The Hispanos y Latinos Unidos club (HLU) invited students and teachers to join in celebrating Hispanic voices and culture during d-block in the Little Theatre, Friday, Oct. 15.

The student-led celebration consisted of a selection of videos organized by HLU members. Speeches, stand up comedy, music videos and slam poetry highlighted a clear and unique message about Hispanic and Latinx identity. 

Senior Olivia Helfrich-Tapia, an officer, said a wide variety of videos was necessary in order to present a “more accurate representation of not only the history of Hispanic Heritage Month but also the fun stuff just to celebrate the month,” said Helfrich-Tapia. 

The club’s goal with sharing the videos was to, “expose people to important Latinx people because who we see succeeding and being heard is who we equate with being important and worth talking about,” said Helfrich-Tapia. “There were a lot of things that we were trying to say, but at the heart, we were saying that Latinx stories deserved to be heard, told, and celebrated.”

Teachers brought their d-block classes to the event to show support and to listen to Hispanic stories. 

“It’s always worthwhile to allow students to organize their own events and to pay close attention to what it is that students want to have communicated during these events,” said world language teacher Chris Wood.

Despite having the location changed two days before, the event ran smoothly.

“I’m glad that we had a substantial amount of people coming just because they were interested,” said Helfrich-Tapia. 

HLU has planned for three panels about Hispanic experiences during the morning classes on Tuesday, Nov. 2.