Erin Weeks eweeks@aikenstandard.com
AIKEN —Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High School students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month on Friday, Sept. 26, kicking off the multi-week holiday as they have
for the past five years with a student-led presentation filled with traditional dancing, musi,c and fashio Students gave multiple dance performances, introducing their audience to “La Llorona,” a conventional song detailing a somber Mexican ghost story and “La Iguana,” an energetic Mexican folk dance where dancers drop to the floor and do moves that are inspired by the motion of lizards.
Sol Cianni, an Aiken-based musician, also returned to the event as she has in previous years to sing for the crowd.
This year’s festivities were set apart from previous years, as several students had the chance to showcase their quinceañera gowns. Hispanic girls traditionally wear these colorful, sparkling ballgowns on their 15th birthday, marking a celebratory transition from childhood to adulthood.
“It has just grown and grown from just a couple of kids dancing to the whole piñata, with the costumes, with the skirts, singing, dancing,” said Cayce Spire, a Ridge Spring English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher, about the event’s evolution since it began in 2021.