward off evil spirits.

Here are some other interesting facts about Halloween: The most popular costumes of 2025 are the KPop Demon Hunters. The most popular candies that people eat and pass out are M&M's, Snickers, Hershey's milk chocolate, Reese’s Peanut butter cups and Kit Kats.

Let’s ask some of our Edgewood Middle Schoolers what their Halloween traditions are:

Naomi Martinez (8th grade) said, ’’I slept over at my friend's house, went trick or treating and baked cookies.¨

Ashlynn Carboza (8th grade) said, ‘’I went to the park and then I went trick or treating with my old soccer team.’’

Audree Zendejas (8th grade) said, ‘’I got home to get ready and then I went trick or treating.’’

Adreena Ibanez (8th grade) said. ‘’My friends came over and we hung out. We went trick or treating, and then we came back, and they sang happy birthday to me.’’

My tradition is every year I go to my tia’s house, and my cousins and I pass out candy for an hour. Then my brothers, my cousins and I all go out trick or treating to get candy for ourselves.

Starting My Band

By Angelique Aguilar - Nov 21, 2025

I've always wanted to start a band with my friends, so that we can show our love for music. But we also just want to have some fun working on music but also seriously learn music. Now that we started our own band, we are working on it to get better. It wasn't all because of my friends, but also because I was really interested in music and learning an instrument. I'm currently working on playing the electric bass. Some of the songs I'm learning are simple beginner songs such as ¨Sympathy for the Devil¨ by Rolling Stones, ¨Batman Theme¨, and ¨Another One Bites The Dust¨ by Queen. I'm planning on learning cooler and more upbeat songs by my favorite bands like Tool, Rage Against the Machines, Deftones, System of a down, Radiohead, Alice and Chains, Smashing Pumpkins and plenty more of my most favorite bands, also including some of my friends' favorite songs and bands.

I was thinking about starting a band while watching a movie, and it had this high school band of girls. So I got inspired by them and I asked my friends if they would like to join. They said yes, but I also got inspired because I kept seeing videos on my “for you” page about starting bands with friends. So I sent this to one of my closest friends that plays the drums. She said we actually should start a band, and I thought about it and said yeah. I asked her if she wanted to start one with me, and she said yes too. Next, I was getting ideas of names and instruments that I could play.

It happened during the beginning of the school year. So now we are working toward actually playing together. We are making new songs and also playing popular cover songs to practice. It's just my two friends and I, but I'm thinking of adding more people to my band. But first I want to see how it is with three people. If we need more, we´ll see who we can ask. Also our band is an indie, grunge, rock band and our style of the band is like a garage band, so we will be practicing and the sound is possibly going to sound like a couple of our favorite bands like Nirvana, Deftones, Green Day, and others from the '90s.

I've always been a fan of guitar and learning how to play. Now I have one that I got for my birthday, but we haven't practiced yet because I’m still learning how to play. My friends are practicing too to get better. So soon we are going to meet and practice together as a group.

Our band’s name is Broken Current, but we might possibly change the name soon. We're still thinking of names. The current name is just a thought, so it's not really the name just yet. I really liked the idea of starting a band together with friends and getting together to make music we enjoy. They say music can improve memory, boost plant growth and is a universal language that brings people together and cultures.

One friend Elena Lopez (7th grade) said that they feel it'll be cool because I can teach her. Jasmin Becerra (7th grade) says ¨I think it's cool because not a lot of people do it nowadays, and it gives off a '90s vibe.¨ Ava Pichardo (7th grade) says, ¨It will be really cool and is unique because most people don't play instruments and don't start bands.¨ English teacher Mr. Miller says, ¨Be sure to have fun.¨ And History teacher Mr. O´Leary says, ¨It needs to be appreciated more, and it's really cool that you're starting a band - to know you're a musician who listens to the music.¨

Our band members are Camila, Spencer, myself, and maybe my other friend Soleil. I'm the bassist, Camila is the drummer, and Spencer is the guitarist. We still don't have a singer, but one of us might be the singer while we are still looking for a singer. We might add my other friend Soleil who's going to play the electric guitar. My friend, who is the drummer, is barely getting back into it since she hasn't played or practiced in a while. The same with the guitarist, because now he's practicing. Also the same thing with my other friend that might get the electric guitar who said that she was going to ask her mom if she can get one for Christmas because she wants to be in our band.

Another great reason for this band is so I can enjoy time with my friends and play our favorite songs. We’ll get the opportunity to learn how to make songs and play an actual instrument, because we want to be unique and bring back that type of '90s and 2000s bands that kids started back then with their friends. We hope to be a garage band that can play grunge, rock and indie music.

The History of Skateboarding

By Adrian Medina Jan. 18, 2026

Skateboarding started in California in the 1940s and early 1950s. This is when surfers wanted to keep enjoying skateboarding even when they were not in the ocean or when they did not have waves to surf on or the waves were not high. So they took roller skate wheels. Put them on wooden planks or wooden boards. This made a way to ride that people called ”sidewalk surfing.” The early skateboards were very simple. These simple skateboards helped create a new culture that was growing. Skateboarding was becoming popular and people were really getting into skateboarding.

In the 1960s skateboarding became really popular. This happened when companies started making skateboards and wheels with their brands on them. People began to have skateboarding contests. There were magazines about skateboarding that helped people learn about the sport. But the first time skateboarding was popular did not last long. Skateboarding had some problems with safety. The equipment was not very good so by the late 1960s people were not as interested in skateboarding anymore.

Skateboarding became really popular again in the 1970s. This happened when people invented polyurethane wheels. Polyurethane wheels are a kind of wheel that has a metal core and polyurethane resin around it. The polyurethane wheels allowed you to have more grip on your skateboard and have smoother rides. Before skateboard wheels were made of metal, clay, and or sometimes wood.

With these polyurethane wheels skaters could do sharper turns and more advanced tricks on their skateboards. People even built skateparks where people could go and practice. Some people started to do vertical skating which is when you skate on vertical surfaces. This was really popular in California especially when there was a drought and a lot of swimming pools were empty.

Then skateboarding hit the internet. The Z-Boys were a group of skaters who were good at skateboarding. They helped make skateboarding a fun and creative thing to do by revolutionizing skateboarding and they starred in The "Dogtown Articles" in Skateboarder Magazine and photography by Glen E. Friedman and Craig Stecyk highlighted their unique style. Skateboarding was also seen as a bit rebellious which made it appealing to a lot of people. The Z-Boys and other skaters, like them, made skateboarding what it is today.

In the 1980s and 1990s something new happened with skateboarding. Street skating became really popular. This meant that people were not just skating in skateparks and started to skate in cities and towns. They were skating in all sorts of places which made stairs and rails and ledges a new way to do tricks.

Skateboarding and music like punk rock and hip-hop became closely tied to each other. Even though skateboarding was not really accepted by a lot of people, the skateboarding community just kept getting bigger.

By the 2000s, skateboarding entered popular culture through video games, media display, and professional competitions. One of the most popular skateboarding video game of the time was Tony Hawk’s pro skater featuring of course Tony Hawk a legendary skater. Tony Hawk also helped skating get more popularity by making his own trick called the 900. In 2021, skateboarding made its way to the Olympics, marking a major turning point. Today, skateboarding is known worldwide both as a sport and a form of art, continuing to grow while staying true to its roots.

For me skating has been a part of my life for a while. My mom, dad, some of my tios and my older cousins used to know how to skate too. For me I've been starting to get serious about skateboarding for about two years and I've taught some of my friends and younger cousins how to skate. Skating is a fun hobby and I have made some really good friends through it. If you want to start skating you should. It's a good way to pass the time or focus your mind on something else but just to let you know you will be falling a lot.

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