Several groups from South Lakes participated at the Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the Southgate Community Center Sept. 22. The celebration offered informational booths, cultural dance performances, and food trucks that served a diverse selection of food.

Girls Learn International and South Lakes International Club for Education and Entertainment both set up booths to promote their clubs.

“We set up a stall because we got an opportunity to spread our cause and fundraise for our partner school in India,” GLI president, senior Sachi Koulgi said. “It went very well. Several people from the South Lakes community were there and showed interest in joining the club.”

Essence Dance Company and Latina Danza performed as well.

“This was our first performance for the year to get things going,” Essence Dance Company member, senior Manali Sontakke said. “We performed because we do share dancers with Latina Danza and our club promotes a mix of cultures with our dances. It went really well for the two practices we had to put it together. I was proud of how coordinated and in sync it all looked.”

“The stage performances by dance groups were very entertaining,” Koulgi said. “Essence Dance Company and Latina Danza performed and set fire to the stage. I absolutely loved the festival and its cultural atmosphere.”

Other members of the South Lakes community also attended, including leadership students, juniors Allie Micka and Kacey Hirshfeld.

“I watched all of the dances and I thought that was really cool,” Micka said. “I liked the different styles of dancing that the different groups did. I also watched the Zumba thing which was really cool, especially seeing everyone get into it.”

“It was really fun,” Hirshfeld said. “I enjoyed seeing all the different cultures from the community come together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage.”