The sound of sizzling pans and the smell of freshly cut tomatoes, avocado and onion surround Spanish National Honor Society members as they prepare a buffet for their second annual taco night Wednesday, April 24.
The taco night is a new tradition in SNHS, but a quickly growing one according to chapter president, senior Olivia Peters.
“We started the event last year and it went super well,” Peters said. “Doing it again this year, we’re making the meat ourselves and bringing in a lot of different ingredients and then they can assemble their own tacos.”
Members split off into groups to prepare each component of the tacos. Some cooked meat while others prepped fillings or made guacamole, like senior Gwen Heideman.
“I love guacamole so I was most excited about that aspect of taco night,” Heideman said. “I prepped the avocados and I struggled getting them out of the peel, but it was still fun.”
Each year, the event falls at the end of April, allowing the group to celebrate Cinco de Mayo together, according to chapter sponsor Edith Paredes.
“We started doing taco night because it’s our last big activity of the year and it’s so close to Cinco de Mayo, so we thought it would be a fun way to wrap up the year,” Paredes said.
An important part of the required service activities for SNHS is getting to explore Hispanic culture. For Paredes, taco night is more than just a service activity, it’s also a learning opportunity.
“We want our members to get involved in the Hispanic community,” Paredes said. “Food is a big element in the culture, so [at taco night] they can celebrate friendship and they get to do things that they typically don’t do at home.”
While taco night might seem like a fun and simple event, for Peters it means more than that.
“[Taco night] is fun because a lot of times when you’re learning Spanish, you can get lost in the stress of learning tenses and vocab and you forget why it’s so impactful,” Peters said. “This is about reconnecting with the cultures that Spanish is linked to.”
Connecting with Spanish cultures is what SNHS is about, according to Peters and taco night facilitates that connection.
“[Taco night] is a really lovely way to remember why you joined [SNHS] in the first place: to connect with people and cultures,” Peters said.
