Latin Spice consists of six girls and five boys from various schools throughout the region. Dance coordinator Erlinda Mendoza said the name comes from the diversity of the group’s members.
“We have Honduran, Mexican, black, Cauca-sian,” Mendoza said. “We put them all together and that’s it. That’s the spice of life and of our dancing.”
 The 11 youngsters of Latin Spice prepare to perform Tuesday at Canview Elementary School for Cinco de Mayo. Advertisement
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“When we started, I looked around and didn’t see a lot of Mexican culture,” Mendoza said. “So I thought for Cinco de Mayo we could do this.”
The dancers performed in costume, with the girls in full skirts, the boys in medallioned pants and scarves, and both in decorative sombreros, twirling and passing arm in arm as they performed a succession of dances.
“We started back then, my oldest girl when she was little,” Mendoza said.
For the past several years, the dance group has added dancers from around the region.
“Now we have kids from all over,” Mendoza said. “We pull them in, they want to dance.”
On Tuesday the dance group performed at Cane-view Elementary School, the new facility that opened last fall consolidating Peebles and Grand Marais schools, so in a way the dancers from various schools were performing before a hometown crowd.
“The kids are from Magnolia, Anderson, and there are two brothers from Glencoe Charter,” Mendoza said.
The music included traditional Mexican, Rega-ton, a musical style Mendoza said has its roots in Puerto Rico, Cumbia and contemporary music by Selena and Shakira.
“This is wonderful,” said Caneview Principal Dorothy Small. “They’ve been with us since before we moved here to the new school. There are only a few that weren’t with us back in Grand Marais.”
Comments
Charlie wrote on May 8, 2009 7:03 PM:
Bbean wrote on May 8, 2009 2:36 PM:
Lighten up a little and maybe you could soon learn to like a good party also.
Have a good day AMERICAN "
American wrote on May 7, 2009 7:47 AM:
This is not Mexico or a border state.
While I do believe in teaching about all cultures -- Our culture in this area is Cajun .
Why not do it like everyone else? Let them learn through Western Civilization.
That's what that class is about. Teaching abou different cultures. Not singling out one culture for special notice.
Our culture gets ignored. We are French not Mexican. Instead of celebrating Cinco De Mayo - not even a US holiday - Celebrate the Cajun migration. "