Sedro-Woolley celebrates Latin American cultures in community event

SEDRO-WOOLLEY - The Sedro-Woolley community came together at Cascade Middle School on Thursday to celebrate Latin American cultures through music, dance and student voices.

Celebrating Our Culture Night was presented by the Sedro-Woolley School District Migrant Program, and featured the high school mariachi band, school district folklórico group, student presentations, music and Latin American snacks. Several organizations had booths sharing community resources.

There were 27 dancers, about 20 mariachi students and four student presenters. Students gave a presentation about Nicaragua and another on the importance of celebrating culture.

Monica Vivanco, secretary to the migrant and multilingual programs and a family advocate, helped organize and run the event.

Vivanco said events such as this are important because they are a way to acknowledge diversity in schools and the importance of students being proud of who they are.

"When you don't have that sense of pride of where you come from, you can't really stand out, you can't really do much ... I do these events to bring people together," Vivanco said.

Vivanco said regardless of what the outside world says, the district has a lot of families that support the Latino community and culture night.

Students from Latinos in Action at Sedro-Woolley High School participated and helped out with the event.

There are about 126 students in Latinos in Action this year, its second year. Next year, Latinos in Action is set to expand to have a class at the middle school.

Rachael Rodriguez, Latinos in Action teacher at Sedro-Woolley High School, said Sedro-Woolley has become more open to different cultures and that cultural representation is important for the community.

"It was nice to see a lot of faces and a lot of new faces out there ... the biggest thing is being open to coming and seeing these kinds of things," Rodriguez said.

Tony Smith, executive director of educational support services, said it's most rewarding to see that students and families really enjoy culture night, and that he's proud of the growth the district has made recently.

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