On Sunday, Feb. 26, the California High School Spanish Club held its first "Spanish Spectacular." All Spanish students, parents and school faculty were invited to the event to sample desserts and some other country-specific foods.
With groups of students speaking about each of the Spanish-Speaking countries, those present were presented with information about each country and a few interesting things about the country.
There was quite range, considering there are more than 20 sovereign states and dependent territories where Spanish is an official language, the national language or the de facto official language. Most are in the Americas, or at least in oceanic regions, such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Of course, in Europe, Spain is a Spanish-speaking country. A surprise to many which is numbered among the nations with Spanish as an official language is the African nation of Equatorial Guinea.
"Culture is so much more than just the way a group of people act or speak," said Kristina Isidro, high school Spanish teacher. She went on to state that culture defines who a people are "at the very core of their being as demonstrated through the arts, music, dance, philosophies, religion, languages, values, goals and overall characteristics of their people. Without understanding of a people's culture, the love of language would be absent."
A few of the items mentioned about Hispanic countries were the fact that Bolivia has 37 official languages (imagine a government dealing with that), the Giant Hand sculpture on Brava Beach, Uruguay (a plastic sculpture created in 1982 by Chilean artist Mario Irrazbal) and the emeralds of Colombia (a country also noted for 16 volcanoes, 15 of which are active).
Isidro wishes for the CHS Spanish students to build an overall appreciation for the various Hispanic cultures and languages in the world. In doing this, she hopes the students will gain an deeper appreciation for their own culture and language.