With the colorful twirls of Folklorico dresses and the sharp cracks of Tinikling sticks, students at Carlmont’s annual Heritage Fair don’t just perform; they share a collection of culturally diverse stories and traditions that connect the school community.

The Heritage Fair — one of the most anticipated Associated Student Body (ASB) assemblies of the year — features performances by various cultural clubs on campus, such as Indian Club, Chinese Culture Club, and Korean Culture Club. Newer groups, including Drum Circle and Islanders Club, have recently joined the lineup, along with supplemental performances by the drumline and the jazz ensemble.

At the assembly, an incomparable sense of cultural pride radiates from every student performer, whether dressed in traditional attire or sharing a piece of their heritage through dance or music.

Among them is senior Ana Latu, who led the revival of Islanders Club, which had been dormant since 2020.  

For Latu, born and raised in Tonga for the first 16 years of her life, restarting the club was a deeply personal decision, motivated by her sense of duty towards other Pacific Islanders students at Carlmont.

“When I met other Pacific Islanders at school, I realized they were never introduced to their culture and their heritage in a proper way. That was the main reason for me to recreate this club: to educate them on their cultures,” Latu said.

Though hesitant at first due to her accent, Latu was driven by her teachers’ encouragement, as well as her own desire to represent a community that is often overlooked.

“Sometimes when people hear Islanders, the only island that they might think of is Hawaii,” Latu said. “But the Islanders Club allows me to teach and educate other kids about the many other Pacific islands I grew up hearing about.”

Latu recalled a moment at her local Tongan church when she performed a traditional dance in cultural attire, strengthening her pride in her heritage.

“Most of the people that were watching were not Tongan, but they admired the Tongan attire. It made me feel proud of where I come from with the performance and all cultural practices,” Latu said.

Latu sought to recreate that cultural pride for others in the Islanders Club in their participation with Heritage Fair. Although the group performed a Hawaiian hula at the assembly, the experience has deepened her gratitude for the universal Pacific Islander traditions that bring them together.

“I’m not Hawaiian, but I am a proud Pacific Islander,” Latu said. “Each island has their own cultural dances. The Tongan dance is very different from Hawaiian dance, but both of them tell us stories from our ancestors.”

Much like the traditional dances of the Pacific Islands which serve as a powerful medium for storytelling, Folklorico — a traditional Mexican dance with roots in local folk culture — also entwines cultural narration with movement.

“We all enjoy dancing Folklorico because it’s a very important part of our background. It always tells a story whenever we’re dancing to a specific song,” said Daniela Reyes, the vice president of Latinos Unidos.

Reyes, a Salvadoran senior, saw Heritage Fair as a significant opportunity to share her culture — something nostalgic to her.

“I used to perform Folklorico for El Salvador, because there are different regional styles. I’m not entirely familiar with the Mexican regions, but for Salvadoran regions, I did dances from the capital, San Salvador,” Reyes said. “That was when I was little. In the United States, I also did some Folklorico dance when I was younger.”

However, for Reyes, dancing at Heritage Fair wasn’t just a celebration of her roots; it was for her community.

“The most meaningful part is being able to share this experience with all the other Latino and Hispanic students, especially those who don’t feel like they have a place at school,” Reyes said.

Though he didn’t perform a dance or play music, ASB Assemblies Commissioner Jayden Lee played multiple integral roles in the event, from portraying Dash in the Disney-themed background skits to facilitating the assembly.  

In his efforts to help preserve this meaningful campus tradition, Lee helped create the space necessary for performers to embrace their identities and share it with the school.

“Leading the organization makes me think that my cultural heritage is more important. It’s something that shapes me. Being able to see your culture, whether through a performance or representation at the Heritage Fair, really makes you realize that Carlmont is such a diverse melting pot,” Lee said. “It helps you envision your own culture and be proud of who you are.”

Lee, a first-generation Korean-American, finds a sense of community and connection in his local Korean Baptist Church youth group, where he is surrounded by others who share his cultural background.

Just as his church has been an important space for him to connect to his heritage, Lee believes cultural clubs at Carlmont can similarly serve as uniting spaces for shared cultural identity.

“A lot of these clubs and the performances they do aren’t just shows; it’s being able to unite and share the same cultural practices,” Lee said. “All the clubs — Latinos Unidos, Chinese Culture Club — they all do these performances to connect with each other. When they practice and perform, they get the same feeling of belonging as me when I go to my church.”

The importance of community and the continuation of both cultural and school traditions within ethnic clubs is evident, as performers hope that their performances will inspire future students to continue these spaces after they graduate.

“I hope for future classes, because the majority of us are seniors and juniors, to come and be able to do this. When we’re gone after we graduate, hopefully they will be able to take something from this and do it themselves,” Reyes said.