Tag Archives: getting to know

Events, Getting To Know/History

What is a quinceañera?

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By: Arturo Benitez-Osorio

In the middle of the picture is my cousin on her 15th birthday. In our culture, we do something called a quinceañera.

It’s a tradition in Latin American culture when a girl celebrates her 15th birthday. Many celebrations begin with a Catholic mass to honor the occasion; then the party starts. Many quinces use a doll to represent the birthday girl, symbolizing the end of her childhood and the father swaps her flat shoes to high heels to represent that she’s ready for womanhood. Then everyone dances and eats a variety of Latino food.

How did quinceañeras?

Long before European arrival, the Mayans and Aztecs celebrated the age of 15 as the end of puberty. It marked a young woman’s readiness for marriage or community service.

Fun facts

The honor of damas and chambelanes: This represents the young woman’s closest peers supporting her transition. The girl is usually accompanied by 14 damas and chambelanes representing the 14 years of her childhood, plus herself to make it 15.

The mass before her birthday party: Its a Spanish/Catholic religious tradition/ceremony of a quinceañera of a way of giving thanks and renewing baptismal vows, with a special blessing as she transitions from childhood to womanhood.

The last doll: The birthday girl will give away her favorite doll to a younger sibling or relative signifying the end of her childhood

Football, Getting To Know/History

Joaquin Lechuga

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By: Jules Lewis

Joaquin isn’t just a student at Highland Park High School but he is also the school’s dual threat as the starting varsity middle linebacker (MLB) and full back (FB). Playing for the Highland Park Scot’s, he was exhilarating  to watch during the 24-25 season both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball where he was an impact maker.

Starting with off the field, Joaquin is a beast in the weight room where he can bench more than 250 pounds, and squat more than 300 pounds. In school, he is an academic demon getting almost all A’s in all his classes.

Being new to the school, and also being friends with him since 2nd or 3rd grade, I can say he is a very nice kid. Seeing the way he interacts with other people, he is just very kind and genuine and he is just someone you want in your corner.

On the offensive side of the ball he has had an amazing season averaging 2.4 yards per rush and 14.7 yards receiving and only one touchdown. When he doesn’t have the ball, he is a dominant blocker putting people 2-3 times his size both in height and weight on their butts. Although on the smaller side, compared to most offensive linemen in his age group, he is performing better than almost all of them using his small bulky frame to his advantage by staying low and using his leverage to pancake the opposing d-line. He also uses his speed to his advantage running anyone in his path out of the play. 

On the defensive side of the ball, in pass coverage, he is fine but when it comes to run defense he is a a heat seeking missile when it comes to finding the ball carrier, averaging around 2-5 tackles per game and 2-3 tackle for loss per game. He has an eye for the ball. When watching his highlights and film you can clearly see he knows what he’s doing and where the play is going right off the snap, and he isn’t afraid of contact either making him a scary sight to see coming at you.

I would  to believe that I have shown you, in my opinion, why Joaquin is the best MLB and HB and hopefully you agree. I can’t wait to maybe play along with him, and if I am in this class again next year, I will maybe give y’all an update or something.