The Spanish Club members and some students from Spanish II, III, and IV classes went sightseeing in Spanish Harlem Manhattan, New York on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, to learn about the Latin and African American history in the area.

The Spanish Club advisor and Spanish teacher, Karina Rivas, and Spanish teacher, Rocio Martinez planned the trip and took a total of 28 students on the fun and educational field trip. While in Harlem, the students went on a guided tour through the streets of Harlem where they learned about the famous people from that city and all of the historical sites throughout. Some of the sites the students saw included St. Cecilia’s Roman Catholic Church, First Spanish United Methodist Church, the site of an assassination attempt on Martin Luther King, the site of Malcolm X’s office and the Apollo Theatre.

Rivas’ favorite site was La Marqueta. She explained,It is a marketplace under the elevated Metro North in East Harlem. It was an informal gathering place for pushcart vendors and other merchants.” Shayla Lugo, a sophomore at HHS who attended the trip, said, “We saw a lot of cool landmarks and where famous Spanish role models grew up. My favorite part was seeing the local Spanish market; it was really interesting.”

Martinez was also delighted to learn about the history. She said, “Walking and being there, seeing the buildings with your own eyes makes your imagination think on the reality of how the [historical] person lived.” Martinez and the rest of the group learned how Tito Fuentes, Puerto Rican musician, grew up in Harlem. Eduardo Perez, a junior at HHS who went on the trip, also liked learning about the famous faces that could once be found in Harlem. He enjoyed hearing about one of the hotels were Fidel Castro, who used to be a politician in Cuba, once stayed.

The trip to Harlem had a positive outcome. The students learned about the interesting history of Spanish and African American history by seeing the locations with their own eyes.