Glen Grove Community Project

One of the ways I knew that summer was starting to wind down was always when the Piyesta of Pateros would start. A piyesta (or fiesta) is a community celebration, usually with a potluck and activities held in a communal space. When my family and I immigrated from the Philippines, we were lucky to have other people from our hometown of Pateros who lived near us that would come together to celebrate and remember our hometown.

In the peak of heat in late July, our community would decorate our little reserved park pavilions with brightly colored triangular banners. We'd have tables full of Filipino food complete with giant roasted pigs as centerpieces. Little signs would encircle the premises with little packards of the different barangays (neighborhoods) and the local patron saint of the town would be paraded through the barangays and candy would be tossed in the air in celebration for the little ones trailing at the end to catch. We'd have water balloon toss competitions, toys and treats raised on frames for you to jump to reach in traditional pabitin-style, and a raffle to win various prizes.

Like many public gatherings, we had to stop celebrating the piyesta in 2020 and the subsequent years after. As the world opened up, there were small get-togethers, but never in the same scale as years prior. This last summer was the first time that the community came together for the Piyesta of Pateros, or at least those who remained. There used to be a Piyesta of Pateros in other states, in Virginia and New Jersey, but over the years, the Chicago group became the only ones that wanted to keep the tradition going. While we tried to keep some of the festivities the same, it was clear that with dwindling numbers and many young people leaving the community, there was no way to keep traditions the same.

The elders of the community came together at the end of the piyesta to have a discussion. Should we still continue to celebrate? Should we break away from tradition?

Ultimately, it was decided that the Piyesta of Pateros would continue, but there would need to be changes. Maybe there wouldn't be raffles or balloon tosses, or even the candy-throwing next year. Maybe there wouldn't be the usual rituals that came with the piyesta. Maybe (and this was to my personal disappointment) we could do without the roasted pig.

We'd have to make new traditions. We'd have to preserve stories. We'd have to let go of other things.

We'd have to make new meaning about what the Piyesta of Pateros meant for everyone - and work towards encouraging the younger members of the community to take interest in our traditions.

It's not clear as to how the celebration will look like next year or the years to come, but what is for certain is that the community is determined to face the changes together.

After all, we all left the Philippines in search of a new life in America. A few new traditions are just a part of the journey.

As we start this new school year, may we all work towards keeping some traditions and if needed, break away from a few to create new traditions that reflect our world today.

Check out these resources:

• Glen Grove's Collection of Hispanic/Latinx Books
• Library of Congress' Hispanic Heritage Month site
• Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month Activities by We Are Teachers
• Google Arts & Culture has a whole site dedicated to contemporary Latinx artists

In anticipation for the Fairytale Festival & Literacy Night in the Spring, we are starting this year off with some poetry. Click the image to watch a video to see our Gator community recite a poem written by Ms. Joaquin.

Where does storytelling come from? In the oral tradition of the Akan people in West Africa, stories are credited to Anansi, the trickster spider. Anansi is the main character in numerous folktales in West African, Caribbean, and African American traditions. He is known for being resourceful, playful, and smart. Watch the video below to learn more about Anansi and find a book in the library about his many adventures!

What are some new traditions you've made?

• Katherine Ellison, Glen Grove Principal
• Aurora Joaquin, Glen Grove Speech-Language Pathologist
• Katelyn Kelleher, Glen Grove Psychologist
• Hedy Helfand, Glen Grove English Langauge Learning Teacher
• Pam Leister, Glen Grove English Langauge Learning Teacher
• Lisa Funke, Glen Grove Learning Resource Center Director
• Nicole Bright, Glen Grove 4th Grade ClassroomTeacher
• Marie Chang-Pisano, Glen Grove Reading Intervention Associate
• Sylvia Gorski Duarte, District Title III Family Resource Teacher
• Lindsey Lurie, District Multilingual Instructional Coach

Email: GGCommunityProject@gmail.com