Boots slamming, hands clapping, drums beating and flamenco guitar resounding, Don Quijote restaurant hosted VHS students for Spanish culture week as both an entertainment luncheon and an educational experience.
Robert Cespedes, a Spanish teacher at VHS said, "We've been bringing the students here for many, many years. It's more of an annual tradition we have. Don Quijote is the only authentic Spanish restaurant in Indiana."
The students enjoyed the food and the entertainment intently, which was served and spoken almost entirely in Spanish. When the dancers cried "Ole!" the seventy plus students aptly replied, "Ole!"
Eventually the dancers pulled a dozen students up on the stage to teach them some authentic Spanish dance moves. They erupted with excitement, encouraging the more enthusiastic students to get up on stage. After an awkward first few dance steps, the students caught the rhythm and were met with an applause from their peers.
"I think it's a great opportunity for the students to see something completely outside of their culture," Robert continued, "and go away from the textbooks and actually living the culture. You walk into Don Quijote, and with the decorations, music and dancers, you feel like you're in Spain."
Carlos Rivero, owner of Don Quijote was just as excited about seeing so many students faithfully visiting every year, "When I opened the restaurant years ago, I wanted to introduce Spanish folklore to the area. I started having shows for adults, but I desired that the best way would be to start from the bottom and get the high school kids interested who are already involved in Spanish."
Elena Jambrina, the assistant chef and business manager explained to the students how to properly use a wineskin for drinking. Mr. Cespedes tried to encourage the students to get a world record of nonstop drinking by passing from student to student. Suffice it to say, the first few students experienced a face full of ice-cold Spanish culture.
One of the dancers, who simply goes by "Paco", had this to say about the event, "This is amazing. Besides having Spanish class, you have a complementary of something performed, something visual, and something that you can actually be a part of."
Carlos was excited to admit, "Little by little, the Spanish culture is spreading to this area."
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