By: Calvin Sonntag and Matthew Shelby

Hispanic Heritage Month is a National celebration of Hispanic culture and historical achievements. It is celebrated from September 15th through October 15th. It starts mid-way through September because it is the anniversary of Cry of Dolores. Which is the start of the Mexican War for independence. It is also significant because Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate their independence on September 15th and Mexico and Chile celebrate theirs in September too. Downtown Apex celebrated this year by holding an event on October 16th with music and food to acknowledge the month. At Apex High School, in our foreign language department, the Spanish classes have Hispanic Heritage Month in their curriculum where they enjoy 30 days of learning about Hispanic history and culture. Usually the celebration of the event normally stays within the department but this year students and teachers came together to make it even more. The Sociedad de Latino-Americans, a new club, led by senior Saul Martin-Chavez, Spanish teacher Monika Schmidt, and assistant teacher Patricia Gotay held the most recent and biggest schoolwide Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. At Apex High 12.4 percent of students are of Hispanic descent and the club felt that it was necessary to honor our students’ cultures. Every Friday the announcements were repeated in Spanish, there was Latin music in front of the library, and on the last day a celebration with a dance party in the courtyard. Hispanic Heritage Month was a very fun and eventful 30 days for our students at Apex high school and a great opportunity for students to learn more about other cultures. Sociedad de Latino-Americans, announces when they meet on their Instagram @apexsla and they encourage people of all cultures to come.