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Students dressed for theme days during Hispanic Heritage Month. Photos courtesy of OLAS.

The Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) is a student-led club established at Riverside Brookfield High School. OLAS is meant to be a space for Latinx students to come together and exchange their stories, heritage, and culture. This year members of the OLAS board of directors have shared their plans to celebrate Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month and la Dia de los Muertos. September 15 (Mexican Independence Day) Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month began, and it runs until Saturday, October 15.

During the week of October 3rd, OLAS celebrated Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month with a spirit week. A day for jerseys, country flags and other outfit based themes that pertained to Hispanic heritage. Along with the spirit week, OLAS put together activities for students to partake in. Social studies teacher Justine Trevino, the club’s current sponsor, shared the variety of after school activities OLAS had planned: Loteria, soccer games, and a karaoke night.

“This is the third year that we’re doing this and every year it gets bigger and bigger,” Trevino said. “We’re gonna kick it off with Loteria day, everyone’s welcome to join in the fun, it gets very competitive.”

La Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday from November 1 to 2 dedicated to celebrating passed loved ones. In conjunction with the Spanish club, OLAS plans to have a school wide ofrenda open to all students near the main entrance. Trevino wants to highlight the benefits of sharing Latinx culture with those within the school community.

“I think it benefits the students that are Latinx. It shows that you are important and are included in this community,” Trevino said. “But, I also think it’s important for other students that are not Latinx to see this culture, to share in on that experience as well.”

Fransico Cervantes, the Co-Vice President of OLAS, originally joined the club to learn about other Latin cultures as well as his own. He believes that these traditions should be upheld and shared so they are not lost to time.

“There are generations of Latin American students born here and they don’t know much about their culture,” Cervantes said.

Not only is OLAS a place to share their cultures, it’s a place to make friends not only within the organization but also with the clubs that OLAS collaborates with.

“I enjoy that everyone is able to unite and do something bigger for the community,” Cervantes said.

Jalynn Martinez encourages others to join OLAS to be more educated beyond the term Latinx, as she herself joined the club for this reason.

“Making new friends, learning about my culture and teaching others about my culture,” Martinez said.

OLAS is a club that strives for diversity within the Latinx community and aims to educate on every culture under the Latinx umbrella.

“I think joining OLAS is a way to feel like you can relate to people, I think it shows the diversity in the Latinx community,” Trevino said. “We have students coming together and wanting to speak about things that interest them, whether it’s activism or culture.”