DENISE BARKER, BRAZIL
High School Teacher - Spanish
How have your heritage and culture influenced your life as a part of the American tapestry?
My parents help me to build a solid resilience foundation as I was growing up in South America. This solid foundation helped to face many challenges in America.
What is your favorite family tradition?
My family tradition is New Year’s Eve. It's a lifetime experience. We must wear white and go to the ocean at midnight and jump seven waves to bring peace and good luck for the upcoming year. We gather to watch the fireworks at the beach.
What is your favorite family meal?
Churrasco, which offers a variety of grilled meats that are skewered and cooked over open flames.
MARIA WILLIAMS, PUERTO RICO
Second Grade Paraprofessional
How have your heritage and culture influenced your life as a part of the American tapestry?
Being from Puerto Rico has taught me how beautiful and colorful my heritage is. Puerto Rico has roots of a lovely mixture of the Taino indigenous, Spaniards, and African people. We call ourselves "-Boricua, a name that honors our heritage. So, I feel I bring a little variety of these to the American Tapestry.
What is your favorite family tradition?
I remember growing up on my little island, recalling that my favorite family tradition was to go Christmas caroling, which we call Parrandas. We would gather with family and friends during the Christmas holidays with maracas, guitars, and other instruments standard in the Caribbean and go from house to house singing our Boricua version of Christmas carols. Each house welcomed us and would feed us all the delicious Puerto Rican foods and refreshments. The parranda was a festive way to celebrate the holidays and would last late into the night and even into the early morning!
What is your favorite family meal?
My favorite family meal is everything Puerto Rican. A few are mofongo, tostones, pasteles, arroz con gandules, and lechon asado. I don’t get to eat them much, but I savor every bite when I do.
