Laughter and rhythm spilled across Webb’s campus as the live band Sitara Son played music while students danced under string lights. Stations served tamales, arroz con pollo, and aguas frescas between Liu-Cheung Theater and the Quad. What usually would be just another Wednesday night community dinner was transformed into a full campus fiesta. 

This marked Webb’s first-ever Hispanic Heritage Community Dinner, a mandatory gathering for boarding students that drew a high turnout from the entire community. 

Historically, celebrating Hispanic Heritage month had been an on-campus Saturday event organized by Latinos Unidos, an affinity group dedicated to representing Latino students and culture. Although the feedback from students who have participated in previous celebrations is positive, the number of participants remained low. 

“It became more for Latinos Unidos students and their families, which was great,” said Marc Zambrano (‘26), a member of Latinos Unidos. “But we wanted to also share our cultures with the wider school community.”  

Other members echoed this message, hoping to bring this event to a whole community celebration.  

“[We want] to allow as many students as possible to experience our rich culture and traditions,” said Jayden Aleman (‘26), another member of Latinos Unidos. 

With growing interest from both the student body and adult community to bring heritage celebration for those within and outside affinity, Hispanic Heritage officially became a community dinner in the 2025-2026 school year, alongside the other culture-themed community dinner, Lunar New Year. 

After the decision was finalized, the community undertook months of preparation to ensure the dinner ran smoothly. Latinos Unidos collaborated and met multiple times with the Deans’ Office, the Cultural Community Office, adult leaders, and the dining hall staff. 

“We met earlier in the spring and again recently in August,” said Yesela Tadeo, Dean of Residential Life. “It takes a lot of deliberate planning for sure.” 

The event would not have been possible without the efforts of Armando Amezcua, Director of Food Services, who coordinated logistics in the dining hall and helped turn plans into reality. 

Webb parents also played a major role, contributing home-cooked dishes, adding authentic flavors to the menu. 

Genesis Rodriguez, parent of Geniya Parker (‘26) and Aaron Parker (‘28), was among the Webb parents who helped plan the event.  

“We had more than enough [support] that we even had to turn people away because the amount of support was so tremendous,” Ms. Rodriguez said.  

For many parents, the opportunity to share their culture with Webb’s community was one of great excitement. From tamales to mazapán, the offerings reflected the richness of Hispanic heritage. Specifically, Ms. Rodriguez provided Coquito, a traditional Puerto Rican seasonal drink, to the dinner.  

“Usually, people eat it during Christmas time because it’s like a welcome into our family,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “We want to welcome everybody to the Puerto Rican community.”  

Contrary to the mixed feedback often shown toward regular community dinners, the Hispanic Heritage Community Dinner turned out to be a blast. The live band kept students singing and dancing late into the evening. The faculty joined the fun too, forming circles with students and showing off salsa skills in the middle.  

“I love the event,” Stephanie Tsai Li (‘29) said. “Day students are missing out if they did not pull up.” 

As the night ended, students gathered hand in hand, circling together in the usual rush of a busy week, taking the moment to appreciate each other and the community. From proposing the idea to preparing the dishes, the dinner was the result of full community effort. Everyone contributed, and everyone celebrated. 

With the completion of the Hispanic Heritage Community Dinner, Webbies are left wanting more. This dinner marks the beginning of a new era of cultural celebrations at Webb—one where community dinners truly honor the richness of different cultures, identities, and traditions. 

All it took was music, great food, the spirit of cultural empathy and allyship to foster a tighter-knit community at Webb than ever before.  

¡Wepa!