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Spanish 12 Fiesta
Spanish 12 students capped off a chapter about recipes by preparing several food items from Spain and Latin America in a special event hosted by Señora Andrea Carballo last Friday.
After studying several recipes from Spanish-speaking countries, the students chose four to make, then used their lunch break and Spanish class period to travel to Señora Carballo’s home off campus to create the foods.
The selections included pupusas, a Salvadoran tortilla filled with beans and cheese (and meat, for the non-vegetarians); guacamole, a popular avocado-based dip that originated in Mexico; and tortillas españolas, a Spanish omelette made with eggs and potatoes. For dessert, the students made plátanos en tentación – plantains caramelized with cinnamon and sugar.
Besides preparing the food from recipes written entirely in Spanish, the students sipped Jarritos Mexican sodas, and enjoyed Spanish-language music, an echo from Spanish Music Mondays, which are a tradition in Señora Carballo’s classes. They enjoyed the food together, along with Señora Carballo’s parents.
The Spanish 12 fiesta is a tradition that goes back to when Señora Carballo was a House Director, which made it easier because they could do it on campus. Fortunately, her current home isn’t far from the School, and the Transportation Department was able to get the students there and back.
Señora Carballo has taught the 12 students who took part for the last three years, so she knew everything would go smoothly. But even she was surprised by how well the students conducted themselves.
“I was so impressed,” she said. “My house was cleaner when they left than when they got there. It was incredible how good they were to clean.”
Prior to making the recipes, the students had watched videos in class about the importance of the food to their respective cultures. The fiesta was followed up with the students writing essays about their favourite recipes, what they mean to the culture it comes from, and what it was like to prepare them.
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