perform to “Salvadoreñas” a cumbia by Los Hermanos Flores.
If you look up Main Street, you may notice it looks a little more colorful lately. That’s because, for the fourth consecutive year, the City of Annapolis is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) and the flags of Latin America and Spanish-descended countries have been raised to honor and celebrate the occasion.
The City of Annapolis also celebrated with events throughout the month, such as a youth poetry contest, Latino art galleries, a City Dock Fiesta, culminating with the Day of the Dead Festival at Maryland Hall later this month (October 28, 3 to 8 p.m. at Maryland Hall, 801 Chase Street.)
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we spoke to Jackie Solis, a community leader, mom, and Annapolis resident for the last 17 years.
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
I’m married, I have two kids–one is 13 and the other one is 9–two boys. I am from El Salvador and I’ve been living here in the US for 17 years. My husband is from Mexico, so we are a two-country family. I am a home baker; I bake cakes for friends. It’s just something I do on the side, and that gives me time to take care of my kids.
What was it like growing up in El Salvador?
We are from a small countryside where you have a little bit of land. I am the last child of 4 sisters and a brother. I used to help my dad to take care of the cows, and it was just a happy, calm life in a little town.
How will you be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month?
Our church is having a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration this Saturday, so me and two other friends do a dance from El Salvador, and people bring food or wear special outfits to preserve our traditions and to show our kids these traditions. Because even though we are all from different countries, our kids were born here, and it can be challenging to keep those traditions we bring from our Hispanic countries. My friends and I also got invited to dance at Maryland Hall at the Dia de los Muertos Festival
What businesses or people do you want to celebrate this month for their contributions to hispanic culture in the Annapolis area?
Caliente Grill does a great job to recognize our food, history, and culture.
Glory Paredes paints and has a display at City Hall; she captures vibrant colors and for me, bright colors are so important to our heritage; colors are happiness.
The Marshall Learning Center and people who run the programs for children are so great. We had a summer camp there that was free, for mostly Hispanic kids. They always encourage us as parents to help our kids do better, and they are running all these programs to help our kids have a chance. They have a little choir and the kids sing in front of City Hall.
What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?
It’s the opportunity for us to recognize people that are here from another country and they had the challenge of the language and the different environment, and despite those challenges, they’re doing good things, helping people, and they’re representing who we are in a different country.
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