New Rochelle High School students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month on Oct. 14 by diving into the history and sounds of salsa music. Hosted by the library in collaboration with the English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Performing and Visual Arts Education (PAVE) Departments, the third annual event highlighted the American Hispanic community’s rich cultural contributions.
The celebration focused on the rise of salsa music in the 1960s. Emerging as a high-energy fusion of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican rhythms blended with jazz, R&B, and soul, salsa grew into one of the world’s most popular musical genres.
"Every year when I plan events, I make a concerted effort to tie the topic back to New York History, because it is the history of our students. While the rise of salsa is tied so deeply to El Barrio and the South Bronx of New York City, New Rochelle also played a significant role in the history of salsa, with many notable performances at the Glen Island Casino and serving as the home of Salsa Legend Willie Colón in the later years of his life," said Librarian Ryan Paulsen. "I was also excited to include the PAVE Department in this year's activity, with a hands-on salsa drum circle, expanding upon the cross-curricular goals of these events beyond the traditional Humanities departments."
"As a PAVE student, I think it's really great to share salsa music with students who may not have heard it before so they can experience it," said Liam O'Hare. "A lot of these songs are related to folklore or stories specific to revolution or racism, and we can learn through music about the history of the Latino community."
Mr. Paulsen added that he is happy to see students engaging dynamically with the library space during events, which expand instruction to topics that might otherwise fall outside of the traditional high school curriculum.
"This is tied to my heritage. It's really important to think of different cultures and how they contributed. When we see this type of food and music, we're not always thinking about the importance of its origin or where it came from," said 9th grader Ethan Laracuente.
Throughout the day, students spent their free periods sampling the iconic sound and sharing in the heritage of salsa music's growth.