‘Special for me’: Chesterfield students celebrate start of Hispanic Heritage Month

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - Inside Matoaca High School in Chesterfield, Luvin Ortiz is showing her peers the ingredients to use in order to make pupusas, a popular dish from Central America.

“One of my mom’s friends is Salvadorean, so she told me how to make it,” Ortiz said. “I know some people have never even tried pupusas before, so that makes it even more special for me.”

The step-by-step process on how to bring the dish to life is all part of a celebration to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, which shines a spotlight on the culture, contributions and history of the Hispanic and Latin Americans in the U.S.

In 1968, the observation started as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded to a 30-day period in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan.

Sept. 15 is also a significant date because of the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.

“There’s so many cultures in the Hispanic world, but the 15th marks the Independence Day for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador,” said Ramon Zabala, a teacher at Matoaca High School who helped facilitate the student-led lesson on Friday. “That’s why we’ve chosen to make pupusas in culinary class to share the culture of Central America.”

Zabala, who is also from Venezuela, believes this serves a powerful lesson beyond the pages of a textbook.

“As an immigrant, I moved to Virginia when I was 8 years old, and in my experience in school, our culture wasn’t really represented and our foods were never really represented, so I think this is an amazing collaboration to include the different cultures that are represented in the school,” said Zabala. “It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to share our culture and the richness of Hispanic culture with a lot of kids that maybe they don’t get to experience it every day.”

A lesson giving students a chance to not only learn, but to also give students a chance to share a piece of their heritage.

“I love to make pupusas, and I love to be in the kitchen with all the kids in here and help them to know more about my community,” said Ortiz. “It makes it special.”

The Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce reports Hispanics and Latinos make up roughly 10 percent of the state’s population. Over the next two decades, the U.S. Census estimates that the Hispanic population will double in Virginia.

The Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has a full list of events to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, which can be found through this link.

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