Hispanic Heritage Celebration Performance
Identifying our Similarities and Celebrating our Differences

The morning of November 7, 2007 was no ordinary day for the students at Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts. Students rehearsed for weeks on the school’s first major performance, The Hispanic Heritage Celebration. All areas of the performing arts were represented in the show as well as all grade levels.

Shortly after morning announcements, the entire student body was called down to board buses headed for Bulkeley High School. Performance nerves and stomach butterflies created bursting anticipation for the first big show of the year. With a smooth transition from Kinsella to Bulkeley, the lights faded to dark and the show began. Cultural music filled the air. A slide show of students rehearsing flashed across the auditorium wall followed by a simple question in big letters; What does Hispanic heritage mean to you?

The stage was set and the question has been asked. What does Hispanic heritage mean to you? Between all the performance pieces a video slide show highlighted students and faculty answering and sharing their perspectives on what Hispanic heritage meant to them. The curtain rose to exposed a colorful scene of tropical trees, flowers and insects. Like an explosion of culture, drum students ignited the celebration with a thunderous harmony of sound accompanied by cultural dancers in exotic masks. Various grade level chorus’ sang cultural children’s songs such as the Los Pollitos Dicen, El Coqui and Sale el Sol harmonized with, violins, recorders and flutes. Dance students featured a Merengue piece from the Dominican Republic and a Punta piece from Central America. Drama students presented monologues as famous Hispanic figures. Characters included Mayor Eddie Perez, Salvador Dali, Judith Baca, Pablo Casals, Diego Velázquez and Jamie Escalante. The band closed the show with Seniorita Fajita, and the ever popular, A Little Bit of Latin.

After all the applause swelled and the frenetic energy subsided, all that was left was a deeper appreciation for Hispanic heritage. The flavor of music and dance still lingered as students exited the building humming the songs they heard and recalling parts they enjoyed most. The performance celebration debuted our robust performance schedule and epitomized the potential of what is possible with a vision, discipline and rehearsal. The Spanish philosopher, Jose Ortega y Gasset said, “Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be.” With that in mind, all the students, faculty and parents at Kinsella Magnet School look forward to a great year of performing arts.