Voices of Pioneer: PHS Students and Teachers Featured in Spanish Writing Competition
Ellora Biggs - November 1st, 2023
This October, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Department of World Languages at Sacramento State, held their third annual Voces de Sacramento writing contest. The contest honors Spanish-speaking writers by giving them a voice to express themselves.
This year, three of Pioneer’s own placed in the youth category, Mildred Salazar with a 1st place win, Maria Jaime Hernandez in 2nd, and Melanie Salazar with an honorable mention. They were encouraged to participate by Ms. Zamudio, a beloved teacher in the Spanish Department at Pioneer. Ms. Zamudio submitted a story herself titled “Ojotes” and won 2nd place in the adult category!
Mildred, Maria, and Melanie have all been speaking Spanish since birth. And, they find it easier to accurately express themselves in their mother tongue.
“I feel that in Spanish you can express yourself more correctly, you can put more hidden feelings between the words unlike in English” notes Mildred. It can be hard for non-native speakers to express themselves in a language other than their first one. Even though we do not have a national language in America, one cannot deny the prevalence of English; it’s spoken in government, schools, and businesses. Yet, the 2019 census reported that 67.8 million Americans (1 in 5) speak a language other than English at home.
That’s why contests like these are so important. They give a formal outlet to non-native English speakers, and allow them to express themselves more authentically, as well as honor their heritage.
Mildred Saldana’s short story “El Caballo Que Quería Correr” is told from the perspective of an abused race horse with a twist at the end. She wrote this story because she loves helping animals. “The process of gaining the trust of these types of animals and being able to restore their health may be long, but it is always worth seeing how they get better and live a happy life,” she says. And, just the other day, she saved a litter of kittens from the rain. She wasn’t worried about winning, but instead wanted to convey the nuanced topic of animal abuse and hopes that audiences learn from her deep message.
Runner-up Maria Jaime Hernandez wrote about the bittersweet feeling of growing up in her poem “El Espíritu de la Juventud”, and fittingly so, Maria’s poem echoes the feelings that her and her fellow senior class members face as they navigate college application and life after high school. Maria took inspiration from her many journals, and she finds it easier to write in Spanish because she feels her “passion comes through more.”
The third PHS student honored with an award was Melanie Salazar, a junior, as an honorable mention. If she could describe her poem, “Mis Raíces en la Música”, in one sentence, she would describe it as “the musical way I connected with my grandfather without any words or sight”. Melanie’s grandfather introduced her to music, and even though he has passed, music is how she connects with him. She was inspired by the then upcoming holiday Dia de Los Muertos which honors loved ones who have passed on. Melanie hopes that “others can just overall notice how much he influenced my life to the positive, and I hope he's satisfied to see how far I have made it to honor his name.”
Congratulations to Mildred, Maria, Melanie, and Ms. Zamudio for their amazing accomplishment. If you would like to read their poems as well as the other winners please use this link: https://www.csus.edu/college/arts-letters/world-languages-literatures/_internal/_documents/ebook-voces_de_sacramento_2023.pdf to access a pdf of the literary book. Mildred’s story is on pg. 6, Maria’s is on 10, Melanie’s is on 21, and Ms. Zamudio’s is on 43.