¡Viva la Cultura! School No. 2 Treks Through Mexico

Music, dance and storytelling bring Mexican heritage to life in two assemblies for young learners.

LINDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NJ (Sept. 17) — The journey stretched back centuries, but students never left their school.

Music, dance and colorful traditional clothing brought Mexico’s history to life as School No. 2 kicked off National Hispanic Heritage Month with “Trekking Mexico,” presented by the New York City-based ensemble Mexico Beyond Mariachi.

“We celebrate you in all of our cultures and our diversity,” Superintendent Dr. Atiya Y. Perkins told students in welcoming remarks.

Perkins joined Assistant Superintendent Annabell Louis, Board of Education President Malaysia Thomas and board member Lymari Cintron for the celebration at the district’s largest elementary school.

Two lively, hourlong assemblies captivated students from prekindergarten through fifth grade. Performers shifted between singing, dancing, playing instruments and storytelling, giving young learners several ways to connect with Mexican culture.

A Celebration That Reflects LPS

National Hispanic Heritage Month, observed Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans. In Linden Public Schools, that celebration has a strong connection to the students and families who shape school life every day.

Across the district, 3,456 students identify as Hispanic, representing 54.5% of its 6,337 students.

School No. 2’s exploration of Mexican traditions offered one window into the many cultures recognized during the month. It also created a shared opportunity for students of every background to learn, ask questions and appreciate traditions that may be familiar to some classmates and new to others.

Beyond the Familiar

For co-founder Peter Bogdanos, the performances serve a purpose that extends beyond entertainment: introducing children to traditions they may never have encountered.

The objective, he said, is to expose young audiences to Mexico’s culture and traditions “beyond what they would typically see in the media.”

That means drawing on folk traditions practiced in Mexico’s pueblos and towns, helping students understand the community roots of the music and movement they see onstage.

Bogdanos said he and fellow co-founder Alda Reuter established the group 25 years ago. Its work has taken performers to hundreds of New Jersey schools, as well as theaters and performing arts centers across the country. National tours also include school outreach.

The ensemble typically performs with five or six people, each playing multiple instruments and taking on several roles.

“Everybody sings. Everybody dances,” Bogdanos said.

A Journey Through Time

At School No. 2, performers invited students to travel roughly 600 years into the past, introducing Mesoamerica and its Indigenous civilizations. Their storytelling explored Mexica heritage and Nahuatl, connecting the language to words that later entered Spanish.

The presentation then traced how the arrival of people from Europe and Africa changed the region’s languages, clothing and music, introducing students to the many influences that have shaped Mexican culture.

Those lessons came with a soundtrack. Performers displayed percussion instruments and demonstrated how they were played, connecting sound with the history unfolding before the audience. Dance and traditional clothing added movement, color and context.

For Bogdanos, exploring Mexico’s history before the arrival of the Spanish is essential to understanding its culture today. The challenge is making that history accessible within a single assembly.

“We’re doing a lot up here and trying to condense a lot of history and a lot of culture in a very small amount of time,” he said.

An Invitation to Participate

The welcome included a playful assignment for students: Make sure their teachers joined in the singing and dancing.

Performers also asked the children to listen closely and respect the people onstage, promising to give the audience their best in return.

The show’s pace and variety are intentional, Bogdanos explained. A rhythm, a dance or a moment of storytelling can give an individual child something to connect with.

That opportunity to discover and connect reflects the district’s ROAR pillars of Opportunities and Relationships, supporting its mission of empowering learners through collaboration and growth.

Throughout the month, school celebrations, student spotlights and district stories will highlight Hispanic heritage across Linden Public Schools.