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Hispanic Heritage Celebrated At Sebring High

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Michael McMillian, lead biologist at Florida Fish and Wildlife, poses for a portrait near a popular osprey nesting spot in some cypress trees at Cypress Isle Fish Camp on Lake Istokpoga. McMillian started working with ospreys in 1989 as a side project.

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By MARC VALERO | Highlands Today

Published: October 15, 2007

SEBRING — Sebring High School senior Jonathan Perez and some of his fellow Spanish club members put their six weeks of practice into rhythmic motion Friday, dancing the Bachata and Merengue on Friday at the school's Hispanic Heritage Festival.

This is second year the school has held the festival recognizing the heritage of Spanish speaking students from Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Perez's parents grew up in Puerto Rico.

"The heritage, it's in my blood," he said.

Four couples danced the Bachata, which is a form of music and dance that originated in the countryside and the rural neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic and three couples danced the Merengue, which is also popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America.

Students such as Lizz Batts ate their lunch and had sodas at the festival.

"Rice is one of the main things," Batts said as she enjoyed a variety of Latin foods including two featuring rice.

Colorful displays representing the Latin American countries from Argentina to Venezuela lined the walls of the Smith Center.

The Avon Park High Latin dance group kicked off the excitement with four couples dancing in sync.

The din of the crowded Smith Center subsided as five young ladies dressed in red, white and blue outfits, native of Puerto Rico, started to dance.

Sebring High Spanish club members Jeanette Sanchez, Zusette Roa, Jessenia Hernandez, Mariangelia Canal and Natalie Mators danced the Bomba and Plena to the cheers of their students and concluded by unfurling a Puerto Rican flag.

"We are very proud of our country," Roa said. "We are bringing Puerto Rico here."

Sebring High foreign language teacher Sonia Rivera said, "this is the first time that we have three groups participating in this festival from our school so we are very proud of that."

Everybody was involved, Spanish speaking and non-Spanish students, in bringing in home cooked Latin American dishes including empanada, which is a thin circular-shaped dough patty over a stuffing such as chicken or fish.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18. Hispanic Heritage Month officially concludes on Oct. 15.

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