Student Cultural Essayists Celebrated At Free Screening Of Selena Film

Submitted by: Iris Campbell, SMCISD Public Information Officer

To kick off National Hispanic Heritage Month in our community, the San Marcos Cinema Club sponsored an essay writing contest for local school children based on the questions “Why is it beneficial to be bilingual and/or bi-cultural?  How does this enrich your life and the lives of others?”

The project—also supported by the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos and Texas State University—took inspiration from the words of Grammy award-winning Tejano musician Selena Quintanilla who said:

“I feel very proud to be Mexican. I didn’t have the opportunity to learn Spanish, when I was a girl, but it’s never too late to get in touch with your roots.”

Essay contest winners were announced prior to the free screening of the 1997 film Selena that was shown on September 15, 2016, at Cuauthemoc Hall, where Selena y los Dinos performed in the early 1990’s.  The Quintanilla family waived the licensing fee for the free community viewing.

The essay-judging committee was headed by San Marcos CISD Superintendent Michael Cardona, and the award-winners read their essays to the assembled crowd.

Diana Garcia, a Cinema Club member and SMCISD teacher, said there were 144 essays submitted, with all SMCISD campuses represented.  The Cinema Club released the list of winners and Honorable Mentions, as follows:

• High School level – Joselyn Gregorio, 9^th grade, San Marcos High School
• Middle School level –A. Nabil Aldana, 6^th grade, Goodnight Middle School, and Alfredo Castro-Rosas, 7^th grade, Miller Middle School. Honorable Mention: Victoria Black, 8^th grade, Goodnight Middle School
• Elementary School level – Rosario Castro-Rosas, 5^th grade, Crockett Elementary, and Melanie Mongarro, 3^rd grade, De Zavala Elementary