Middle school students experienced authentic Spanish culture without leaving the Capital Region, or for the most part, even venturing beyond the walls of Iroquois Middle School on Friday, May 11.
The Spanish Culture Day celebration kicked off with a breakfast featuring churros – a donut-like, cinnamon- and sugar-coated pastry and Mexican hot chocolate made by their teachers from scratch.
Grade 8 Spanish students then enjoyed a flamenco music and dance demonstration by guitarist Maria Zemantauski and dancer La Nina, who explained the “language of the fan” to students.
“Today, you have text messaging and cell phones to communicate with each other,” La Nina said, “but in the 18th and early 19th century, young women in Spain carried fans and used them to communicate with the young men.”
Throughout the morning, more than 100 students alternated between the library for arts and crafts activities and the cafeteria to learn Latin dance moves with an instructor from the Saratoga Savoy Dance Center.
Students, teachers and chaperones headed to El Mariachi restaurant in Albany for lunch. In the afternoon, award-winning band, Alex Torres and the Latin All Stars, took the Iroquois stage to perform a concert of "calientě" (hot) rhythms including Salsa and Latin jazz that had students and teachers alike dancing in the aisles. Dozens of lucky students were even invited to join the fun on stage playing a variety of percussive instruments.

(May 2007)